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.

Another absolute banger of a book from Andrew! I love it, and sped through it.
It’s feels very real. Both in terms of the world building, but also the characters and their emotions and reactions to things.
I really love how the main plot was connected to history, both the characters personal, and the towns. More than just being in the past. It was a part of every choice, every relationship. Even more so in Miles’s case.
I didn’t feel as connected to Miles as I have with the main characters in his other books, but that nigh have to do with the fact that I have more experience with more aspects of their situations. I am from a fairly well of family in Sweden, quite different from being poor in a redneck area of the states. Nevertheless I really enjoyed it.

I don't know how he does it, but Andrew's writing always grabs me by the throat from the first page, dare I say the first sentence. Massive fan of Hell Followed with Us, so when I had the opportunity to read this as an ARC on NetGalley, I had to take it. I'm only seventeen pages in, and I'm already sat here reading wide eyed, feeling the exact same feeling of excitement I'd felt while reading Hell Followed with Us. I'll update this once I get further in.

Update: I was right. This book is AMAZING. If I could marry Andrew's writing I would. It's some of the BEST I've ever encountered in my life.

Another hit by Andrew Joseph White, with an amazing book on generational trauma, political violence and the things that hurt us but we can't run away from.

After reading The Spirit Bares its Teeth, I decided that it will be a mission of mine to read every single thing Andrew Joseph White writes, and for a reason. This author has a thing for crafting amazing stories with deeply nuanced characters and great plot twists. Had to it gore, horror, violence and all kind of delightful things and you get a book like Compound Fracture.

The story, let's talk about it. I will be honest, before reading this I didn't know anything about Appalachian culture, mining history, or pretty much anything linked to this area. It's not something I've ever read about, or particularly took an interest in before. After finishing this book though, I spent maybe one hour on wikipedia, losing myself in history, culture and all kinds of crimes and mysterious things. Fascinating stuff.
I think the author crafted a beautiful story for something so violent in its core. Thanks to its characters, their affect and decisions, the plot proved itself extremely engaging, with extreme tension to keep you on the edge of your seat. There were plot twists in there I haven't seen coming, some that left me with my mouth hanging open in the middle of the night, and gasping out loud (might have woken up my partner - sorry hon).
It's a tale of violence, generational trauma and how the stories that precede us impacts our lives. But it's also so much more, and you can see it through its characters.

Because I think they are the most amazing things about this story. For a start, a character who's trans, autistic AND has an aromantic awakening? Yes please. It was beautifully done, with nuance and in depth explorations on what it means to be a neurodivergent kid growing up in a neurodivergent family who don't know they are. Miles might be one of the most interesting characters I have encountered in a book, from his masking to his personality, and the way he manages the traumatic events thrown his way. Usually when you read about autistic characters, they aren't the leader, they aren't the strong, fearless one, but here Miles is. Andrew Joseph White did it. He exposed the narrative we want to see more when it comes to autistic characters (and neurodivergent characters in general), and I loved this book all the more for it.
The side characters also are amazingly gray in their personality and behaviour - but then, the whole context of the book calls for it. You have sensitive people thrown in an unforgiving and violent context, of course they aren't going to stay good. Of course they are going to do horrible things. But you will forgive them, because you get to see their side. You get to live in their shoes.

The writing is delightful, but then is it even surprising with this author?
Gory (like, very, but it contains TW & CW for anyone wondering), violent, raw, honest, sensitive, fast-paced but also gentle on the characters. Andrew Joseph White's writing is the proof one can weave an ugly story into something breathtakingly beautiful with words and narration. It's also a very intimate writing, something that makes us feel like a close relationship to the main character.

Highly recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read Compound Fracture.
Upon reading Andrew Joseph White's previous novel, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, I found myself so enthralled by his work. I requested Compound Fracture and purchased Hell Followed With Us before even finishing it. And Compound Fracture did not disappoint. I found the discussions and themes of Socialism and the complexities of generational trauma, violence for the sake of politics on both sides, queer identities, and the realisation that you're not just "different" but disabled so well done at times I felt as though Miles was a mirror image of myself the same as Idid with Silas in The Spirit Bares Its Teeth but more so. I was truly hooked from start to finish to the point I read for five hours cover to cover nonstop. With young adult books as a reader in my 20's I always found they left something to do desire, Compound Fracture hits all the marks for me and I cant think of a single way in which I would improve upon it.

Each book that Andrew Joseph White writes seems more compelling than the last, even when I'm not sure how he can manage to do so. Compound Fracture was stunning, and thrilling, and a story in which there are no good options but decisions have to be made anyway. It traces the path of a century-old feud that could only ever end one way, mapping out the inexorable progression towards its conclusion, brought about by a righteously angry trans boy and helped along the way by every generation of his family since the one that started it all. You know, almost as soon as you start reading, where the story has to end, and so you are left unable to do anything but watch how many people get hurt getting there and wonder whether any of it was really worth it. This was a brilliant book, possibly Andrew Joseph White's best yet, and I think it'll haunt me for a while yet.

