Compound Fracture: Chapters 15-22

by Andrew Joseph White
In this novel, trans teen Miles Abernathy survives an attempted murder and finds himself caught up in a century-old blood feud while also being haunted by his own ancestor.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapter 1-7, Chapter 8-10, Chapter 11-14, Chapter 15-22, Chapter 23-26, Chapter 27-30, Chapter 31-35, Chapter 36-39, Chapter 40-46, Chapter 47-61
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. derelict
    forsaken by owner or inhabitants
    We park in front of the shitty pizza parlor, and he leads me up the narrow stairs between the new post office and some derelict, unused space.
  2. smattering
    a small number or amount
    All of the permanent light fixtures have their light bulbs removed, leaving only a smattering of lamps.
  3. genetic
    occurring among members of a family usually by heredity
    Mom promised she wouldn’t let that happen to me, but — Ain’t this sort of thing genetic?
  4. stutter
    speak haltingly
    Cooper opens the door and stutters for a second.
  5. shear
    cut or cut through with scissors
    I towel off my hair, and Cooper has me lean over the edge of the tub while he shears my head as close to the scalp as the machine will let him.
  6. brutal
    harsh
    That one was particularly brutal, because a lot of people hunt out of season to feed their families, when it comes down to it; the game warden is in Davies’s pocket, though, so he’ll always look the other way until someone needs their life ruined.
  7. reminisce
    recall the past
    You can’t reminisce over a scar if it’s still an open wound.
  8. manage
    handle effectively
    I don’t like eye contact. It’s aggressive, like I’m some kind of feral dog that takes it as a threat. So I only manage it for a moment.
  9. cascade
    a succession of stages, processes, or units
    “And we don’t deserve what they did to us.”
    Not what happened to Cooper’s parents, not what happened to Dallas, not what happened to me. Not this — this cascade of tragedies.
  10. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    Cooper scoffs. Reaches into his pocket. Pulls out the photocopies.
  11. unhinged
    affected or as if affected with madness or insanity
    This is such an unhinged idea that it borders on hysterical.
  12. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    Lady scrabbles across the room and jams her big head into my belly, and I’ve never been more glad to see anyone in my life.
  13. bask
    derive or receive pleasure from
    Carefully opening the photo album, I pause to bask in how organized this is.
  14. painstakingly
    in a very careful manner
    I refuse to write on the photos themselves; each item is cataloged by date, subject, and anything else I know, all painstakingly recorded on a notecard.
  15. obscure
    make undecipherable or imperceptible by concealing
    From the oral histories I recovered from a mining museum a few counties south — nothing’s more American than scattering the history of a young revolutionary in an attempt to obscure it for good — he was also a mean son of a bitch.
  16. superstitious
    showing faith in magic and ignorance of the laws of nature
    Appalachia is a superstitious place, which makes sense — when foxes and cougars scream, it sounds like people.
  17. hunch
    round one's back by bending forward
    At first, hunched over the toilet at four in the morning, I think it’s the guilt coming in, painful as a new tooth erupting from the gums.
  18. prognosis
    a prediction about how something will develop
    Prognosis: I’m gonna chew off my leg like an animal in a trap.
  19. ajar
    slightly open
    I struggle for air — be quiet please please please — and fumble open the window, wrestling to jam the paint stirrer stick under it to keep it ajar.
  20. martyrdom
    death because of a person's adherence of a faith or cause
    It ain’t that I envy his martyrdom.
  21. gaunt
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    Saint’s gaunt face slides back to me.
  22. violate
    destroy or disturb
    Usually when people like Saint Abernathy die, they’re violated.
  23. wreckage
    the remaining parts of something that has been destroyed
    Saint crosses the stage slowly, searching through the wreckage.
  24. peer
    look searchingly
    I imagine him opening my door a crack every night, peering in, making sure I’m still breathing, like a new parent worried about a baby
  25. incriminating
    charging or suggestive of guilt or blame
    Sure, the most incriminating things are in the document case, still hidden safely at the bottom of my dresser, but I have the accident photocopies in there.
Created on Wed Jun 04 08:32:46 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Jun 10 18:22:58 EDT 2025)

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