“We all screw up. We all wish we were stronger than we are, and not one of us will get through this life without regret.”
- Swati Avasthi, Split
Reviewed by Dylana
Book Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Jace Witherspoon arrives at the doorstep of his estranged brother, Christian, with a re-landscaped face (courtesy of his father), $3.84, and a secret
He tries to move on, going for new friends, a new school, and a new job, but all his changes can’t make him forget what he left behind. His mother is still trapped with his dad. And his ex-girlfriend is keeping his secret – for now.
Turns out there are some things you can’t just walk away from.
Sixteen-year-old Jace Witherspoon arrives at the doorstep of his estranged brother, Christian, with a re-landscaped face (courtesy of his father), $3.84, and a secret
He tries to move on, going for new friends, a new school, and a new job, but all his changes can’t make him forget what he left behind. His mother is still trapped with his dad. And his ex-girlfriend is keeping his secret – for now.
Turns out there are some things you can’t just walk away from.
General Review:
Of the three of us, Chase is the most depressing (mostly because he has no friends); however, I am the most sadistic. I picked this book up because of the cover. I really wasn’t all that impressed with the synopsis given but it did mention child abuse so the pretty much synched it for me. I love books with lots of violence and sadness and all that angsty goodness. This book has plenty of all three. It’s not all blatant violence, though. Reading Split really made me think of what I might be capable of, how far I would go to protect my family, how far I would go to protect myself, and how much I could screw up in the process. As soon as I finished, I immediately reread it. So yeah, you could say that I liked the book.
Plot:
I was kind of surprised by the plot. It didn’t go where I thought it was going. It was a pleasant surprise though. The main plot of the book is Jace trying to get his mom away from his abusive father instead just trying to get over the trauma of being smacked around. I had never read a story about abuse that didn’t necessarily focus on recovery, so it was very refreshing for me and I was really impressed by Avasthi’s originality.
I was kind of surprised by the plot. It didn’t go where I thought it was going. It was a pleasant surprise though. The main plot of the book is Jace trying to get his mom away from his abusive father instead just trying to get over the trauma of being smacked around. I had never read a story about abuse that didn’t necessarily focus on recovery, so it was very refreshing for me and I was really impressed by Avasthi’s originality.
Characters:
All the characters in this book are dynamic in their own way. Some characters, like Jace, evolve slowly over the course of the novel. However, some characters remain static, but your perception of them changes, making them dynamic. At one point or another, I have hated every character in this book. Then loved them again. The characters are so real and so well written; it’s like these are real people and you’re just looking in on their lives. My favorite character was, of course, Jace but Dakota and, surprisingly, Mirriam were a close second.
Final Thoughts:
Split is an amazing book. Beware of the violence and bad language if that kind of thing distresses you. There are major themes of forgiveness, love, and acceptance to balance out the hatred and angst. 4.5 stars.
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