Andrew Joseph White truly never lets me down. Never. I ripped through this book in 2 hours and loved every bit of it. It was indeed not for the faint of heart, and there was so much to love, loathe, and mourn about this. I truly felt the heart and soul of Miles, who coincidentally shares my name, so I already felt a sort of kinship with him. Dallas was the sweet, accepting, loving little anarchist we all needed but didn't know we needed, and I truly hurt for them knowing what they survived. Cooper was complicated and made my heart ache, and to see his fate was.. shattering. How he developed throughout the course of the story, it was clear he was hurting, and he was under so much pressure, such a burden, still grieving. He can hardly be blamed for his anger, but he would never be justified in hurting Miles like he did. I appreciated the sort of due diligence that Noah received at the hands of Miles, the way he was able to take back years and years of feuding and put an end to it in an eerily similar fashion to which his great great grandfather met his demise. It was bittersweet, really. I loved the subtle tribute to his great great grandfather, who was likely trans, and gay, and finally got to rest after all those years. Not a single bad thing to say about this book, really.

Let me tell you, I SCREAMED when I got approved to read this. Then I ran, just RAN, to download the book and start reading.

First of all: YEAH. OKAY. Andrew Joseph White has DONE IT AGAIN. My brain is a microwave and Compound Fracture is rotating inside it, while I’ve got my nose pressed to the glass. It’s visceral, it’s vivid, it’s fast-paced. I loved it. If I’d read when I was sixteen — the same age as Miles, the protagonist — I would have annoyed all my friends by constantly badgering them to read it, too.

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is one of my favourite books. Compound Fracture is definitely joining it on the shelf of faves.

Some assorted notes:

-The end of Chapter Fifteen made me shout ‘Ooooh!’ in shock. I almost NEVER have external reactions to books. Then, the end of Chapter Twenty-One… yeah. I smiled at that.

-The setting and characters feel so real.

-The ghost!!!! The ghost!!! I can’t say too much about him because, you know, spoilers, but yeah!!!!

This was a fascinating read that I could not put down.
If you’re someone who feels angry at the state of the world than this read will feed your soul a bit.
Andrew Joseph White has a way of writing characters with a wide range of diversity that feels real. The conversations around autism, queerness, identity, and generational trauma are truly unmatched.
I also didn’t expect to get so emotional over the ghost of an ancestor.
The way that the book tackled trauma responses from the various characters was brilliant too.

I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

Andrew Joseph White does it again. Another book of his that I have completely devoured. I will read everything written by this man.

We start with Miles uncovering proof of just how far the sheriff will go to keep his position of power over the small town. Miles is almost beaten to death for the evidence, which sets in motion so many events of the book. In the process, Miles reconnects with old friends, learns more about his ancestors and himself, commits a couple (necessary) murders, and realizes just how tight his family is bonded.

This book is gory, but I mean it's AJW, and he has a list of CWs in his own review so I don't have to list them, but it also has a cozy feeling towards the end.

I love AJWs writing style, not one of his books drag at any moment, especially this one, it's fast-paced from start to finish.

Thank you, NetGalley and PeachTree for the eARC!

with all of white's ya novels so far, my one issue has been i just want his ideas to be explored in more depth. here, with miles' anarchism and socialism and how systems like the police and capitalism is a strong determinator of the poor's life outcomes, there could've been more nuance in terms of how free will plays into his characterization of those extreme cases. however, despite that, visibility is important. i loved reading about miles coming to terms with his autism (without an official diagnosis might i add, pointing out the inequity in mental health access) and his aromantic identity as well as his experience being trans. there is an underlying optimism here despite how gory the contents can get that people are capable of change that will surely make a lot of teens feel welcome in. i wish i had this when i was growing up and can't wait to read whatever white writes next.

this is so incredibly different to AJW’s last 2 books, a lot more thriller-y than horror but still disgusting and gruesome all the same. miles is a bit of a trainwreck of a character but so easy to love especially for autistic queer ppl who can see themselves in him… but he is a total badass. watching him develop a relationship with his ancestors & feeling so seen when he finds out just how similar they are is so comforting, & watching miles follow in his footsteps is !!! i don’t want to spoil too much but the rep in this book is just perfect & the vengeance is executed perfectly <3

*minor spoilers*

Thank you ever so much to Netgalley and the publishers of Compound Fracture for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I completely and utterly devoured this book as I do with every single one of Andrew Joseph White’s books and this one was no exception. Before I continue I will preface this review with the major trigger warnings, which include graphic violence, queer and transphobia, opioid dependency, emotional manipulation, animal harm, discussions of ableism, and emetophobia warning. this book like all of white’s books, really engages with me on a personal, emotional and psychological level. the found family, the trans and autistic rep, the justified vengeance at a system that is fucked against you all really hits in today’s society. miles is a little rough around the edges, not the most reliable narrator at times, a bit morally grey at times, and just a clusterfuck of a character in general. but you really learn to love him, scars and all. the storyline of his trans ancestor really fucking hit me right in heart. generational queerness is so beautiful and we really love to see it. I was sad to see cooper lose his way and turn on miles a bit, but also knew that the system in Twist Creek had fucked him and his family over for a very long time. the socialism and anarchism against the unjust system was really beautiful as well and is definitely needed given what the current future in america for any minority group is looking right now. the generational feud finally coming to an end was very symbolic and gave me a lot of hope that maybe, just maybe there’s a chance for change in the future. also the queer platonic relationship representation was *chefs kiss* so fucking cute and beautiful as well. i have no more to share other than read this goddamn book, and let it give you hope for the future too.