Compound Fracture

Books | Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Class Differences

4.6

Andrew Joseph White

The INSTANT New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestselling novel from award-winning author Andrew Joseph White! 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.The limited-quantity first printing of this powerful novel features specially-designed endpapers with photos of West Virginia coal mines from The Library of Congress!On the night Miles Abernathy—sixteen-year-old socialist and proud West Virginian—comes out as trans to his parents, he sneaks off to a party, carrying evidence that may finally turn the tide of the blood feud plaguing Twist Creek: Photos that prove the county’s Sheriff Davies was responsible for the so-called “accident” that injured his dad, killed others, and crushed their grassroots efforts to unseat him.The feud began a hundred years ago when Miles’s great-great-grandfather, Saint Abernathy, incited a miners’ rebellion that ended with a public execution at the hands of law enforcement. Now, Miles becomes the feud’s latest victim as the sheriff’s son and his friends sniff out the evidence, follow him through the woods, and beat him nearly to death. In the hospital, the ghost of a soot-covered man hovers over Miles’s bedside while Sheriff Davies threatens Miles into silence. But when Miles accidently kills one of the boys who hurt him, he learns of other folks in Twist Creek who want out from under the sheriff’s heel. To free their families from this cycle of cruelty, they’re willing to put everything on the line—is Miles?A visceral, unabashedly political page-turner that won’t let you go until you’ve reached the end, Compound Fracture is not for the faint of heart, but it is for every reader who's ready to fight for a better world. Hand this story to teens pushing for radical change.Sept/Oct 2024 Kids’ Indie NextInstant New York Times bestsellerInstant USA Today BestsellerInstant Indie BestsellerA Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year A School Library Journal Best Books of the Year A Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year A Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best A Shelf Awareness Best Books of the Year The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon Recipient A Paste Magazine Best YA Books

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Author

Andrew Joseph White

Pages

384

Publisher

Holiday House

Published Date

2024-09-03

ISBN

1682636127 9781682636121

Community ReviewsSee all

"Andrew Joseph White has such a gift for writing tense and emotionally strained scenes. I can’t tell you how many times I was sitting on the edge of my seat just waiting for the other shoe to drop. The writing style was so immersed in modern southern lingo, it is really intriguing especially when comparing it to White’s past novels. I really enjoyed the political message that was being presented about the defunding of the police, socialism, and classism. However, I felt that the book could have gone even deeper into the conversation, if it would have bothered to discuss how race is interwoven into those forms of oppression. Most if not all the characters in this book are white, and it was very obvious that the perspective the character’s were coming from, and the things they were getting away with, was partly because of their whiteness. Now, race does not have to be the topic in this type of story, I could even see how diving too far into that topic without proper care could muddle the dialogue and main thesis of the story, but if we are going to address police violence and classism IN THE SOUTH, racism is a necessary component that needs to be addressed in that conversation. Overall, I thought the story was incredibly relevant for modern queer teens in the south, and White’s writing style really just soaked me and refused to let me go. I loved almost all the characters, and even understood the humanity of the “villains” of the story. 8/10, would recommend!"

Dylan Thomas (she/her)

"Miles is a trans, autistic teen in West Virginia. His family, the Abernathys, have been in a long-standing blood feud with the Davies family, whose patriarch is the sheriff of Twisted Creek, WV. This book covers the fall out after the Sheriff's kid and his cronies brutally beat Miles in an ambush. This book could have been incredible! However, lapses in execution made it more of a meh for me. First off, why are they feuding? This needed to be explored more, along with many other things, like socialism. I don't believe you can talk about socialism without actively defining it in a YA book. More so with the number of reviews where socialism and communism are mixed up. Many of the characters also felt flat to me. I also wasn't a fan of Miles and his mental gymnastics to make revenge killing morally correct. I would have liked to see more of Saint. His story was more intriguing to me than the main plot. Now for the villains. Have you all ever seen Boris and Natasha from the Rocky & Bullwinkle show? That was my mental image of the sheriff. He was so over the top and stereotypical. It was laughable. I also wasn't a fan of the romantic subplot. Detailing why would be a spoiler, though. The pacing was also inconsistent and made it hard to focus in the middle of the book. Overall, this just wasn't my cup of tea. My thanks to Holiday House, author Andrew Joseph White, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own."

C H

Chris Hicks

"I really enjoyed this book, I think the horror was well done. It kept me on the edge of my seat and shocked me in some parts. "