Compound fracture by Andrew Joseph White

There have been an abundance of recent books featuring gender diverse characters, particularly LGBQTI+ rom-coms, and gay coming of age stories, but this book by Andrew Joseph White is unlike anything you’ve read before. It is a gripping horror thriller with the kind of blood and gore found in a Stephen King novel. But at its heart it is the story of Miles breaking the news to his parents that he is not Sadie, their daughter, but a transgender identity, unsure of his relationships and his place in the world.

The setting is West Virginia, famed redneck country where the police are violent and corrupt. But West Virginia was also the place of socialist uprising against the oppressive mining companies who valued the dollar over a life. The West Virginia coal wars of the early 1900s saw the first bombs dropped on American people as mining companies tried to break up unionised strikes by the workers. This is the historical background to White’s story of a long-running feud between Miles’ family and Sheriff Davies and his cronies. Miles’ great-great-grandfather Saint Abernathy, a striker, was executed with a railway spike through his mouth. His father survived a fire-torched car which killed the other occupants. Miles himself barely survives a fiercely brutal beating by the Sheriff’s son and his mates.

Miles is 16 years old, autistic and trans. Although he is afraid, he wants to stand up against the bullies and end the feud. He understands that they are all victims of a system that pits people against each other. He is an unlikely hero, compulsively chewing a shoelace, often struggling to find the right words, and suppressing tears, but buoyed by a connection with the spirit of his great-great-grandfather Saint Abernathy.

White’s descriptions of the gentle moments between Miles and his long-time friend Cooper provide insight into the confusion and tentativeness of their new relationship. Does a kiss mean they are gay, bi-sexual, queer or what? Does it have to go like this? Perhaps Miles is aromantic? Perhaps during this time of trauma, what he needs most is just a true friend who accepts him as he is.

All of this is set in the context of menacing violence and erupting brutality. It is a gripping thriller that keeps the reader riveted to the page. It comes with warnings about police violence, transphobia, opioid use and withdrawal, and disturbing images. ‘Actually, this book is kind of like moonshine. It’s gonna burn like hell going down.’ It represents the fear and vulnerability of transgender people in the real world, facing monsters every day.

Andrew Joseph White is a startling new voice in YA literature; shortlisted for multiple awards, his books are sure to be bestsellers in the thriller genre, for the YA audience and for adults.

Themes: Transgender, Autism, LGBQTI+, Police corruption, Violence, Horror.

Helen Eddy