Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

265 reviews

grudgecat's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This book was recommended to me by a teen librarian. It is not my usual genre, very dark and unfortunately very realistic. That said, I'm glad I read it as it gave me a new perspective on life in Appalachia and how history has done the people wrong for generations. Yet they never give up, which is inspiring. They gave me a dark little hope for living through current times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Deadnaming, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual violence

feedingtheabyss's review against another edition

3.25

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

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Miles Abernathy is a trans autistic teen living in rural Appalachia, literally haunted by his family’s past - who is the ghost following him around? And why does he look kind of familiar…? After surviving a brutal attack that leaves Miles nearly dead, he is faced with two options, continuing to live under the reign of his small town’s sheriff, or exacting justice on behalf of his ancestors and everyone else who has been subjugated by one family’s corruption. 

The queer and neurodivergent representation in White’s novels are especially appealing, and features I wish were more prominent in the YA books I had available when I was a teen. White continues to give us nuanced and imperfect characters. I found White’s body horror to be perfectly disgusting and significantly subdued from previous work. Those with weak stomachs may find this title to be more inviting than Hell Followed With Us. 

I found this novel to be less engaging than White’s previous work, Hell Followed With Us. While the themes in each of White’s novels are abundantly clear, without the fantasy elements like in Hell Followed With Us, the themes throughout Compound Fracture felt, much of the time, extremely heavy handed. Additionally the pacing of the novel was unbalanced and much of the plot felt meandering, while the novel quickly resolves itself within the last few chapters. I would have loved for the author to explore the morally ambiguous actions of our main characters in addition to the decades long family feud a bit more.  

Overall, this novel is still a quick and compelling read that will appeal to fans of Old Wounds by Logan-Ashley Kisner, queer horror readers, or Andrew Joseph White enthusiasts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury

bro justice for cooper

threeraccoon's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Written in an Appalachian vernacular, difficult to get through at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Deadnaming, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Classism

Moderate: Addiction

c_ab_bage's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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RAHHHHHH COMMUNITY WILL ONLY TAKE YOU SO FAR, SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO PICK UP THAT GUN ‼️‼️ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Gore, Sexism, Torture, Vomit, Car accident, Pregnancy, Alcohol

infinite_helix's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I am once again in love with an AJW book. This one hits my favorite niche of "Queer (Neurodiverse) characters from a southern (gothic) setting who curse and snarl and will knock your teeth out for hurting their people" a la Southern Sons and The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo. And once again, so much of myself  I see in this. Devoured it in a shift glued to my desk, and god if it wasn't exactly the kind of bloody, defiant comfort I needed after the pure shit storm that is this election cycle. 

I was terrified for Lady the entire damn time, like as soon as Miles mentions Nancy's dog I spent the entire book terrified whenever Lady was left alone. Thank god. Definition of goodest girl though, she got that sumbitch in the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Outing, Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cursing, Death of parent

Everything is handled with care.

hevlav's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Physical abuse

Moderate: Transphobia

Minor: Vomit

mainstbooksmonroe's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Animal death warning is specifically about

while the dog on the cover does not die, another dog has been killed before the start of the book, there are multiple graphic flashbacks to it, and the cover dog is repeatedly at threat from the same source.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

q_bert13's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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First thing I’ve read by Andrew Joseph White, and it won’t be the last. An unapologetically queer story of self discovery, generational trauma and rebelling against corrupt authority. A bit darker and more gore-y than I expected for a YA level novel, but great overall. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Biphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Toxic friendship

singular_coyote's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark hopeful informative sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Gore, Hate crime, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Murder, Outing, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Deadnaming, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent