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38th out of 164 books
—
45 voters
Solitary (Escape From Furnace #2)
Alex Sawyer and hismatesshould have known there was no way out of Furnace Penitentiary. Their escape attempt only lands them deeper in the guts of this prison for young offenders, and theninto solitary confinement.And that's where a whole newstruggle begins—a struggle not to let the hellish conditions overwhelm them. Because before another escape attempt is even possible,...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
December 21st 2010
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
(first published July 2nd 2009)
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4.5 Stars
This second installment was just as thrilling as the first, and even went deeper into the creepy than Lockdown did! I devoured this book in one sitting, and the only thing stopping me from tearing into the third is ability to get it right now. I had a pretty lengthy review for Lockdown that can be seen here and most of what I said still applies.
One thing that I was bothered by in this book though was the switching of terms (slang?). Sometimes I would be jarred from the story because of...more
This second installment was just as thrilling as the first, and even went deeper into the creepy than Lockdown did! I devoured this book in one sitting, and the only thing stopping me from tearing into the third is ability to get it right now. I had a pretty lengthy review for Lockdown that can be seen here and most of what I said still applies.
One thing that I was bothered by in this book though was the switching of terms (slang?). Sometimes I would be jarred from the story because of...more
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Jan 06, 2010
Michelle
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Michelle by:
Book Smugglers
After putting down Furnace: Lockdown - which effectively stopped right on a monumentally massive cliff-hanger ending - wondering if Alex Sawyer actually, really and truly escaped from the underground prison Furnace, I simply took a deep breath, cracked open Solitary and plowed on ahead. You see, Alex has witnessed horror upon horror during his stay in Furnace and just when the possiblity of escape is dangled right in front of him, he's brought back to grim reality by the evil Warden and his soul...more
2 likes · like · see review
Jan 03, 2012
Skyla
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Skyla by:
Anna ϟ
"Solitary" picks up moments after "Lockdown" ends. Alex, Zee, Toby and Gary are in the bowels of Furnace Penitentiary trying to escape through an underground river. Escape means freedom, being recaptured means life imprisonment in a place worse than hell.
Under heaven is hell. Under hell is Furnace.
If that doesn't make you want to pick up "Solitary" nothing will. The "Escape from Furnace" series feels like a miniseries TV Show, each episode is thrilling and exciting, ends in a cliff hanger and y...more
Under heaven is hell. Under hell is Furnace.
If that doesn't make you want to pick up "Solitary" nothing will. The "Escape from Furnace" series feels like a miniseries TV Show, each episode is thrilling and exciting, ends in a cliff hanger and y...more
Just when you thought the whole thing was over, but it’s not. It’s just begun. Alex Sawyer thought the whole thing was over, but in fact it had just begun. They thought they had escaped, left, gain freedom at last. But maybe the Furnace really has no escape. Now Alex faces decisions each one with a price. With time ticking, will he ever escape? If he gets caught he will never be one piece ever again.
Usually when I read series I find the first book always the best out of them all. But this series...more
Usually when I read series I find the first book always the best out of them all. But this series...more
Alex and his friends are just about to escape, they are so close they can smell the fresh air they have been waiting for. However their fantasy escape is just about to be crushed by none other than the Blacksuits.
Zee and Alex are summered down farther into the earth were they are sentenced a month in the solitary or until death. But not even death compares to the horrors of the solitary. With no way to contact Zee, Alex is left to be driven insane by loneliness - until the night of lockdown. Al...more
Zee and Alex are summered down farther into the earth were they are sentenced a month in the solitary or until death. But not even death compares to the horrors of the solitary. With no way to contact Zee, Alex is left to be driven insane by loneliness - until the night of lockdown. Al...more
This book takes palce after When they tried to escape from Furncae. They thought they had escaped but it just basically took them furhter down Furnace. They escaped down to a river but they couldn't find an exist. They walked around and luck wasn't on their side but they met the Warden. Right when Alex met him, he knew there was something inhuman about him, and he couldn't meet him eye to eye. He looked up Alex and Zee and said they'll be down there for a month and if they survive, they'll have...more
I had the misfortune of getting both this and The Scorch Trials from the library at the same time. My dad read the back flap of both books and he is now convinced that I only read dark dystopians now. It's not true, I promise. I read light happy books too.
This book, as you may have gathered, is not light or happy. The words I'd use to describe are creepy, dark, and disturbing. In the words of the characters themselves:
"No," said Zee, echoing my own thoughs. "They can't. it's just... wrong."
