‘Compound Fracture’ is a revenge tale steeped in rural Appalachian culture. Everything, from the writing style to the locations to the cast paints a vivid world that nevertheless evokes reality. The protagonist, Miles, as he navigates the complexities of his life. The overarching thrust of the narrative deals with him being the latest son of the Abernathy lineage, destined to perpetuate the blood feud his family’s been embroiled in. He also has to navigate as an autistic transgender man in a county where most of the residents are card-carrying conservatives.

The prose is the book’s greatest strength, despite being unsubtle to an extreme degree - which I can forgive, as a first-person narrative. It sets a strong sense of time and place, and Miles has a vivid character voice as a result. The audience is shown how he views his home and the people around him, and explores themes of rural poverty, addiction, and working-class social history. When the book focused on these topics, it worked. This was highlighted in the dynamic between Miles and some people from his past who return into his life. Another highlight was Miles’s dynamic with Lady, his dog. It formed a large emotional component of the heart of the book, and was always enjoyable to read.

Many of the other characters were well-realised. I believe AJW is at his full strength when drawing from his life, as he depicts Miles’ parents as realistically flawed and open to growth as the parents of many transgender people are. I personally appreciated the exploration of what is handed down from one generation to another, and how patterns repeat in history.

Of particular note is the presence of Saint Abernathy, the maybe-ghost maybe-imagined ancestor of Miles who we find shares much more in common than first thought. I felt his presence was slightly underutilised - it felt like the narrative forgot about him at points, or clumsily included him in certain scenes. The narrative might have benefitted from including him in other ways, as his presence elevated the book. His own relationship with his family, only barely touched on, left a lot of room to be explored. I wish that this had been a much larger component of the book.

I also found the depiction of multiple autistic characters to have been handled better than in TSBIT, speaking as a trans autistic person myself. However, Miles sometimes still fell into the trap of writing an autistic person as a list of symptoms - at one point, the narrative outright states that “It’s unnerving to see your entire personality reflected back at you under the symptom list of a developmental disorder”. Miles still felt like a more realised protagonist than Silas, with interests and a personality that did not exclusively relate to his autism, but it still came off as egregious. It was similar with the character of Amber, who seemed to fill the role of a saviour who came to bring Miles to understand his autism in a completely unsubtle manner.

The main issues I had with the book were in how the antagonists were written. The corrupt sheriff and his son are believable in theory, but come off as cartoonishly villainous. Like the antagonists of TSBIT, there is no genuine exploration of the factors that result in corruption and police violence, as well as how they uphold existing systems of power.

Furthermore, the progression of Cooper’s character felt unsatisfying. There isn’t much to show how he came to the decisions that he did, or the hints that he is undergoing radicalisation. The only mention as to his motivations are that he’s a victim of circumstance. It felt like an attempt to make a morally grey character, without laying the foundations for the reader to understand him. He was like a pulled punch, a half-baked exploration of the setup to his morally-grey characterisation.

The end to his Cooper's arc felt entirely unsatisfactory as a result, and his presence bogged the book down and stretched several aspects into unintentional melodrama. The repeated inclusion of detailed gore also felt voyeuristic at points, rather than horrifying. The relationship brought Heathers to mind, but without the camp factor that elevated the film/play. In fact, the entire narrative felt like a pastiche of Heathers.

Another issue is with the scope of the book - it is openly political, and I appreciate the focus on socialist history and the power of communities. Still, the book does not elaborate on these ideas past having Miles go on tracts in his internal narration. This includes brief mentions of factors that radicalise people, but we are told all of this instead of shown - often through lengthy internal monologues from Miles. It presents ideas, but does not give examples of them in practice - we are told that there is some working class solidarity in the townsfolk, but it doesn't explore where it came from in a town that is, as stated before, filled with openly conservative people.

It feels like wish fulfilment on AJW's part, and does not do much to explore the complexities of genuinely living in a rural area where a lot of the population are unrepentant about being bigoted. This is especially obvious in the scene where <spoiler> Miles is outed by the sheriff</spoiler>, but faces no lasting consequences aside from being wholeheartedly accepted by his family.

I appreciated how the fictional coal miners’s strike that began the blood feud is woven in, but I wish that more attention had been given to what happens in the present day when history repeats. Great portions of the book are dedicated to passages on how cartoonishly evil the antagonists are.

