Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

Bibliographic Information:

Title: Compound Fracture

Author: Andrew Joseph White

ISBN: 9781682636121 

Publisher: Peachtree Teen

Copyright Date: 2024

Format/Genre: Hardcover; Thrillers and suspense; Paranormal fiction (Compound Fracture: NoveList Plus - Powered by EBSCOhost, n.d.).

Awards and Honors: None

Reading Level/Interest Level: 9th grade and up (Compound Fracture: NoveList Plus - Powered by EBSCOhost, n.d.)

Plot Summary: Miles, a transgender teen living in West Virginia, and his family have had a generations long dispute with Sheriff Davies and his family. On the night he comes out, he finally has evidence that proves that Sheriff Davies is behind the accident that killed Miles’ father. Instead of uncovering the evidence that night he is almost beaten to death by the sheriff’s son. Now he and his friends must decide if they’re going to continue to rule under the iron fist of the oppressive Sheriff Davies, or if they’re going to rally the rest of the town to come with them to overturn the Sheriff and expose his corruption.

Author Background: Andrew Joseph White is a trans, autistic, best-selling author from Virginia. His debut novel, Hell Followed With Us, was a William C. Morris Award Finalist, and his second, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, received a 2024 Stonewall Honor. This novel is his third novel. He currently lives just outside Washington D.C. with his wife and their cat Poppy (White, n.d.).

Critical Evaluation: This book just drips of West Virginia Appalachia. It has the corrupt sheriff running the town, a bunch of ignorant people who do not like people different from them, and a lot of the poverty and violence that also happens in the region. But it also tells the story of a brave young trans man who decides to end the generational feud his family has had with the sheriff’s family and rallies the town to take action. There is a lot of violence and language in this book, but also a ton of hope.

Creative Use for a Library Program: Since I live in California there might not be a lot of the local teens who are knowledgeable about West Virgina and the Appalachia region, so I would pull some information for them so they could learn about the Appalacian Mountains and some of the history of the people who live there, so they could have some more context about what the town’s culture was like in this book.

Speed-Round Book Talk: Miles, an autistic, transgender teen living in West Virgina has some evidence that is going to prove that the local sheriff is responsible for the accident that killed his father. But Sheriff Davies’ son doesn’t think that evidence should get out, so he and his friends beat Miles senseless. Can Miles rally his community to go against Sheriff Davies?

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: This book has murder, blood, gore, drug use and dependency, sexual assault, partner abuse, and transphobia. So, there is quite a bit here for the pearl clutching segment of the population to take offense at. This is a pretty violent book, so you might want to issue a trigger warning to your teens before reading it. But as far as fending off challenges, all that is needed here is your collection policy. This author has written three New York Times bestsellers, with this book being one of them. If the library can’t add YA New York Times bestsellers, what can the library add?

Reason for Inclusion: I had this book on my shelf to read already, so I was excited when I saw it listed on a website for best young adult books as I knew I already owned it. It’s a gritty, dirty book that will be a page turner for any of the kids that pick it up.