Compound Fracture

Set in rural West Virginia in 2017, Compound Fracture is a tremendously suspenseful, queer coming-of-age thriller that confronts the impact of economic injustice, local political corruption, and generational trauma. In 1917, the sheriff of Twist Creek County executed a man named Saint Abernathy, leader of the coal miners’ strike, by hammering a railroad spike through his mouth. A century later, the mines have closed, but Miles Abernathy is caught up in the cycle of oppression and violent vengeance that killed his great-great-grandfather, Saint. On the night of the annual high school graduation party, Miles hits send on an email telling his parents he’s trans and then sneaks out of the house with photos stolen from his father’s lockbox—photos offering proof that Sheriff Davies caused the “accident” that killed Miles’ former best friend Cooper’s mother five years ago. Before Cooper and Miles can decide on their next steps, the feud is reignited, and neither of them can outrun the flames. White captures the violence of oppression with vivid and lethal precision.

Lady, the dog, survives!

Content Warnings:  graphic violence, transphobia, deadnaming, mentions of sexual assault, abuse, ableism, drug dependency, blood & gore depiction, murder, animal death, car accident, vomit