"I...more
This book, as you may have gathered, is not light or happy. The words I'd use to describe are creepy, dark, and disturbing. In the words of the characters themselves:
"No," said Zee, echoing my own thoughs. "They can't. it's just... wrong."
"I...more
I think I just died a little inside.
*SPOILERS*
This is the second book in the Escape from Furnace series (one of my favourites may I add) in which our protagonist Alex, after accused of murdering his best friend, is convicted and sentenced to life in Furnace prison - basically, as close to Hell as you can go. This series features mainly his desperate desire to escape.
I feel so gullible. At the end of the first book when he found the river to escape in I LITERALLY thought he would make it. Again,...more
*SPOILERS*
This is the second book in the Escape from Furnace series (one of my favourites may I add) in which our protagonist Alex, after accused of murdering his best friend, is convicted and sentenced to life in Furnace prison - basically, as close to Hell as you can go. This series features mainly his desperate desire to escape.
I feel so gullible. At the end of the first book when he found the river to escape in I LITERALLY thought he would make it. Again,...more
The novel Solitary by Alexander Gordon Smith is a must read, this non-fiction tragedy is packed with unexpected, unpredictable decisions that really give this novel the raw power that many others lack. Solitary is the sequel to the epic novel, Escape from Furnace. Even though it’s strongly recommended that you read the first book, if you don’t you will still understand the plot very clearly. Furthermore, the main character Alex, recently attempted to break out of a maximum security prison. Unsur...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I read this book in about 3 hours or so.
Personally, I mostly enjoyed Lockdown....So when it came to Solitary i was hoping to continue in the same vein.
Unfortunately, I enjoyed this one slightly less.
My biggest complaint about Book One was Alex and the narration that AGS decided to write in where Alex is basically talking to us
Unfortunately in book two, we find them in Solitary which means Alex is isolated from other people and thus not really able to talk for a good part of the book...Which mean...more
Personally, I mostly enjoyed Lockdown....So when it came to Solitary i was hoping to continue in the same vein.
Unfortunately, I enjoyed this one slightly less.
My biggest complaint about Book One was Alex and the narration that AGS decided to write in where Alex is basically talking to us
Unfortunately in book two, we find them in Solitary which means Alex is isolated from other people and thus not really able to talk for a good part of the book...Which mean...more
SOLITARY begins where LOCKDOWN ended: Zee, Gary, and Alex are in the river post escape attempt. But SOLITARY isn't a retread of LOCKDOWN. Alexander Gordon Smith turns down the gruesomeness (just a tad) and turns up the torture. Alex and Zee are thrown into solitary, with only themselves for company . . . well, themselves and the blacksuits giving them their food every two days. The blacksuits angry that two of their own died in the escape attempt.
But as I mentioned in my interview, Escape from F...more
But as I mentioned in my interview, Escape from F...more
Solitary starts with some interesting stuff from Alex. He tells us that he is not a good person. He even stole from his own mother and sold the one thing that was HER mothers, a locket and sold it with no remorse. He emphasizes because he does not want the reading to feel too sympathetic. He tells us that right off and while he deserves bad stuff to happen to him he lets us know that this is beyond the pale.
Escape and the thought of freedom is the thing that is keeping him going. Hope is powerfu...more
Escape and the thought of freedom is the thing that is keeping him going. Hope is powerfu...more
Rating: 3.5
Solitary begins where Lockdown ended(view spoiler). It is full of the same mixture of action, suspense, and intellect as the first one, as the Warden demonstrates not only the hell that is the Furnace, but the hell that surrounds it.
Not all the characters from the last one are continued in this installment, although a few are introduced. In terms of characters, I did enjoy the first book more because although some of...more
Solitary begins where Lockdown ended(view spoiler). It is full of the same mixture of action, suspense, and intellect as the first one, as the Warden demonstrates not only the hell that is the Furnace, but the hell that surrounds it.
Not all the characters from the last one are continued in this installment, although a few are introduced. In terms of characters, I did enjoy the first book more because although some of...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
If you haven't yet read Lockdown (Escape from Furnace, #1), then I recommend quickly reading my review of it before continuing with this review. Just like the books, this review will be a continuation of that one and won't stand alone.
