Horror will always be the genre that feels the most like home to me, largely because it’s the only genre that will let me get away with the sort of stuff I want to write. It’s messy, and visceral, and gut-churning! (Plus, once you include a single horror element in, say, a romance novel, it becomes a horror-romance by definition; horror infects everything it touches, and isn’t that wonderful?)
–Andrew Joseph White, Interview, F(r)iction
What booksellers are saying about Compound Fracture
- Andrew Joseph White has taken us to an eco-Christofascist apocalypse, a Victorian asylum full of spirits and mediums, and now an Appalachia haunted by blood feuds and class war. This is his most unputdownable book yet, a bloody tour-de-force, mining and queering West Virginia’s buried socialist history, with a lovable, neurodivergent, rage-fueled transboy at the center and a whole lot of gore all around him. Prepare to be hurt, haunted, and ultimately heartened.
― Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia | BUY
- Another stunning read from Andrew Joseph White, this time set in Appalachian coal country. White does a masterful job of weaving the throughlines of generational trauma and rage that simmer, boil, and ultimately explode off the page. As always, the portrayal of trans characters is thoughtful and authentic – with important reminders that trans identity is not new. It is merely increasingly visible. The violence is, at time, shocking – but not gratuitous. The visceral descriptions are essential to the story being told. A great read.
― Kate Snyder, Plaid Elephant Books in Danville, Kentucky | BUY
- 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. 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!
― Charlie Williams, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi | BUY
- Having loved The Spirit Bares its Teeth with my whole heart, I snatched this book as soon as the ARC came in and nearly devoured it, but I’m so glad I forced myself to take it slow. Just like his other two books, this is something to be savored and really taken in deeply as you read it. It’s a love letter of the most brutal, loud, and angry variety, and I love how raw this writing is. This time it’s for the working class fighting against those exploiting them for profit over centuries, and for Appalachia. It’s a story about doing whatever it takes to survive, about the strength of community and family and even more beneath the layers. Like his other work it’s unsetting, violent, and heartbreaking – though I think this is probably the lightest on the graphic violence – but there’s an undeniable ray of hope at the end that refuses to be diminished. I adore this story.
― Winter Goldsmith, E. Shaver, Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia | BUY
About Andrew Joseph White
Andrew Joseph White is the New York Times and #1 Indie bestselling author of Hell Followed with Us and The Spirit Bares its Teeth. A queer, trans writer from Virginia, he grew up falling in love with monsters and wishing he could be one too. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University in 2022.
