Another absolute banger from AJW. I love his writing style that kept me hook page after page. This book is emotionally heavy which absolutely fits the theme but do be aware. Regardless, Compound Fracture is a wonderfully written books about a generational feud and how everyone is truly a victim of the world around us whether you see it or not.

A new AJW book is always a treat for me. I loved Cooper's character for the first 75% of the book but I was not loving how he kind of went off the rails towards the end. I also recognized how this book in some ways was attempting to represent the South and growing up in the rural South, and that that message was resonating with a lot of people from the North who may not have a lot of experience with the Deep South. As someone who grew up queer in Georgia, I thought that some of these issues were being taken the wrong way. Obviously, this has nothing to do with AJW, but I feel like it's something important to bring up with a book that tackles such complicated issues. There are plenty of people who share my opinion and can express it much more nuancedly than I can. (Also most people from the deep south don't usually count the Virginias as being southern states anyways)

thank you netgalley for providing this arc!

i’ve been approved for every arc of ajw and this is the first to not get 5 stars. i’m not sure if it was because of the character dynamics or just the story itself, but i didn’t connect with it as well as the last two.

HOWEVER, it is still worth your time. a powerful story about political violence and police brutality in a small appalachian town where blood feuds rule miles abernathy’s life. i loved the decent of madness with miles and cooper. i loved the setting and the family being so closely knit together that, no matter what, they were going to stand together.

definitely pick it up at some point. 3/5 stars from me.

Best Andrew Joseph White book so far! I had many issues with his previous two releases but this one felt like a real story that I could not put down. Read this if you want to get into a generational feud with a hefty dose of anti-capitalism and trans excellence.

Non-spoilery highlights:
- the main character, Miles, acts and thinks like an ACTUAL TEENAGER. I could see so much of myself at that age in him. In White's previous books, the teenaged main characters kept acting like adults and that takes one out of a story real quick. Here, Miles fucks up, and second-guesses, and acts heroic while being scared, and has crushes -- the whole package.
- non-cliche parents!!! in YA too often parents are non-existent or fall into the beaten tropes of "cool mom," "nagging dad" and so on. Miles' parents are THERE! And they matter! in! the! story!
- this book touches on a lot of great things, but it's at its best with discussing neurodivergence.

Spoilery highlights:
- White has always been great at gore but this one is *chef's kiss.* When Miles' eye shattered in the last confrontation (compound fracture hehehehe) I flinched.
- the twist with trans elders was great and kept me interested for most of the book. we will never know if Saint Abernathy is actually trans, but his character gave White room to discuss transness in history and the progress made so far. I only wish the ghost did more than just exist tbh.

Non-spoilery issues:
- this book, like the previous two, is still very heavy-handed with themes. There's a lot of talk about capitalism but it's the same talking points repeated multiple times at different parts of the story. Felt a bit like the author was beating me down with "WORKER'S RIGHTS" on every other page.
- the attempt at a written accent that only exists in a speaking form was funny and not believable at all. You can't just replace "doesn't" with "don't" and call that Appalachian accent.

Spoilery issues:
- Cooper's character is so confusing and not in a good way. I did not understand him turning on Miles in the blink of an eye and weaponizing transphobia so easily when he was Miles' entire support system at that point. It came out of nowhere and took me out of the story for at least a chapter.
- How could the sheriff see the ghost out of nowhere? that was waaaay too convenient. The ghost did so little and I was fine with him being just a mental space for Miles to think through the situation. But distracting the main bad guy at the exact right moment and then disappearing? huh? If there was another smaller moment of him manifesting powers earlier in the story, I could be ok with it. But the way the book played out - nah.

Thank you to Netgalley for the E-ARC

Was really excited for this release having read Andrew Joseph White's previous books, and enjoyed them thoroughly.
This lived to and exceeded some of my expectations. Awesome characters, a interesting setting and alot of queer rep. The only thing that made me put the book down for brief moments was the second hand anxiety at the various plots of the characters. Definitely a recommendation if you're looking for something unapologetically queer and neurodivergent.

Wanna preface this review by saying that I'm a big fan of AJW's two other books and I'm so grateful to have experienced Compound Fracture before ir comes out. I'm happy to report this book blew me away. It was so different from what i imagined but also so much better.
I could instantly connect to Miles and feel for him and for what he was going through. Him being the main character of this story made everything better for me, i loved his POV & his internal monologue, it made so much sense of why he was revealing information about himself, his family or the town's history at any moment.
I loved the horror elements, I'm actually not a big horror person but I'll always make room for whatever Andrew Joseph White comes out with even if I'm not really into the premise.