I gave Lockdown four stars because of its gripping action and I focused on the book's positives in my review. Everything I said there goes for this one as well, since it's a continuation (from one cliff-hanger ending to another). However, I'm giving this one three...more
I gave Lockdown four stars because of its gripping action and I focused on the book's positives in my review. Everything I said there goes for this one as well, since it's a continuation (from one cliff-hanger ending to another). However, I'm giving this one three...more
The second book in the Escape from Furnace series, Solitary, is just as creepy and vivid as the first.(See review here ) Published by Square Fish, it ends at 225 pages.
The Story- At the end of Lockdown, Alex escaped the Furnace into the raging river underground. Too bad it didn’t go anywhere. Now he is imprisoned in Solitary for one month, and oops, the longest anyone has ever survived is one week.
Alex will do anything to prevent himself from going crazy in the pitch black confines of his cell a...more
The Story- At the end of Lockdown, Alex escaped the Furnace into the raging river underground. Too bad it didn’t go anywhere. Now he is imprisoned in Solitary for one month, and oops, the longest anyone has ever survived is one week.
Alex will do anything to prevent himself from going crazy in the pitch black confines of his cell a...more
Just when I thought this series could not only get any better, it does. Just when I though Alex had been through enough already, it gets worse. Just when you think its over, it's not. In Solitary, we continue with Alex on his journey to escape Furnace prison.
While I was thrilled to jump into Solitary, I feel this book wasn't as great as the first book. Don't get me wrong! I really enjoyed this book as well in the series, but it just didn't have the impact as the first one had. Maybe it was beca...more
While I was thrilled to jump into Solitary, I feel this book wasn't as great as the first book. Don't get me wrong! I really enjoyed this book as well in the series, but it just didn't have the impact as the first one had. Maybe it was beca...more
I was a little wary about starting this book because I'd read an excerpt in book one and knew that Alex did not succeed in his escape attempt. I didn't think that Smith would be able to make much of a plot out of Alex being put into solitary confinement. I mean, what would happen? He'd be bored in the dark and have hallucinations? Boy, was I wrong! I thought Lockdown was great; well, Solitary is equally so although much more brutal and disturbing.
Locked up in solitary confinement, Alex and Zee m...more
Locked up in solitary confinement, Alex and Zee m...more
Jan 24, 2011
Monster
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
human-killers-ya,
reading-bites-ya
The last time we see Alex Sawyer in Lockdown, which is the novel that precedes Solitary, he completes his daring escape from Furnace Penitentiary and hopes he is on his way to freedom on a beach with a sea breeze. Ah, Alex…if it were only that easy.
As it happens, and it is refreshing how realistically this plays out, underground rivers do not necessarily lead anywhere one might want to go, and it is almost a blessing when Alex and his fellow escapees are recaptured and sent to solitary confine...more
As it happens, and it is refreshing how realistically this plays out, underground rivers do not necessarily lead anywhere one might want to go, and it is almost a blessing when Alex and his fellow escapees are recaptured and sent to solitary confine...more
Alex Sawyer thought his plan worked, but temporary escape from Furnace Penitentiary didn’t mean that he was actually free. Just when he and Zee thought they would make it, the unimaginable happens and they are recaptured. Just like that, Alex and Zee are prisoners once more, but this time, Furnace has a lot worse planned for them—solitary confinement. If thirst doesn’t kill them first, the unraveling of their own minds surely will. But Alex has not come this far just to give in this easily. But...more
As the sequel to Lockdown, this story begins right after Alex and his friends blast a hole that will lead them from the prison of Furnace to freedom - they hope. But the jump into the river only leads them deeper into the bowels of the earth below the prison. Unfortunately, the sadistic warden is waiting for them and orders a month's solitary confinement in the Hole for Alex and Zee. Gary is dragged away to the infirmary for the purpose of experimentation. To stave off insanity, Alex figures out...more
Summary: After the worlds biggest cliff hanger in book one, Solitary opens up in the midst of Alex and his friend Zee's escape attempt from Furnace, jumping into a raging river with no way of knowing whether they'll survive. Just when all seems hopeful, however, the cruel fate Alex has become so familiar with sets in, and the group is caught and sentenced to 1 month in solitary confinement. Life in "The Hole" consists of a small pitch-black cell, little to no food, licking water off of the cell...more
Mixed emotions about this one guys. I LOVED, “Lockdown: Escape from Furnace” and I expected to read equally good things with this book.
I must say there were some great well written lines.