Ultimately, it felt like AJW was unsure of how to follow through on the ideas he introduces. This shows through in the climax, which felt like an extended segment of conveniences and letdowns to what the narrative set up. It avoids providing answers to the questions the narrative poses about how to deal with corruption and how a community can take care of itself by using accidents and coincidences to resolve the narrative. I found that this was a common theme throughout the book, where some convenience would allow Miles to avoid making difficult moral decisions.

Overall this is a good, but flawed work.

A redneck rebellion of a book.

I love that Miles has competent family that grow and develop through the story. It's such a rarity in a YA novel.

I enjoyed seeing Miles discover more about himself & fight for what he believes.

Lady was a firm favourite too

4.25
As a trans, aro, neurodivergent person with close family ties to mining, this book was always going to be EVERYTHING I needed.
I loved the small town setting, the hard hitting trans rep and discussion of aromanticism and autism cos that just NEVER seems to get discussed in books and it made me smile so much.
It got a little far fetched at times, and it gave me CW vibes where extreme things happen and there aren't really any consequences, but I suppose I need to let that qualm slide to an extent because I LOVED the ending and I need to remind myself this is YA so to not judge it so harshly.
I'm always gonna be a fan of AJW's writing though and I can't wait for everything he releases in the future! His stories are always so empowering to trans youth and they really do mean the world to me.

I really loved this book. I read the author's first two books and really enjoyed them so was excited to read this one. Even though it is not horror like I expected it's probably my favorite from this author. It was so good.

Like I said I was expecting horror when I started this book, but it really isn't. It is the story of Miles and how he and his family try and survive in this small town. It was an odd time capsule book as it is set in 2017, so right after Trump won the election and became president. I loved all the talk surrounding that and the people who live there and just all of it. It was such a great read and all of this discourse fit into the story.

I found it really interesting to read Miles's views on living in this small town with Trumpers all around. I grew up in a similar small town and I pretty much have the opposite views from Miles on some of this stuff. For example I couldn't wait to leave and did as soon as I could, whereas he loves his town and doesn't think the awful people should be able to run him out of town. I loved reading all of that. Love seeing the opposite perspective on things. I agree with all the big things, love all the identity talk and trying to fit in, but interesting seeing other views on some of this stuff.

So yeah, this was a great read. All about trying to survive in a poor, small town. Miles was a great character and I loved watching him try and figure out how to keep him and his family safe. It was wonderful. And the side characters were just as great to read. Really wonderful book and I can't wait for more from this author!

I LOVED this book so much, I can't wait to read everything the author has ever written!!! I love their writing style so much and cannot wait to see what they write again in the future. The characters are all fleshed out and it spooked me genuinely in some places !!

I didn't think anything could top Hell Followed With Us but this is certainly giving it a run for its money!! The author's letter at the start and acknowledgements at the end damn near brought me to tears as well. This book is a raw, real look at class divides, abuse of power, and the reality of being manipulated into betraying your beliefs to keep the people you love safe. It's a story about struggle, survival, twisted morality, family history, and the importance of having queer friends. I absolutely love that we have a story about a trans character whose family's reactions to them coming out are messy in a way that is very real, but ultimately positive. I think we need a lot more of that in books, particularly YA. It's messy, raw, real and beautiful.

DNF - waaaaay too much talk of a dog being brutally murdered. rated 3 because I didn't want to bring the average down for people who are okay with that.

First of all, thank you Daphne Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Compound Fracture is an Appalachian YA thriller that follows Miles, a 16-year-old trans and autistic boy. Miles lives in a very conservative rural town in West-Virginia, but he himself is a socialist. His family traces back to one hundred years ago, to revolt leader and activist Saint, who was killed by the ancestors of the current sheriff. Miles himself had proof that the sheriff was responsible for an accident that injured his dad, killed his friend’s mom and injured others. On the night he came out to his parents, the sheriff’s son found the evidence and almost killed Miles for it. After he wakes up at the hospital he finds a ghost of a miner in his room, and also the sheriff threatening him to silence.