I can't really personally speak about the setting bc I'm not from the US nor do i know the whole history of the Appalachian region, but i do relate to their struggles and have seen similar things being told from people around me even with an ocean apart.

The funny thing ;to me, if that after finishing reading this book, i feel hopeful. I don't know if it'll make sense if you read it or anything like that, but i feel a bit understood by the characters.


Definitely recommend checking out Compound Fracture when it comes out on 3rd.

Andrew Joseph White, you have officially become an auto-buy author with this one. After being incredible impressed with the emotional weight and atmosphere of White’s “The Spirit Bares Its Teeth” I jumped at the chance to read this one early on NetGalley. And I absolutely ripped through it. This follows teen, Miles, as he reckons with a generational rivalry with the town sheriff, his complicated family history, and his newly discovered transness in the depths of Appalachia. After surviving an attempted murder, he begins to see the ghost of ancestor, leading him down a path of discovery and igniting the fire of resistance as he seeks his own justice. This is an incredible book, with queer and autistic representation and a fully formed cast of characters that will win or break your heart. Also the author says it on Goodreads, so yes never fear the dog is fine. I really adored this story, and I found myself so impressed (as I am with all of White’s books) with the darkness and light he can balance within his plots, especially for young adult books. This handles a lot of heavy themes and does so brilliantly.

My review is will post on my instagram @boozehoundbookclub

I felt Benji's bravery in the face of fear in Hell Followed With Us, Silas' determination in the face of hopelessness in The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, and now Miles' anger in the face of adversity in Compound Fracture. Although not a trilogy, these books line up in my mind as just the sort to reach for when I want to feel a story pierce through me.

I wasn't a fan of stories that dipped into horror and violence, as many works approach the ideas in an exploitative way. But White has managed to pull me into harrowing situations by the strength of his writing and the characters he creates. His work has made me a fan of uncomfortable reading and I appreciate that, while at the same time it is frustrating - it's often hard to find writers who pull out genuine, often ugly but very visceral, emotions like this.

I received a digital ARC of the ebook through Netgalley. I may update this review in the future because I pre-ordered the audiobook version after enjoying my first read and plan to enjoy that as well.

4.5 stars! the autism rep was amazing and hit very close to home. i don´t think i've ever seen this many of my own autistic traits in a book before

read hell followed with us by Andrew Joseph White not long before this was available and i was unbelievably happy to see that i was approved for this work of art! he has easily become one of my favorite authors and anything by him is now a automatically added to my tbr!

this book is the very definition of a page-turner, i found every last second that i could to fit in as much reading as possible once i started. the characters are extremely complex and so real that i had to remind myself multiple times that it wasn't, i can only assume that has so much to do with the characters being partially based on the authors real family members, which made it even more touching. my heart ached for certain characters, even the ones that i found myself struggling to like at times. if there's one thing A.J White knows, it's queer representation; it's never overdone and every detail is so well thought out and rounds out the story perfectly. i knew going into it that it'd be intense but what i didn't see coming was the fact that it made me bawl like a baby multiple times. there's so much focus on the power of family having each others back, while adding in the element of what it means to really come together and be a community. I'm usually not one for political thrillers but i'm so glad the mention of some politics didn't scare me away, because i have absolutely zero complaints for the whole entire book and it's hands down going to be one of my favorite recommendations moving forward!! i feel like i can't say enough kind words about this so i'll just keep it at that (for now).
*huge thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!!*

Thank you PeachTree Teen for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!!

*slight spoilers*

3.75 ⭐️

I read The Spirit Bares it’s Teeth last year and it was a five star read for me, so you can imagine how stoked I was to get approved for an e-arc of this book.

Let’s start with the positives:

I absolutely love how AJW wrote about Appalachia and, as a Floridian, I deeply related to having a love of the place you grew up and trying your reconcile that with the absolute shit politics.

I also loved Miles and Dallas and watching their relationship grow and the contrast to the relationship Miles has with Connor.

Something else I appreciated about this book was the representation of not only the socialist blue collar workers of the past, but also Miles’s great-great grandfather being trans, because trans people have always existed. Though not super prominent, the conversation around self-diagnosis was also much appreciated.

Lastly, Lady is the goodest girl.

