Compound Fracture

Thank you SO much to Netgalley, Peachtree and Pixel+Ink for an E-Arc of this title in exchange for an honest review! All opinions in this review are my own.

I was so happy to receive a copy of this book! This follows Miles who is a trans kid growing up in the deep south navigating a feud between his and the Davies' family, and things take a dark turn quite quickly.

I will say that this felt like the most political book Andrew Joseph White has written so far, and I am all here for it. He also really nails in the idea of there being no perfect victims, and even some of the villainous characters of this book end up being sympathetic, even if I would still enver condone their actions. The themes of corruption and the inherited trauma throughout the core characters of this book were heartbreaking and so realistic. It really drills in the idea that some of these people really feel like there's no way out, and Cooper's development over the course of the book is probably the best example of these themes. The fact that, after Miles accidentally kills Noah, his first solution is more violence really shows what's going through his head and how the culture of the town and the actions taken against him have impacted him. He definitely was not a perfect victim, and despite his flaws it was terrible hearing about his death was the nail in the coffin.

Miles as the main character felt so raw and real. His struggles and flaws were fleshed out wonderfully throughout the book, and his actions, whilst not always the most logical or morally ‘good', really makes you remember that this is just a kid in an awful situation.

The side characters were also great, and Miles' relationship with his parents was very realistic. I think the author mentions this was based on his own relationship with his parents during his transition and it really shows through. Saint was also so interesting, despite the fact he never actually talks in the novel.

Overall, I had a wonderful time with this book. I could probably go on and on in this review about the things I loved, I cannot recommend this enough.