While this book wasn’t as horror-y as AJW’s other books, the writing still felt bloody, brutal and honest. The worldbuilding in this book was well done, as the AJW showed us the South in a layered, multifaceted way. I also liked seeing the depictions of community and the way the community protect each other from those who abuse their power. The characters were well written, and it was touching to see characters written with so much compassion, despite how they were treated.

I definitely enjoyed reading this book, and I will read AJW’s upcoming work in the future.

"People are too much work, and I don't like most of them."

After this phrase, I was completely hooked.
I had the chance to read "The Spirit Bares Its Teeth," but this book was very different. I was captivated by Miles' story and couldn't put the book down, eager to see what would happen next and how it would all turn out.
I loved the presence of the past with Saint and how it was intricately woven to highlight the injustices and prejudices. Another aspect I truly appreciated was the direct and raw writing style, which allowed me to fully live and feel what the characters were experiencing at that moment.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

“The only way you'll get me to leave this state is in a body bag. For all its problems, it's mine. For all the overdose deaths, environmental disasters, and reactionary politics, West Virginia is mine.”
5☆|5

I believe that this is one of the best books I have read in a very long time, and it's starting to be an issue as it's the third time in ten days that I've said those very specific words. What is the common point with all of these times? I was always talking about Andrew Joseph White's book. Some authors become better with each work, and so far, it seems to be the case for White. I read his novels in chronological order, and I loved each one a bit more than the previous one. Every time.

Unlike his other books, I do not believe that Compound Fracture qualifies as horror, and I wouldn't call it fantasy either. We are in for following Miles Abernathy, a 16-year-old trans autistic boy in 2017, living in West Virginia and loving his land behind being a socialist in this mostly conservative place. His county has been ruled by the same family for hundreds of years. And let's just say that they are not the most sympathetic people to exist. One of them was responsible for killing his great-great-grandfather, all back in 1917, executing him after that he was responsible for a miners’ rebellion. And now, Miles has proof that the current sheriff is responsible for the accident that injured his dad, killed his friend's mom, and injured others. To add to that, the night he came out to his parents, the son of the said sheriff found the evidence and followed him into the woods to nearly beat him to death with his friends. When he wakes up at the hospital, there is the ghost of a miner looking at him, and the sheriff threatening him to silence…

This book is for queer people. Queer angry people, leftists who are angry at the world but still love their country. Still wish they could change it. This book has a lot of anger in it. It's about a family that has been living in fear for the last hundred years, and another family that made them and the entire city live in that fear. This book was about being hurt for entire generations and making it stop, finally.

It is brutal. It might not be horror, but it's still heavy — I put you the author's TW at the end of the review — and has an aspect of paranormal that is deeply enjoyable. Our main character, Miles, is an incredible person. He is amazingly written and deeply human. I said it already, but reading White's transgender and autistic character always makes me feel something. And Miles was not the exception. He is wonderful, and how the author wrote his self-discoveries made me want to cry — in a good way. Also, he has an amazing dog, Lacy, and she's such a good girl, I love her. But as I said before, he lives in a conservative place. And while his parents are parents in gold, I can't really say that his coming out went amazingly well. So among the TW, I need to insist on the transphobia in this story. It is really heavy. Please read carefully.

But back to the characters, I love how the author wrote them. Next to Miles, we had his parents, who I really liked. They are not perfect, but they are trying. And it's so important to me. I especially loved his dad, but his mom was nice too. We also got Cooper, his ex-friend, with whom he is going to reconnect in the book. I won't say a lot about their relationship in order to avoid spoilers, but I liked it. I liked how White is able to write complex characters, to the point where at the end of the book I still don't have a definitive opinion on some of them. Truly, I love morally grey characters so much. Also, we got Dallas, who is my new favourite character because they are extraordinary. They are openly queer and anarchist and honestly slay. I love them. About the antagonists, I believe that they are my favourite out of AJW's books. It might come from the fact that I stand on the left politically speaking and that I care enough about politics than to have strong opinions, but I really liked despise Sheriff Davies. He was well-written, even though that the fact he seemed to be the only wealthy person out of this town was a bit weird.

This book is brilliant. It is amazing, it is once again unique. I truly loved its plot and how the author dealt with his story. I read it in a day, and couldn't put it down unless I was forced to. This book is for me, as the two previous books of the author were, a favourite. After about 20% of the book, I knew that this author was now a favourite of mine, and I am happy with this information. I have one last thing to say, but it's semi-spoilers. It's about the identity of a character and self-discovery. If you don't consider that as a spoiler, then you are free to read it. But, if you rather go into the book while knowing as little as possible/rather living the self discovery while reading the book — as I did, 10/10 experience, then skip the next paragraph, and we'll see each other after that for the conclusion and the trigger warnings.

Miles has two major self-discoveries in this story, but I would to go back on the fact that, during the story, he is going to discover that he is on the aromantic spectrum. And this, this part of the book, is for me so well-written and important. It helped make this book a 5-star book in my eyes. Firstly, aromantic representation is so essential in literature nowadays, especially in YA and NA books. And it is even more significant that Miles is aro, not aroace. As with most of the thematics talked about by AJW, this felt so natural. This felt so well-written. 10 out of 10 representation and writing for this point.

In conclusion, I do not believe that this book is perfect. No, it has defaults, every book does. But this book remains brilliant. It remains one of the best books that I read in the last few years. It remains an incredible read. It is for me Andrew Joseph White's best book so far, but this may be totally subjective (it is). Compound Fracture will be out on September 3, and I deeply recommend going to grab a copy then — I most definitely will. Thank you to Netgalley and Daphne Press for sending me an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review :)

TW:
*Graphic violence, with a focus on politically motivated, cyclical feud violence involving law enforcement and/or children
*Queerphobia and transphobia: deadnaming, misgendering, family conflict regarding trans identity (resolved), internalized queerphobia from a character on the aromantic spectrum (resolved)
*Opioid dependency and its effects on family; main character uses opioids after surgery and undergoes withdrawal after quitting without medical supervision
*Physical force and emotional manipulation by intimate partner
*Animal harm (butchering deer, off-page revenge killing of a dog)
*Discussions of ableism, including internalized ableism; brief mention of disfiguremisia
*Emetophobia (vomiting) warning

4.5 stars
I think I'm in shock, and I definitely need at least a month to process this book fully. WOW.

Compound Fracture is brutal and will linger in your mind every time you set it down. It's about generational trauma, societal prejudice, the complicated history of West Virginia, self discovery, and the consequences and benefits of reprisal and cyclical violence. This has a lot to say, and commentates of the state of rural America without feeling overly didactic or accusatory.

Miles goes through so much in this story, from physical abuses and emotional scars that have no time to heal to the realities of coming out and the struggles of masking - every moment of this book is packed with tension, big realizations, and shocking incidents. I was hooked immediately, and was hoping against all hope that he'd have some semblance of happiness and peace at the end because oh my gosh do they deserve it after all the stuff they go through.

The ending was super abrupt and left me feeling like I was missing a few more pages. I couldn't help but wonder what's next for this town? Is the bloodshed paused or ended or...? The pacing just didn't line up with the rest of the book and felt a bit awkward.

Compound Fracture is definitely a step away from AJW's other books, as it doesn't have fantasy elements (other than the ghost), but it was refreshingly honest and uncomfortable and tragic and thoughtful and - honestly words can't fully capture what I'm feeling right now. I think this story will stick in my head for ages.

“A bite of queer southern horror”

I devoured ‘Compound Fracture’. I may be a bit biased as a Southerner myself (by way of Texas), but this was truly an excellent and unique read.

This is really one of the only books that I’ve read that captures the tensions of being visibly queer/other in southern communities. I felt like I know the main character Miles, and have known many versions of him. This depiction does not leave out any of the horror or the sweetness. The villians are the worst people you can imagine, and the friends the best. The book feels so entrenched in this small town. Stuck in just like our characters are. Despite the gruesome nature of the story you also feel a deep love for these places. Miles never stops believing that West Virginia can be better than it is.

The book is excellently paced, the action is interspersed well with moments of reflection from Miles. I thought that the topic of autism was explored in such a natural, informative, and empathetic way. I was geniunely scared for the characters while reading this. It was engaging and felt like a fresh voice.

This book will chase you down until you finish it! You have been warned.

I received a copy of ‘Compound Fracture” in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publishers.

I've been meaning to pick up one of White's books for a while and I am so glad and grateful to have had the opportunity to read Compound Fracture. This was such a gripping tale that I struggled to put down and found myself equally saddened, horrified and warmed by this book.