With that being said, I had a few issues with the book. One is that at times it felt like very little was happening. If you are looking for a super action packed book, I wouldn’t reach for this one. Don’t get me wrong, there were moments that had my heart beating hard as hell, but I was just expecting more. The ending also felt rushed to me, you weren’t given time to feel the gravity of the situation or mourn

Ultimately, it is not a bad book and AJW is a very talented author. I think part of the reason it didn’t meat my expectations is because I thought it would be horror but to me, it was giving more thriller which is never really my thing. If you’re interested in this book for the setting and the characters, I still recommend picking it up. If you’re looking for something fast paced and mind blowing, I fear this may not be the time to pick this book up.

I have been so lucky to be able to read the last two of AJ white’s books through Netgalley, and the second I see his name on a book I put it on my tbr list. This author simply DOES NOT MISS and I need MORE.

I can never write a proper review when it comes to AJ white’s books because every chapter takes my breath away and leaves me speechless, and this goes for Compound Fracture as well.

Thank you (so, so much) to Netgalley and the publisher (for letting me read this masterpiece)

Appalachia is having a moment in the culture right now, and this genuinely suspenseful thriller will appeal to teens. A definite purchase.

i wanted to like it i really did, ajw's first 2 books were amazing, the spirit bares its teeth was a downright masterpiece in my opinion so i was really hoping this is would follow suit and yet it didn't. i should've known from the beginning that a book about the rural south would not be my cup of tea, and yet i still wished this would be different... it wasn't. it's on me 😞🤚

Miles Abernathy is a trans teenager just trying to survive a blood feud that's lasted for decades with the sheriff's family. It's going to be a rough summer.

After reading Andrew's other novel Hell Followed with Us, I knew from the description and the draft letter from the author that this would likely be a rough ride, and it was. Miles and company really go through the grinder and this is not for the squeamish, so please heed the description and any content warnings. That said, there's trans, autism, queer, and aromantic representation here. It's definitely political (a main antagonist is the sheriff). There's community and support of the main character, so while things get heavy, they still have support.

Thank you to Holiday House/Peach Tree/Pixel+Ink for an ARC on NetGalley. All opinions are my own. I'll be posting to Instagram closer to the pub date.

Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

Where do I start with the beauty of this book? How do I talk about something that can make a person so wholly uncomfortable while also showing you pieces of yourself at every turn? How do you even begin to speak to the depth of something so vulnerable and raw?

I'll start with the parts that drew me to this book and then ended up revealing pieces of myself I didn't even know I had. The rural South gets such a bad name for so many reason (some right, some wrong), but there is so much beauty to it and the community, and White does a stunning job of bringing that to light. Finding pieces of myself from the fear of becoming addicted to painkillers because you've seen what that does to your community to the stubborn refusal to give up on a community that has your heart, I really resonated with the love for Appalachia despite (or sometimes because of) all the pain.

Then there's the depth of the trans and autism representation. Miles goes on a journey of self-discovery in a myriad of ways through this story, and I found a profound beauty in each of them. He realizes that he's continuing to learn about himself while also fighting for who he already knows he is and watching him grow into that is spectacular.

This is a book that will make people uncomfortable. It's a book that will ruffle some feathers. Just like Miles. Just like Saint. And I can't wait to see the mark it leaves.

I immediately requested this book after reading and loving Andrew Joseph White's previous book The Spirit Bares Its Teeth.

Compound Fracture solidified Andrew Joseph White as an author I will have an eye on. His writing style definitely hits and I love that he is pushing inclusive messages through tough mystery/horror stories. A lot of what happens here is very hard to read but also brings to light a lot of the political climate. It seems he is always adding a splash of something spooky/paranormal to spice up a story as well!

Our main character Miles is met with some horrific circumstances while coming out but also, I think, surprised by where his support comes from.

Definitely go into their work prepared to read tough topics but also hear extremely compelling stories! I'll be back for more of their books.

Thanks to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for the advance copy. Coming out 9/3/24!

I haven't cried this hard at a horror novel in a while. Miles's grapplings with identity and community hit VERY close to home and I felt incredibly seen and validated. I loved the generational-trauma-as-apparition situation and appreciated how multifaceted and complex the characters were, even the antagonists. And in case you're worried - the dog survives and is a very good girl.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I will preface this review by saying that I did love the book, and the only major flaws I have are the fact that I prefer the author’s horror works as they’re a genre and subject matter that speaks more to me. I loved Hell Followed With Us and The Spirit Bares Its Teeth so much that anything else pales in comparison.

