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On the night Miles Abernathy—sixteen-year-old socialist and proud West Virginian—comes out as trans to his parents, he sneaks off to a party, carrying evidence that may finally turn the tide of the blood feud plaguing Twist Creek: Photos that prove the county’s Sheriff Davies was responsible for the so-called “accident” that injured his dad, killed others, and crushed their grassroots efforts to unseat him.
The feud began a hundred years ago when Miles’s great-great-grandfather, Saint Abernathy, incited a miners’ rebellion that ended with a public execution at the hands of law enforcement. Now, Miles becomes the feud’s latest victim as the sheriff’s son and his friends sniff out the evidence, follow him through the woods, and beat him nearly to death.
In the hospital, the ghost of a soot-covered man hovers over Miles’s bedside while Sheriff Davies threatens Miles into silence. But when Miles accidently kills one of the boys who hurt him, he learns of other folks in Twist Creek who want out from under the sheriff’s heel. To free their families from this cycle of cruelty, they’re willing to put everything on the line—is Miles?
A visceral, unabashedly political audiobook that won’t let you go until you’ve reached the end, Compound Fracture is not for the faint of heart, but it is for every listener who's ready to fight for a better world.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Awards
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Release date
September 3, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593946930
- File size: 279810 KB
- Duration: 09:42:55
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from June 24, 2024
Autistic transgender 16-year-old Miles Abernathy and his socialist family have been feuding with Twist Creek’s governing powers ever since a former sheriff killed Miles’s great-great-grandfather, who led a labor strike a century ago. After finding proof of current sheriff Davies’s involvement in a fatal incident that injured Miles’s father and disrupted locals’ efforts to have Davies removed from power, Miles and his friend Cooper are violently attacked by the sheriff’s son and his gang. Following the assault, Miles is haunted by a strangely familiar figure wearing a red bandana and ends up embroiled in deadly, simmering tensions that will change the course of Twist Creek forever. Frank and evocative language by White (The Spirit Bares Its Teeth) confronts harrowing circumstances surrounding what decades of being “crunched under the boot of a rightwing government”—and the failure of Twist Creek residents to engage with Appalachia’s long history of worker-centered advocacy—have wrought within the region. White’s latest is a
stunning testament to the intertwining realities of politics and queerness, as well as community focused ideologies and
the impact of those ideals in the face of oppression. The protagonists cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer March Soloway, Andrea Brown Literary. -
Dani Martineck performs this Appalachian horror story set in West Virginia. Miles Abernathy, age 16, has just come out to his parents when a group of boys attack him and put him in the hospital. The Abernathys have been in a blood feud for more than a century, but Miles believes he finally has a way to end it once and for all. As Miles recovers from his injuries, he begins to learn more about himself and uncovers more about his family's feud with the Sheriff and the Sheriff's family. Martineck gives an excellent performance, capturing Miles's voice perfectly. Martineck's narration makes Miles come alive in a new way, adding emotional depth to a complex character. K.D.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
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