I’m probably going to come back am edit this in a few days once I make some more sense out of my thoughts but I just finished this and OH MY GOD!

I’ve read both of Andrew Joseph White’s other books and I absolutely loved them both, so I went into this very hopeful when I saw it on Netgalley. And I was not at all disappointed!

Anti-capitalist, queer, trans, AROMANTIC (there was aro rep!), autistic Miles Abernathy has probably jumped into the top spot of my favourite MCs because he’s just so GOOD and FLAWED and RELATABLE and his character and story is so very needed in today’s world and I love him so much. He is so very well written and developed!

And the antagonists are so well written too! The kids who were just as stuck as Miles first appear to just be sadistic pieces of shit who enjoy upholding a system that benefits them and only them, but then we learn that most of them are stuck playing the part they were given and have no way out BECAUSE THEY’RE KIDS and they are too scared and stuck and comfortable to try to get out so they do terrible things to appease their parents and friends.

And just. Fuck. This book has me feeling so many things. ACAB, fuck capitalism, and look after your community.

3.5 but rounding it up to four because I did have a fun time reading it.

I loved the attention that was given towards queer and autistic identities. White always does a great job of displaying a plethora of LGBTQIA+ identifications. The way the MC's family and friends reacted towards his identity is also very realistic. Some of the scenes with his parents were tough but there were a lot of wholesome moments as well.
There was also a nice amount of queer history interwoven into the story.

What I liked a bit less was the build-up towards the ending. It could've been better. There were times were I felt nothing was really happening and I felt a bit bored. Also, it's a political book but some stuff was, I'd say, vapid? In a town where everyone is conservative, there's suddenly a whole bunch of people who agree with the MC. Then again, I guess it does work for a YA book.
Similarly, the "bad" characters were exactly that and nothing else. Like a disney movie villain. I wish there was a little bit more depth to them. I could feel that White tried to do that but I wish he'd gone further.

Overall, a fun read and would definitely recommend if it sounds up your alley :)

Andrew Joseph White is another incredible author whose books have become auto-buy/read for me! They also have consistently wonderful (and wonderfully consistent) cover designs which always draw my eye - the art is by the amazing Evangeline Gallagher who also illustrated The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, and Hell Followed With Us.

Once again, AJ White has given us a hard-hitting, gut-wrenching, unsettling yet uplifting piece, this time centered on an autistic transgender boy's experience growing up in a family steeped in a century-long blood feud. Full of Appalachian history, politically-motivated violence, and the brutal truth of working class lives in their town, the story mixes elements of thriller and horror with genuine human exploration of self and family.

The character work is great - I adored Saint, and I loved seeing Miles explore his identities, navigating that growth with friends and family in different ways, and balancing this with his desperate and determined fight against the people who try to murder him in the first pages of the book. Some of the ideas are a little overwritten throughout the book, with themes being revisited multiple times, but the messages are vital in so may ways.

As always with White's work, it's a story that has stayed with me long after finishing it. He has a writing style that I just fall into every time, and despite the difficult themes, the story carried me along effortlessly. It is a story that is unforgiving, and yet gives so much.

Filled with thought-provoking statements, moments of horror, chilling turns, and White's trademark callout of the real-life injustices that each book mirrors, Compound Fracture is a hard read, and won't be for everyone, but it is an essential read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for access to this incredible ARC, and of course to Andrew Joseph White for such a soul-touching story. All opinions here are my own, honest and freely given.

I am a fan of everything Andrew Joseph White creates and this is no exception. Perhaps the most brutal of his works, Compound Fracture still has queerness, transness and autism at its centre but now mixed with a broken family, inter generational trauma and poverty. I couldn’t get enough and felt fully immersed in this characters voice. Recommended as part of my queer horror for pride month list on TikTok

Wow this book was intense! It’s so full of rage and it never lets up. We meet Milo as he goes to speak to someone at a party, having just left his parents an email telling them he is trans. Milo suffers a vicious and hugely damaging attack on his way home, leaving him hospitalised, and now battling the addictiveness of OxyContin. Something he has seen harm the people around him and wants to break the addiction.

Milo leaves in a community dominated and traumatised by a corrupt Police Officer and his son. Milo also comes from a family who are controversial in their community from their earlier involvement in historical union action. They live in the shadow of their ancestors and are suffering from a more recent trauma that they have obtained recent proof was caused by the Officer.

