Andrew Joseph White is unmatched in his talent for writing queer and disabled teens. Having read hiss two other books, I can say confidently that there is so, so much love poured into every single main character, making each one so unique and, I'm certain of this, differently capable of comforting, offering hope and understanding to people - of any age - who can relate.

This book did, indeed, feel more intimate, with the story revolving about community, through and through. The message was beautiful and impactful, although I wish it had felt somewhat more realistic - the action was less entertaining than the relationships, most of the villains felt unidimensional and the characters' plans were not very credible.

Even so, the book was special and has more positives than negatives: both Family and Friendship were written beautifully, their complexity was explored very thoroughly and this is what I believe stands out the most in Compound Fracture. The community aspect and the politics were an incredibly bold choice and so fantastic for it. This book is a loud reminder that writing is political, writing can be activism and it's fundamental as a means to give shape to a future that seems inimaginable amid the chaos we live in. Very worth the read!

4.5 stars, rounded up

White's writing is addictive, and he has a knack for crafting characters and worlds that stick with you. His books are consistently excellent, and this one was no exception. It's very much recommended, though you should take a look at the trigger warnings before you pick it up, as it gets very heavy and dark.

Well plotted, tense, and intriguing. I loved the well plotted story and the solid mystery that kept me hooked.
The characters are fleshed and the setting is fascinating
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a copy to review!

One day I'll find a book bt Andrew Joseph White that will disappoint me, but todays not that day!! His first book set in current times, it still manages to blend horror, fantasy and rage at society that betrays us. I especially enjoyed the setting and historical background: not being from the USA, a lot of my understanding of West Virginia came from media that wasn't wery kind to this state. But Miles love and criticism for his home mafe me also look at it differently.

5 stars!!

Where do I even begin? The amount of representation in this book was crazy and done so incredibly well. AJW does a brilliant job of making the reactions of surrounding characters and main characters believable when it comes to the issues and topics discussed. As someone who has not been able to (or really wants to) get formally diagnosed for autism I found it extremely validating that Miles doesn't have to in order to be believed. His breakdown really spoke to me and I can picture me being in the exact same situation. Something I didn't see a lot of was the amount of generational trauma and issues that were discussed and I would love to see a novella-type sequel as to how Miles is ending the cycle of trauma experienced throughout this town. I love Lady so much. 4.5 stars!!

Let it be known I would GLADLY read AJW’s shopping lists.

Okay, now onto the serious stuff. This was an deliciously intense read. Less than 100 pages in I wanted to protect Miles with my life. This is a gut-punch of a socialist YA book. More thriller than horror, compared to HFWU and TSBIT of White’s, Compound Fracture has hard-hitting prose and engaging characters navigating a post-Trump victory in West Virginia, police brutality, queer identity and a centuries-long feud. White creates stories and characters that are angry, and with good reason. I LOVED it.

While this read much more like a thriller, with far fewer of the horror elements I’ve come to expect from AJW, this gave it a unique flavour compared to his previous works. We still had horror elements which made the narrative unsettling at times. However, this is certainly NOT a book without it’s fair share of gore - it’s gruesome at times, with a few scenes where bodily damage is described viscerally. But in terms of the horror, this is only present really in the appearance of one entity from Miles’s distant past (and who ends up becoming a guiding beacon for Miles).

What was overwhelmingly present - aside from the PUNCH of socialism - was the creeping, pervasive paranoia. The small town setting felt like a hand about Miles’ throat, and around that of his family and friends. Combine that with a centuries long feud where lives have been taken, lost to violence between the Abernathy’s and the Davies’, and you’ve got a novel that reads like a held breath. It was a compulsive read, where I felt like I had to get myself to “lulls” in the tension before I could put the book down to, unfortunately, engage in real life.

Miles was PRECIOUS to me. Another gorgeous creation from White, who’s tone came across so strongly I was immediately sucked into his world. I could read his words for hours (and did). Each of White’s characters lives and breathes (and bleeds) through the pages, and Miles is no different. He’s a love story to anyone coming to terms with themselves.

Miles navigates a feeling of empowerment after discovering something which could finally turn the tide in the endless war between his family and the Davies’ family, who have claimed the seats of power in the town with Sheriff Davies commandeering law enforcement and his son Noah creating an oppressive leadership of fear over the youths. But when Miles is nearly beaten to death for trying to make things better, we follow him, Cooper and Dallas through a screamingly-tense and violent series of events where blows are traded between the two sides of this long, long feud.

I loved Dallas, and felt for Cooper, each character bringing with them a new side of this seemingly endless coin, new perspectives on all the hurt that has been caused.

However, let’s not get this twisted. While this is a searing tale of defiance, of trying to take power back into your hands when you’ve been made to feel helpless and afraid, it is without a doubt an unflinching socialist book. It is a roar of rage towards a Trump victory, it is a message to defund the police, and the inherently oppressive systems that the US is built upon. As someone who doesn’t live in the US, I can never fully comprehend the full scale of everyday violence on communities, and the oppression, the fear and sense of injustice. But as someone who is leftist in my politics, and who lives in the UK (which everyday seems closer to a shadow of the US) I can firmly get behind the punch that this book is lining up to throw.

Another amazing addition to AJW’s works!

A queer Appalachian thriller that pulls no punches - following a trans autistic teen who’s drawn into the generational struggle between the rural poor and those who exploit them”

This was not flawless but wow, I loved it. What I especially loved was the emphasis on the importance of community, no matter how small, which we see a lot with Miles from how his family have his back even though they don’t really understand him, and his group of queer and disabled friends. The emphasis on community might be the most important thing to take away from this, that and anti-individualism.

I also loved that Miles is autistic and aromantic, and I enjoyed his journey to him realising he’s aromantic.

