Compound Fracture (2024) -Andrew Joseph White
I went into this book thinking I wouldn’t like it then finished it in two days
Content Warnings: Violence, death, gore, gun violence, transphobia, outing, car accident, fire, ableism, pedophilia, deadnaming/misgendering
Representation: trans, trans man, nonbinary, agender, T4T, QPR, nblm, mlm, aromantic, autism
Favorite Quote: “Is he as afraid of losing his power as we are of dying?”
Compound Fracture is a gritty novel that pushes the boundaries of the YA genre. The novel follows an autistic trans teenager named Miles who is in the process of coming out to his family when he accidentally dredges up a generations-long family blood feud. In retaliation to Miles attempting to expose the involvement of the county sheriff in what was passing off as an accident, the sheriff’s son and his friends beat Miles nearly to death. Spurring on the same violence perpetuated by their ancestors.
Upon waking up in the hospital, Miles finds himself curiously haunted by a figure from another time—from the age of mining in his small rural county. This figure becomes a guide for Miles to put an end to this blood feud once and for all, but when the weight of such violence is placed on the young shoulders of a teenager, there are inevitably missteps.
This novel is unabashedly political as it makes the argument that everything is political as people fall in line with the roles that they are thrust into by struggles for power and autonomy. When people are willing to kill for power equate that to being willing to kill for safety and security, everything is political. Miles believes this and approaches the situation around him through a socialist lens. He and the book alike are outspokenly queer, pro-worker, and anti-cop.
Miles’ identity is approached in an exploratory fashion. As a young teenager without the encouragement to explore his identity from his community, Miles is still piecing together who he is throughout the book. There is also a deliberate use of misgendering, deadnaming, and ableism to set the scene of the novel. As a theme in Joseph White’s novels, however, the outlook is not hopeless for queer and neurodivergent youth. Instead, the author gives queer youth the autonomy and strength to break free from the control of their abusers. This book does not pull its punches in doing so.