Compound Fracture is a book about a teenager who survived an attempted murder with the help of an ancestor who died in the West Virginia coal wars, only to get drawn into a struggle between the rural poor and those who exploit them. It is the story of a century-long blood feud and how people are moved to violence when facing extreme hopelessness in working class Appalachia, told through a trans and autistic viewpoint. This book reads so clearly as a love letter to the region and the working class and not wanting to leave your hometown, even if it almost kills you because it’s still yours. The author masterfully weaves in the perspective of both the oppressed and the oppressors in this town, and the reader soon realises that desperate times and desperate measures mean that the lines are often blurry between the two.

As always, the author’s representation of trans and autistic perspectives is incredibly important to me, and he usually centres topics that I care about. However, in this book more than his others, I felt the storytelling focused more on being morally correct and woke than being interesting and complex. Some scenes rely on telling over showing and made me feel a little detached from the story. There are also many moments when Miles must always be in the right, no matter the circumstance. The book is written through first-person narration, and his internal monologue portrays him as correct in any situation. For example, he always finds a way to justify planning and committing murders. I’m not overly fond of books that moralise minority voices to this extent.

I think my main flaw in this book was the pacing. The bulk of the story moves slowly due to it being dedicated to characters standing around having conversations (which often does work when those conversations are furthering the storyline, but not when it feels like the characters are having slight variations in the same conversations over and over again), a small part is dedicated to watching the main antagonist act as what I perceive to be a caricature of a cartoon villain, and an even smaller part focused on what drew me to the book in the first place: turning the tide of the blood feud. A part that stands out to me is a high-tension scene where the author dedicated multiple pages to the protagonist monologuing about the book’s thesis statement in the middle of a character being shot. The story grinds to a halt for many moments and this change of topic mid-scene threw me out of the story, and this recurring lack of urgency made me stop reading and take a break several times.

One of my favourite small parts of this book is how the author presents a main character with parents who don’t understand them, but they’re trying. They don’t understand their son’s desire to transition, and they misgender and deadname him constantly, but the moment his safety is threatened, they’ll support him no matter the cost. Additionally, I did enjoy Miles’ journey to autism acceptance, and how signs of his parents having similar undiagnosed traits were continually shown. This was one thing they really did understand and accept about Miles unconditionally. The autism representation was very well done and oddly reminiscent of my own experience, to the point where it felt like I was reading about myself during some scenes. In my opinion, the relationship between Miles and his parents (even outside of the autism acceptance) was the most intriguing and developed in the book. As this is a book with strong family themes, I do wish they appeared more often on the page as Miles spends a lot of his time with his boyfriend or his former childhood best friend.

Overall, this book is about the importance of community and forcibly carving out a space for yourself to exist in inhospitable conditions, and that almost overshadows the fact that everything I liked about the book also comes with a negative. The story is unsettling and heartbreaking, but the thread of hope woven throughout is evident.

It's difficult to write about this book in full sentences as opposed to incoherent screaming. Andrew Joseph White is the master of trans, queer, autistic rage at the world and at systems of oppression. This book isn't set in an obvious dystopia like Hell Follows With Us, and that makes it all the more jarring. This is supposed to be our reality, but I'd like to believe it doesn't quite get THIS dark, at least in the present time. (Then again, I know it does.)

Compound Fracture takes place in the post-Trump American South, in a small community that is kept in control and fear by the Sheriff, who can literally get away with murder. The main character, Miles is a sixteen-year-old, autistic trans boy, who is a self-described socialist, and based on how he talks, probably spends 80% of his time reading radical leftist theory. Miles's family, the Abernathys, are sort of social outcasts and also at war with the Sheriff's family for the last hundred years, with a bloody history that involves murders on both sides. Despite all the horrors his family experienced, Miles loves his home and doesn't want to leave it, even as he knows that people like him are either ignored or pitied and thought stupid by Democrats in blue states.

Everyone in this book does horrible things, including the good guys, although to be fair they are desperate and traumatized for the most part. Still, some bad decisions are made, and sometimes this book is like watching a trainwreck play out in real time. There's also lots of body horror and gore, as is expected from this author.

My favorite character was Miles's anarchist nonbinary friend, who is fat and disfigured and just radically and loudly queer. But also, honestly, it sounded really exhausting. These people are all in major survival mode and basically fighting a war for their homes, and it's awful. There is some joy to be found in this book, but it really isn't much.

Miles coming out to his family and it being treated supportively but sort of awkwardly hit a bit close to home, especially since I came out to my parents while reading this, so yeah. But it was great to see a supportive family, and adults who backed up the teens, which is rare in YA.