I found the parallel between Milo and his ancestor Saint fascinating. This was such a rich and wonderful part of this story as Milo is guided by his ancestor for understanding and strength. Milo learns so much about themselves during this journey, but also through reconnecting with other people who’ve suffered until the tyranny of this particular Officer. I also loved the deep commitment to community in this. Milo’s determination to stay in their home and make things better rather than jumping ship.

This book covers a lot of sensitive content so I recommend checking content warnings. However it is important content for understanding the simmering anger of this community and why things erupt the way they do.

This is a passionate, often painful story of a seventeen year old’s moment of self discovery, battling evil forces that should never have spread the way they did, and how shared goals can help families and communities overcome their differences. I flew through this book, it was utterly gripping and now I’m going to go read all this author’s other books that I can find!

This is a book that, once I picked it up in earnest, I could barely put it down. The only times I did so willingly were to calm my heart thudding in my chest, because WOW. This book has a lot going on and it never really lets up and I adore it.

Everything about the writing of this book is absolutely unflinching. Every moment cuts in its careful, incredibly thoughtful commentary. This is a book so clearly written from the heart, an absolutely enrapturing read packed with sheer rage and determination. I'm not from the US and haven't lived anything close to this, but it felt so achingly real. The setting, the characters, each line of commentary... Pitch perfect writing in a frankly quite terrifying time.

And of course, I have to mention what drew me to this author's writing in the first place - reading about autistic trans boys continues to be an unrelenting joy. I spent so much of my teen years writing my own stories because they didn't seem to exist in my corner of the world, and reading this was like a gift to my teenage self. There were conversations in this book that, were it not for the drawl of the (fantastically rendered, by the way) character's voices, could have been lifted from my own childhood. Seeing them is immensely cathartic.

The author treats his characters with immense grace and care. His love shines through, making this a joy to read. I'd recommend this to ANYONE with the stomach for it.

My first thought upon finishing this book was, does this count as a happy ending? I feel like the best way to start this review is with the list of trigger warnings I wrote down while reading it; deadnaming, misgendering, animal abuse, death, bullying, mutialtion of a corpse, gerneral violence and trauma.

Despite the grim nature of this book, it was a really fun read. The story is really well paed and sucked me in, to the point that I had to force myself to put it down so I could go to sleep. The story was so perfectly disturbing and the growinf feeling of dread is really well done.

I haven't read any other Andrew Joseph White's work, but I'm definitely going to pick up another of his works because I really enjoyed this. Overall a really good book, I'm going to go cry then read a rom-com and try to cheer up.

This is the third book I read by Andrew Joseph White, and just like the two books before this one, it did not disappoint. Once things started getting wild (pretty early on in the book) I just could not put it back down. White is great at writing stories about angry trans teens who are sick and tired of the way things are, and so they take action. It is raw and bloody and dark and so satisfying to read every time. I loved it, and I cannot wait to read the next thing AJW writes! I recommend checking out the trigger warnings on Goodreads, as it definitely made me feel safer going into the story

Kept getting Patrick Ness vibes while reading my first work from Andrew Joseph White, and that means it definitely wont be my last. In Compound Fracture Miles announces he is transgender to his parents in an email that they wont get until he has left for a party, at which he beaten close to death by the Sheriff's son and his friends. This is the latest incident in 100 year old feud, a Hatfields/McCoy situation, set in the Appalachian mountains, where the Sheriff treats the area as his own private fiefdom. Killings occur, both planned and accidental, and the violence is presented as vicious and sudden. One supernatural theme running through the narrative is cleverly used to tell the early history of the feud.
Make sure you read the author's letter at the front of the book, it contains all the trigger warnings. Shocking and brilliant, Compound Fracture is a YA novel that will stay with me a long time.

3.5. I'm going to start by saying that I feel this book would be perfect for the right audience, and I just wasn't that. As an autistic, trans and queer person, I have been on the hunt with any books with representation. I should have taken into account that this was YA and not a storyline I would usually go for whatsoever.

The characters! Miles was absolutely excellent, so well written and developed and he felt so real and authentic. Dallas was very much the same, and so so loveable. These characters were all so complex, driven, passionate, full of love, full of rage, wanting to take action and it was so brilliant and inspiring to get to know them. The good ones, at least.

I am not entirely educated on whether this sort of feud and the actions surrounding it are realistic or not and because of that I did find some of the actions hard to believe and follow at times. That's absolutely my bad and I can't fault the book for it but it did impact my reading experience.

I also found the first 50% to be on the slower side, I understand that a lot of character development took place but I was ready to really rush into the plot and find out what was going to happen, so I found I wasn't reaching for the book and wasn't drawn to it in the first 50%. It definitely amped up after that and kept me totally gripped from thereon out though.

This is really a wonderful YA book about conflict and finding yourself amidst that, and the hope that can still exist in such a painful and awful time.