Compound Fracture

By Andrew Joeseph White

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Introduction

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!! To say anything else is an understatement. I have loved Andrew Joeseph White's previous books very much and this one is equally fantastic. While it does not have the same levels of gore and violence as his last book "The Spirit Bares its Teeth" it is just as good.

For the first time White talks about a trans teen in the modern day. Socialist Miles Abernathy takes on the sheriff and his family that has hurt and made his own family outcasts for almost a full century now after being attacked and nearly killed by the sheriff's son. The book has incredible care placed into it from the ways the town is described to the ways that the organization is done. I just freaking love it!

Queerness

In addition to this, I love the focus on fidning community and the terror of labels and being outed placed into this book. This book explored and explained the feeling very well. In fact, one of my favourite parts was reading Miles realizing he was Aromantic. That part struck me because it felt very similar to the way I realized I was on the aromantic spectrum. In addition, Miles being allosexual while being aromantic was fantastic representation I have never seen before. I saw so much more of myself in Miles than I normally do in aromantic characters. This does not mean other aromantic characters are written badly (at least all the time) It's just that the way I'm aromantic is very different than how it is normally written. I actually enjoy romance a little more than Miles does, but I truly don't actively dislike it. Not for other people and not for myself. The way Miles was written felt so genuine and lovely. While I cannot find anything about Andrew Joseph White being Aromantic himself (and he does have a wife), he clearly either pulled from his own experiences with attraction, or listened to many aromantic people to write soemthign that felt so authentic.

The Violence.

There are Multiple Murders within this book. At least 4 main ones that happen during the timeline, and many others talked about openly having happened in the past. I like the descriptions of the violence. It scratches my head just right. The one that stands out most to me is Peter, and it is arguably the most graphic of all the descriptions by far. He is shot, but not enough to die, and the way he tries to speak in a similar fashion to Saint Abernathy leads to significant ties between them as he is almost the last death. As Saint Abernathy was the second to die, Peter was almost the last.

The other death I would like to talk about is the death of sheriff davies. I will not capitalize his name as I have no respect for him. I find it very interesting how he is the only one other than Miles who can see Saint Abernathy. I truly love it too. Who else could see the ghost of the start of all the violence but the two who finish it? The last of the line of violence on both of their ends, through davies death ending his family line, and Miles surviving to see another day where they no longer need violence to live.

Conclusion

Read the fucking book please. For all things that I hold and love and hold dear to me please read this book.