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A review by daniellestarredpages
Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
dark
emotional
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
This is the closest I've come to crying over a book in a while. I grew so close to Miles throughout this story that even the idea of something happening to him brought me close to tears. That is definitely a testament to Andrew Joseph White's writing. His stories are so brilliant. Compound Fracture's premise was so intriguing and White definitely saw it though.
I loved how White included different family reactions to coming out as Trans, with Miles' parents reacting negatively at first and then taking time to come around to his gender identity. As well as Dallas being non-binary and their adoptive parents accepting them immediately and wholeheartedly.
The thoughts Miles had towards his behaviour and the way he described things he had to hide to be "normal" was heartbreaking, as was his reaction to figuring out these behaviours would also fall under Autism, the idea that he couldn't be Autistic as he was just an "unsocialised-dog" was another reason I almost cried.
I am neither Trans nor Autistic so I can't speak on the representation from a personal standpoint but just seeing Miles and other characters being validated filled me with joy.
Another element of this story that I enjoyed was how Miles and the other characters acknowledge that while circumstances were the reason many of the antagonists turned out the way they did, it didn't mean they had any right to do the things they did. The element of the story where White acknowledges that even your closest friends can turn out to be the people that hurt you the most and on purpose too was very heartbreaking and realistic.
I loved how the accents in this book were written as well as the love Miles held for his home even while he acknowledged all the worst parts of it.
The history of the Abernathy's was also interesting and I think that theme was carried throughout the book well.
Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I loved how White included different family reactions to coming out as Trans, with Miles' parents reacting negatively at first and then taking time to come around to his gender identity. As well as Dallas being non-binary and their adoptive parents accepting them immediately and wholeheartedly.
The thoughts Miles had towards his behaviour and the way he described things he had to hide to be "normal" was heartbreaking, as was his reaction to figuring out these behaviours would also fall under Autism, the idea that he couldn't be Autistic as he was just an "unsocialised-dog" was another reason I almost cried.
I am neither Trans nor Autistic so I can't speak on the representation from a personal standpoint but just seeing Miles and other characters being validated filled me with joy.
Another element of this story that I enjoyed was how Miles and the other characters acknowledge that while circumstances were the reason many of the antagonists turned out the way they did, it didn't mean they had any right to do the things they did. The element of the story where White acknowledges that even your closest friends can turn out to be the people that hurt you the most and on purpose too was very heartbreaking and realistic.
I loved how the accents in this book were written as well as the love Miles held for his home even while he acknowledged all the worst parts of it.
The history of the Abernathy's was also interesting and I think that theme was carried throughout the book well.
Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use