After coming out as trans to his parents, Miles sneaks off to a party where he is viciously attacked. This reignites a generational feud that leads to a whole host of events that all circles back to a tragedy that happened a century before Miles was born. Whilst this story tells the tale of oppression and the working class trying to take back power from those who have too much, what really stood out for me - and what has made me want to pick up the rest of this authors books - is the characters. So many different sexualities, gender identities and disabilities are represented in this book. Getting to read Miles discover that he's autistic and the discussions around labels was empowering as an autistic person myself. I'm always looking for late diagnosis representation. There's also a second autistic character in this book who I loved so much, there's a very emotional scene in this book that did bring me to tears purely because it was so relatable, getting to read as Miles struggles with some of the most simple tasks and how this friends help him through that felt intimate and emotional. The slight paranormal aspect was made this book feel unique and I personally enjoyed all the vengeance that was going on. And one last thing that I think will drawn people to this book is the cutest little dog that will do anything to protect its owner, and don't worry she does survive till the end!

Compound Fracture is a gut-wrenching, furious YA novel with the slightest dash of speculative... the same level as magical realism really, where you don't know how much is fantastical, and how much is folklore/auto-suggestion.

I have loved both previous books of A. White. He is an amazing writer who knows how to pack a punch. The anger gushing out of every page yells for the fixing of injustices. And I love that. Though the level of discomfort reading his book is very real.

There are all the favorite themes we see the author coming back to again and again: being transgender, autism, injustice, brutality, bad boyfriends, monsters in human skins, revenge... and this time White wanted to make sure we got the political message.

And that's where I think this novel was truly a missed opportunity. While White uses the word "Socialism" on almost every single page, I can't think of a single moment when there is an example of how a socialist government would concretely impact/help the protagonist... and yet there are soooo very many opportunities to illustrate that, but not one of them is cited.

The political party remains throughout the book a very abstract term the hero identifies with.
And while that's all well and good for someone who knows socialism usually means free healthcare, housing assistance, equal rights to quality education, supporting immigration through infrastructures, diminishing social gaps, a justice system based on rehabilitation versus punishment... this term probably means nothing to most Americans while being shadowed by negative connotations.
There was ample examples of evils in this book, of the violence of society in the past and of today, but not a single one of them got fixed by any political ideology, not even in a wishful thinking thought-bubble kind of way.

The political environment of the book was messy. It seems to have been rather dictatorial falling into anarchy with communist ideas spiking through. It wasn't clear at all - and certainly doesn't give anyone any idea of the flavour of politics the hero was actually leaning towards, because there is a very wide realm of different socialism and there wasn't a single thing Miles (the hero) pointed at embracing specifically.

With just a little more illustration of what White meant, and why it was important to Miles, I think the book could have been a much stronger one.

A chilling gothic horror that despite being set in Victorian England, has so many similarities for many living in 2024 today. Wow!

another great book from ajw! present day is not my favourite setting, especially compared to his other dystopian and historical works. i didn't love the contemporary references and some of the information etc. felt a little forced into the story (though i fully agree with the politics haha). however, this was super immersive and thrilling. i love how every ajw book has a trans mc and normally also autistic, but they and their circumstances are all so different. this also considers other representation too like non-binary and aromantic characters.

Andrew Joseph White is a genius. That’s all there is to it. He somehow takes characters that are so similar and creates such wildly different stories, whilst standing true to the same messages. He is a genius. One of the best of his generation.

Anyway, the actual review.
This is my favourite of White’s books, which is huge considering I have now received all his work as ARCs and have been continuously blown away.
I am huge on dystopian fiction and Compound Fracture creates such a dystopian yet unfortunately true to life world and it is absolutely jawdropping. The political context of Miles and Saint’s stories was brilliantly done. As a trans person, I love how White depicts transness in all of his work but this one felt closest to my heart. In Compound Fracture they are fighting for survival and validity politics have no place. They stand loud and assert their transness and they are met with acceptance and the lack of, and considering White stated the characters are inspired by real people, this felt so true to so many trans kids lives.