“My entire body was rice-paper frail”
“The human mind is a powerful thing in many ways. But in others it’s endlessly fragile- it takes only a single moment of pure terror to tear a hole in it, like a finger through a cobweb, leaving you forever just a shadow, a half-person”
“...For what is reality other than...more
I must say there were some great well written lines.
“My entire body was rice-paper frail”
“The human mind is a powerful thing in many ways. But in others it’s endlessly fragile- it takes only a single moment of pure terror to tear a hole in it, like a finger through a cobweb, leaving you forever just a shadow, a half-person”
“...For what is reality other than...more
Before I start I'm gonna try to make this a soiler free as I possibly can.
WOW!!! This book was so intense that it was beyond AMMMMMMMAAAAAZZZZIIIINNNNGGG!
After a failed atepmt to escape furnace, the warden decides to throw Alex, and Zee (not telling what happens to Gary) into Solitary Confinment. If you've forgotten what happens in the first book, this is an underground hole 10x worse than furnace. So small even if your not clostrophobic, you become clostrophobic. With all thats in there with...more
WOW!!! This book was so intense that it was beyond AMMMMMMMAAAAAZZZZIIIINNNNGGG!
After a failed atepmt to escape furnace, the warden decides to throw Alex, and Zee (not telling what happens to Gary) into Solitary Confinment. If you've forgotten what happens in the first book, this is an underground hole 10x worse than furnace. So small even if your not clostrophobic, you become clostrophobic. With all thats in there with...more
Well, this was an interesting follow-up to Lockdown, though I'm not quite sure I liked it as much. Things just keep getting worse and worse and each tiny step forwards seems to land Alex and Zee about 10 steps back. They thought they were free from the prison. Now they're in solitary, as the title implies. I have to hand it to Smith though, for making a book where nearly 40% or so of the proceedings take place in a dark concrete cell and for making it interesting to read. We find Alex asking man...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
First, have you read Lockdown Escape From Furnace 1? If the answer is "No," than please go read the first one and come back when you've finished. Solitary picks up immediately where the first book ends, and drops us off on another cliffhanger.
Compared to the first novel, this one takes us deeper into the furnace. The action is still mostly confined (ha ha, confined) to one or two settings, but this time we're under the main prison facility. We're still with our protagonists Alex and Zee from th...more
Compared to the first novel, this one takes us deeper into the furnace. The action is still mostly confined (ha ha, confined) to one or two settings, but this time we're under the main prison facility. We're still with our protagonists Alex and Zee from th...more
Like the first book in this series, Solitary is an action-packed, tension-filled thrill ride. You might not expect that a book about a boy trapped in Solitary would be so exciting. Surprisingly, though, it totally was.
On the one hand, it's kind of ridiculous and silly that the boys still think they can escape from this incredibly creepy and heavily guarded prison. But still, it works, because considering the possibility of escape is the only way the inmates are able to keep their courage, sanity...more
On the one hand, it's kind of ridiculous and silly that the boys still think they can escape from this incredibly creepy and heavily guarded prison. But still, it works, because considering the possibility of escape is the only way the inmates are able to keep their courage, sanity...more
Wow! Book 2 of this intense, action-packed series picks up where #1 left off and doesn't stop!
Alex has escaped - but somethimes what you ask for isn't what you expected. He and his band of escapees go from the frying pan (the Prison) into the fire (a raging river). Not so good.
As you may have guessed from the title of the book, they get caught and are sentenced to - you guessed it - solitary. In book 1, Alex's friend Donovan said nobody has ever lasted in Solitary longer than a few days. Alex...more
Alex has escaped - but somethimes what you ask for isn't what you expected. He and his band of escapees go from the frying pan (the Prison) into the fire (a raging river). Not so good.
As you may have guessed from the title of the book, they get caught and are sentenced to - you guessed it - solitary. In book 1, Alex's friend Donovan said nobody has ever lasted in Solitary longer than a few days. Alex...more
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Alexander Gordon Smith is the author of the Escape from Furnace series of young adult novels, including Lockdown and Solitary. Born in 1979 in Norwich, England, he always wanted to be a writer. After experimenting in the service and retail trades for a few years, Smith decided to go to University. He studied English and American Literature at the University of East Anglia, and it was here that he...more
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“The human mind is a powerful thing in many ways, but in others it's endlessly fragile—it takes only a single moment of pure terror to tear a hole in it, like a finger through a cobweb, leaving you forever just a shadow, a half-person.”
—
18 people liked it
“Let's make like a hockey player and get the puck out of here.”
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