I have no idea if it was meant to be funny but the way Miles unalived someone (accidentally), spent about five seconds panicking about it and then going “well anyway I have a crush on this guy” is probably one of my favourite things about this entire book.

The things I didn’t like are minimal but are still there - the first thing is that I feel like this book should have been longer or maybe a duology as (mild spoilers to follow for the rest of this paragraph!) would have thought that things wouldn’t have been wrapped up so cleanly with next to no consequences? Miles did suffer, as did his friends, but this was because of who they are and not because of anything they did. I am not familiar with American politics or West Virginia, maybe they are isolated and therefore other emergency services don’t interfere? I honestly don’t know, but I did find it strange.

And again, not familiar with West Virginia, but race was not mentioned at all. There was no POC, no mention of POC - It’s especially odd in a book as political as this one?

I’ve only read Hell Followed With Us so far but, out of the two, this is my favourite AJW so far. I love finding so many books for teenagers that teenage me would have loved. Flaws and all!

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for the eARC!

TW: animal death, gore, homophobia, transphobia, violence

I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to its publication date that is forthcoming. I enjoyed the setting, pacing and the characters too. They were well written and seemed to jump off the page.

In Twist Creek, an old mining town in rural West Virginia, Miles sneaks out of the house to attend a party, leaving an important message for his parents: he's trans. In his pocket, he carries the most valuable thing he has: definitive proof that the sheriff was responsible for the accident that shattered the Abernathy family's lives, as well as those of two other families in yet another incident in the endless conflict of Twist Creek. A conflict that has spanned over a hundred years, beginning with the miners' rebellion led by Saint, an ancestor of Miles.

That same night, Miles becomes the latest victim of the sheriff's son and his friends, who is determined to prevent any change. After being brutally beaten, Miles wakes up in the hospital, accompanied by his parents, who now must come to terms with the fact that their child's gender identity is not what they had always believed. And there's someone else in the room: Saint’s ghost.
Thus begins, or rather continues, the struggle between families when Miles accidentally kills one of his attackers, triggering events that rush toward the inevitable war that began so long ago.

None of that made us grown, did it? It made us kids that did awful things.
In the book, we follow teenagers thrust into this war, feeling like they have to play a role and who, from a young age, have developed the need to protect their families. The violence is generational and deeply rooted. Damn, I mean… the ghost of the past is literally present in the story. A ghost that cannot rest because the conflict remains active—a conflict that drags both the innocent and the guilty into it, turning children into killers and preventing them from being what they should be: children. Because blood stains everything, no matter how innocent.

Children, entangled in the endless fight, must navigate their own coming of age. They must start recognizing who they are, understanding what they want in life. Miles, struggling with his identity as a trans person in an area hostile to diversity and realizing his social awkwardness might be more than that and coming to terms with autism. And on top of all that: the war.

The summer before my sophomore year, I learned my great-great-grandfather was a socialist, and suddenly I had the words for why I wanted to burn it all down.
The conflict between the Abernathys and the sheriff cannot be summed up as just a family feud; it goes much deeper. It is an ideological and political issue, and the author makes his stance clear in a work that is unafraid to be overtly anti-fascist. Class war and unionism play a significant role throughout the book, explaining the animosity between the families and why the Abernathys have become almost outcasts, refusing to submit to the boot of capitalism and historically becoming vocal opponents of it.

But the Abernathys are not alone in the fight; they are not a singularity. The book stands out for its portrayal of the Appalachian region, its people, and the idiosyncrasies that govern it. It moves away from clichés to show us that even in rural America, there are dissident characters willing to fight against the far right. In this sense, it is refreshing to witness what the region really is like through the eyes of someone who was raised there.

A young adult novel that does not condescend to its younger audience, that does not shy away from showing the intrinsic violence of a failed system, and that teaches us that we can stop being victims if we unite.

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC**

This is my first experience reading a book by Andrew Joseph White and boy oh boy it did not disappoint.

The book is fast paced, raw, real and hits you right where you need it to. I’d recommend checking trigger warnings as this book definitely isn’t for the faint of heart.

I’m still not sure how I feel after it, all I know is that I am thankful it exists. Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for the opportunity to read this banger of a book.

Compound Fracture is raw and sharp and angry. It pulls no punches, tells no lies. An unreliable narrator but we trust him wholeheartedly. A family that's a bit confused but still a safe place to land. A town that for all its dangers is home.
Andrew Joseph White's writing is so amazingly readable. The story flies past at exactly the pace it's intended to, and no words are wasted but there are still some really poetic lines in here. The characters are so real you feel like you're watching them from right next to them, and none of them are flawless but all of them are alive. And the steeping of the book's atmosphere in its richly constructed setting of West Virginia makes this story really come alive.
This book is such a powerful and cathartic read. However, please do check the trigger warnings if you're thinking of reading it - it deals with some heavy stuff, but if you're up for it, don't let me put you off.

Andrew Joseph White never fails to leave me shocked, grossed out and a little uneasy. His books are so uncomfortable yet comforting at the same time and Compound Fracture was no different.

This was brutal, violent, thought-provoking and rage inducing, but it also brought me to tears. All of these characters had it so tough and were a product of their upbringing and the world they lived in. Compound Fracture pulls no punches when it comes to class wars, rebellion and trans rage. It made me hope for a better world and more support for people, and also for the downfall of the way we run things and capitalism.

This is rooted in rebellion and the fight for workers rights and humans rights. It shows that no matter how much things change the dark and ugly truth of the world will always come out. But it's not all doom and gloom, it shows you how much a family, whether a family by blood or bond, matters and how they can make or break it.

This was a hard read, but something that will stick with me for time to come.

CW: transphobia, animal cruelty, gore and police brutality.

‘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.

"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.