I THOUGHT I SUBMITTED FEEDBACK SO LONG AGO. Anyways, this book was so incredibly atmospheric and voicey in the best way; I loved Miles and his voice, and while I have never been anywhere Appalachian, it felt like I was there. Omg. Might be getting back into YA thriller and horror if I find more like this.

Andrew Joseph White’s books are a must-read. His characters are unapologetically queer, angry, and real—exactly what we need right now. I loved the Appalachian setting and the depth of the characters. Though simpler than some of his other works, this book blends body horror, queerness, and radical hope into a raw exploration of queerness in the South and capitalist oppression. Every teenager and YA needs Andrew’s books.

I will always read a book if it had Andrew Joseph Whites name on it. His characters are everything we need in this world: well rounded, diverce, angry, queer and unapologetic. I love the Apalachan setting in this one and all the charcaters.

First and foremost, thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree for the eARC.

When it comes to exploring the intersection of body horror, gore, and queerness, there is no better writer than Andrew Joseph White. While I found this book less complex than some of White’s other works, it stands strong as a realistic and honest look at queerness in the South, the long and bloody history of capitalist oppression, and radical hope. It is also the kind of novel I wish I had in high school.

Compound Fracture is an unflinching blood-filled thriller/light horror standalone novel by Andrew Joseph White. Released 3rd Sept 2024, it's 384 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is marketed as YA, but fair warning, it's *very* brutal in places. It's exceptionally well written, honest, direct, and truly worthwhile, but so bloody and graphic. Having grown up in WVa, and seen firsthand the generational trauma, poverty, desperation, widespread bone-deep racism/sexism/homophobia and violence, the author does an impressive job of getting inside the almost inexplicable choices a lot of the people growing up in rural conservative communities make politically (to continue to be exploited, as long as there are *some* people who are even *more* marginalized and abused than they themselves are). Trigger warnings, homophobia, ableist abuse of neuroatypical/autistic people, transphobia, graphic violence, body horror, opioid abuse, sexual abuse, generational trauma, poverty, and certainly some I'm missing.

It's raw. It's very very well written.

Four and a half stars. Not an easy read. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition. Likely far too violent/triggering for school library. It's politically relevant to a degree that would make it a very good choice for gender studies/Appalachian studies, (American southern rural politics/culture/literature), and allied subjects.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Andrew Joseph White is a jaw-dropping phenomenal author. Every one of his books has taken my breath away, stopped me in my tracks, ripped my heart out, and made me immediately tell my friends and grandmother about what I just read. Compound Fracture was no different. From the very first page, I knew it was going to grip me, and it never let me down.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Andrew Joseph White for the advanced reader copy!!
Compound Fracture is genuinely one of the best, emotionally captivating books I have had the chance to read. It was an honor to follow Miles on his journey and see the world through his eyes as he fought to right the wrongs that have befallen his family.
Absolutely can't wait for the next novel this author releases, so I can fall in love with his characters and worldbuilding all over again.

This book made me feel things I've never felt when reading before. It was heartbreaking and frustrating and so weirdly beautiful and sweet despite how horrible it was. Miles was an easy character to root for. The setting was exquisitely described, and it made me yearn for my own hometown. The characters were all so painfully real. It might be petty, but the reason this book is 4 and not 5 stars is because I found the way Cooper's character was resolved to be so insanely frustrating. For me personally, I didn't feel like it fit the narrative, and it felt like it was just done for the sake of doing i rather than any true intention to enrich the plot. Otherwise, this book was a work of art.

Loved the protagonist here! White's books are phenomenal at capturing the voices of trans teens who live in rural areas, especially rural Appalachia.

I loved the story and the main character. I liked how generational trauma was used to enhance the story and the family dynamics especially with the other characters in the story. There is a little bit of a supernatural element which I liked seeing the grandfather of the main character be beside him and without saying a word, there was an understanding immediately between them. I love the ending, I though it was very good and I would recommend this to anyone

Automatic 5/5, AJW kills it (and me) once again!

Everything about "Compound Fracture" was incredible, the story, the characters, the relatability. I was hooked from the moment I started reading,

"Compound Fracture" hits close to home for me in a lot of ways, which got me even more invested in what was going on, what was happening to Miles and what Miles was doing.

The unique writing style replicating what it's like to live in Appalachia and interact with people just like the people Miles interacts with made it all the more relatable as someone from Appalachia, and AJW really nails the feeling of being queer in a place like this - not wanting to leave because it's your town, but fighting for acceptance because you're different from everyone else.

Overall, this was an incredible read. AJW never lets me down, and I'm super excited for what he releases next!

Absolutely loved this book. It was gritty and tender, hopeless and hopeful all at the same time. I honestly don’t even have the words to describe the way that this book pulled me in and made me feel so familiar with a region I have never been to (Appalachia). Everyone should read this book. I don’t do star ratings any more but this one deserves all the stars!

I was a little afraid of this book because of all the political themes. There are concepts that I have a lot of problems with, and those who know me know exactly why. Still, I admire Andrew Joseph White too much to say no to a story from his hand, and I don't regret it at all. It's a heavy novel, yes, and at the beginning it feels a little slow, but it becomes addictive after the first half.

Although the author's previous book left me a little unhappy, this one is much better in that aspect. The representation is much more balanced, much more realistic, and, surprise of surprises, the parents have a fundamental role in the development of everything. We already know that parents are almost always filler in young adult stories, if they are there to begin with, but here they are fundamental for Miles.

At the end of the day, it is a journey of discovery of independence, because many things make up a person, and here we witness what happens for someone like Miles to exist in the society where he exists. There are some characters we don't get to know in such depth, but that doesn't mean you don't come to sympathize with them; Amber, if you ask me, is worthy of her own book.

Andrew Joseph White is already synonymous with heavy stories, stories that don't fall short when it comes to showing what can happen to people, but this is without a doubt his most human novel. Compound Fracture shows how visceral some people's experience can be, and how community itself, or lack thereof, can create change, one way or another.

4.5 Stars

I love how Andrew has a very clear voice and brand. His project is to validate and protect trans rage—which is so sacred and precious—and I love his versatility in being able to come back to that same idea through a horror lens, but never quite doing it the same way twice.

This book is so different from his previous two. It does have some slight paranormal elements to it, but for the most part, it’s grounded in the real world and explores real world issues and consequences. It’s also a chaotic, accidental slasher in some ways, which I think is really cool to bring to the YA space. That’s not to say that YA slashers or thrillers don’t already exist, but Andrew’s take on it is unfiltered and so far from palatable in the best possible way. His writing is gruesome, disgusting, in your face, pulls no punches. And as weird as it might be say, I think we could use more of that.

Ultimately, I think this is an incredibly striking story about a young trans character literally fighting tooth and nail just for the chance to live—which is the reality of so many queer and trans kids in the Appalachian region and in conservative states. Yes, Miles makes egregious mistakes. He hurts people. He enacts violence. He commits crimes. But ultimately, he does all those things because there is a part of himself buried deep inside that desperately wants to live no matter what. And for him, fighting to protect that spark from going out is worth paying any cost.

This is, once again, a story that makes use of darkness, hopelessness, and violence to excavate justice and catharsis in a very profound way. It also has a lot to say about finding your community and finding people who will take up your fight in your stead when you can’t. I recommend this alongside all of Andrew Joseph White’s books.

I loved this so much I pre-ordered a copy for my personal collection. Living in Appalachia, this book was everything. The characters were real to life and the suspense was handed beautifully. A nice touch on the hardcover is using real, archival photos from the region as the end pages. AJW delivered another emotional, heart-pounding, searing novel.

I totally understand why everyone's been raving about this book, and it is absolutely well-deserved. It's a complete gut-punch, right from the start, but in a good way — entirely raw and compelling and hurtful, but also with an undertone of hopefulness there too, both in terms of Miles' narration and I, as a reader, desperately wanting things to get better. This book has everything that I was looking for from a YA horror — a gritty setting in the Appalachian region, a well-rounded, hard-edged but soft-interiored protagonist in Miles, a horrifying plot, a proletarian social commentary, some much-needed violence, and a discovery of identity. Honestly, it just cements for me that I would read anything and everything by Andrew Joseph White, and I can't imagine I'm the only one that feels that way.

I'm always intrigued when a book takes place in the Appalachian region. I'm even more intrigued when they have social commentary, where the poor, working class must fight against the upper class elite that control everything. This book has heart and grit. It's dark but ends with a sense of hope.

I didn't think it could get more deeply personal than Hell Follow With Us, and Compound Fracture didn't quite match that...but somehow it reached into a DIFFERENT part of my life, grabbed THAT by the throat and dragged it out. As always, a masterpiece.

Super solid YA, first person, intimate and intense novel on the politics and lived reality of the US Appalachian region.

I think generally this might not be the story for ME but its craft is obvious and it is a wonderfully written book with lovely attention to detail that added to the atmospheric quality of the setting.

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

review: I’ve never felt more personally connected to a book than I have to this one. Do yall understand how it feels as someone from West Virginia to finally get good media representation??!! A book where we aren’t being looked down upon or being called names, but a book where it reveals the true trans & queer experience of living here?? I feel seen. I feel heard. Andrew Joseph White understands a good majority of the West Virginian population struggle. I cried reading the last 30 pages. Thank you Andrew for writing this book🤍

fav quotes:

“If you grow up in West Virginia, there’s mainly two ways to think about the place. The first is you hate it and want to get out as soon as possible. This is the option that liberals love; they devour voyeuristic think pieces about Trump Country and our obsession with voting against our own best interests, titter condescendingly about how anybody with potential would never stay here long. And yeah, sure, a lot of people here are conservative assholes carrying Confederate flags. Sometimes our water ends up full of chemicals and our schools are struggling and our healthcare infrastructure sucks. So from an objective standpoint, I get it. But I’m the second. The only way you’ll get me to leave this state is in a body bag. For all its problems, it’s mine. For all the overdose deaths, environmental disasters, and reactionary politics, West Virginia is mine. The Twist Creek Calamity is mine, the highest rate of trans kids in America is mine, the population crunched under the boot of a right-wing government are mine. Even if I don’t like people, you know, it’s hard not to give a shit about people as a whole.”

“Used to be that socialists were a real political party, and now you can’t even say the word without being told you’re an anti-American far-left fuck. (I mean, I am, but I don’t appreciate the tone.) Democrats think we’re all Trump-drunk illiterate hillbillies, self-sabotaging, too stupid or too proud to accept the help we clearly need; Republicans point at our poverty and dying communities and remind us that liberals don’t care about us, which is funny because neither do they. Big-city Democrats need someone to feel superior to and Republicans need a voter base. That’s how it works.”

“We seceded from Virginia so we didn’t have to join the Confederacy, and now you can find a half dozen traitor flags while walking down Main Street.”