Compound Fracture is set in West Virginia in a former mining community struggling with contemporary Appalachian life. The people of Twist Creek constantly deal with the violence of poverty and classism and yet fight against their marginalisation.
Miles, our main characters, family legacy traces back one hundred years to strike leader and union activist Saint, murdered by ancestors of the current Sheriff and his son. Miles is inspired by his great-great-grandfather’s radical politics and socialism to articulate the reasoning behind why he has always ‘wanted to burn it all down’. But the history of bloodshed fall down to Miles, who finds himself fighting for himself and his family and community.

In his opening letter, White writes about the difficult situation for trans people that provides context. We ‘have to fight so hard to exist’. Miles’ and Saint’s stories prompt readers to think about how change is fought for, even if it is in the most violent way.

I find the horror of White’s books difficult but I cannot stop coming back. It is so real and raw and exactly what we need. He writes violence with such a nuance and his work is gory and yet so poetic. I can’t get enough.

Whites main characters are continually trans and autistic and he does this perfectly. I feel seen, I feel read, I feel needed.

This is truly his best work yet and I am so grateful for it.

Thank you NetGalley and Daphne Press for the ARC’

Thank you to Daphne Press and NetGalley for mydigital review copy.

4 stars

This book had less horror than I was expecting compared to the other two books I have read by this author. This felt like it was more of a thriller than a horror, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The pacing for this did feel off to me. Like it felt like there was a lot that happened in the first third of the book, and then not much for the middle third and the next thing I know, I'm nearly 70% through and suddenly everything happened within lie the last 20% this book. I don't know if this is typical of thriller stories as I don't really read much of them.

Compared to the author's other books, the world of this one was absolutely more gritty and less fantasy. It didn't shy away from what life could have been like for a trans youth in a Post Trump West Virginia. It's brutal, but isn't that just life?

This is a very angry book and I feel like the anger is shown in the main character and how he acts. However, sometimes it felt like that was all this character was, a distillation of anger and rage and catharsis.

This is by far my favourite of White’s books, which is really saying something seeing as his other two works also blew me away. What I particularly loved about Compound Fracture was the ideological beliefs of the characters and political context of both Miles and Saint’s stories. As a trans person, I also really appreciate how White depicts transness across all of his books – as his characters discuss in this book there is no space for validity politics when you’re fighting for your survival (in this instance during various iterations of ongoing class war). His main characters assert their transness and there are always other characters who accept their identity despite their lack of access to gender-affirming medicalised intervention.

Compound Fracture is set in West Virginia in a former mining community struggling with the realities of contemporary Appalachian life. Abandoned by the Democrats, exploited by Republicans and despised by both, the people of Twist Creek constantly deal with the violence of poverty and precariousness and yet resist their marginalisation and subjugation in a multitude of ways. Miles, the main character, is aware of both the positive and negative aspects of his family legacy. As an Abernathy he can trace his family history back one hundred years to strike leader and union activist Saint, murdered by ancestors of the current Sheriff Davies and his son Noah. Miles is inspired by his great-great-grandfather’s radical politics and the capacity of socialism to articulate the reasoning behind why Miles has always ‘wanted to burn it all down’. But the feud between the Davies and Abernathy families and the history of bloodshed and revenge trickle down to Miles, and he finds himself fighting for his own survival as well as that of his family and community.

In his opening Letter from the Author, White writes about the difficult situation for trans people that provides context for this book and how we ‘have to fight so hard to exist’, which shouldn’t be the case. However, as White acknowledges, Compound Fracture is very much ‘a book about fighting as hard as you can’. Miles’ and Saint’s stories prompt readers to think deeply and critically about how change is best achieved – encouraging us to recognise the strength of community, collective action, and solidarity as opposed to acts of lone wolf individualism. Saint’s story also prompt us to delve into the archives to rediscover the radical histories of struggle and rebellion that have been repressed and therefore lost from our collective memories. As Miles discovers over the course of the book, there is joy, authenticity, connection, and inspiration in resisting and the legacies of struggle we embody through doing so.

While I continue to find the horror aspects of White’s books difficult reading, what keeps me coming back is his unflinching commitment to imbuing his books with a revolutionary ethos. As his author bio says he writes about trans kids who bite back and Compound Fracture, for me, is his best effort. This deserves all the stars and awards, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Thank you NetGalley and Daphne Press for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.