The whole idea of this book really intrigued me. A 16-year-old boy, Linus, is kidnapped off the street and stuck in what appears to be an underground bunker. The book is written as his diary, like the title suggests. There are a few diagrams to help the reader visualise the scene, and it’s full of Linus’s thoughts and ideas as well as the events that take place.
The ending was so unexpected, and I absolutely adored it. It wasn’t a typical happy ending. It wasn’t even a resolved ending. Everything sort of just fades out, and it ends mid-sentence followed by numerous empty pages. I suppose this is what makes it more realistic, and more like someone’s diary.
Linus is followed by five other people in the bunker; little Jenny, Anja, Fred, Bird and Russell. Tensions are high, and they’re faced with numerous horrific problems. They can’t find a way to escape, and although things are bearable at first, The Man Upstairs soon stops sending down food supplies or providing heating or energy. Everyone is struggling to survive, to keep up hope. But there doesn’t seem to be a way out, a way to contact the outside world.
Eventually, things start to really go downhill. People start to lose their lives in numerous horrendous ways, and there’s only so long a group of people can survive for without food, water, heat, or electricity. The pain seems endless.
This is such an exciting book, where you never know what’s coming next. It was even rather emotional, and extremely hard to contemplate being in such horrible circumstances. I really enjoyed The Bunker Diary and all the plots it includes. An easy 4 stars for this.