Andrew Joseph White continues to deliver sharp, compelling writing with his third novel, Compound Fracture. There hasn’t been a novel from White that I haven’t loved– his previous two releases are equally phenomenal– but Compound Fracture has earned the spot of my favorite Andrew Joseph White book. Protagonist Miles Abernathy has just come out to his parents and, in the same night, survived an attack that left him nearly dead. In the aftermath, he is visited by the ghost of his great-great-grandfather and finds himself thrust into the center of a generations-long blood feud. The lines between vengeance and justice blur and, as violence continues to spread in Miles’s small town, no one’s hands can stay clean. Miles will have to decide what it will take to end the feud and just what he is willing to do to keep his family safe. Andrew Joseph White delivers an edge-of-your-seat thriller that will keep readers hooked until the final page. At the same time, White utilizes his characters to address the lasting impacts of trauma, poverty, and economic exploitation on both individuals and communities. Compound Fracture is equal parts blood-soaked and beautiful, a testament to the resiliency and power of community organization. This is easily my favorite book of 2024!
Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White, (List Price: $19.99, Peachtree Teen, 9781682636121, September 2024)
Reviewed by Charlie Williams, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi