Compound Fracture

by Andrew Joseph White · 2024

Andrew Joseph White’s *Compound Fracture* is a visceral, unapologetically political Appalachian thriller aimed at teens. Sixteen‑year‑old Miles Abernathy, a trans autistic socialist from West Virginia, comes out to his parents and flees to a party, clutching photographs that could expose Sheriff Davies’s role in a deadly “accident” that crippled his family’s grassroots resistance. The evidence reignites a century‑old blood feud that began with Miles’s great‑great‑grandfather’s miners’ rebellion. After surviving a brutal beating and a near‑fatal attack, Miles is haunted by a soot‑covered ghost and forced to confront the sheriff’s son and his friends. When Miles accidentally kills one of his attackers, he discovers a hidden network of townspeople ready to rise against the sheriff’s tyranny. The novel blends horror, thriller, and queer themes while exploring rebellion, identity, and the cost of standing up for change.