Split

Reviewed by hoopsielv for TeensReadToo.com

Jace has driven across the country and arrives at his older brother's doorstep. He's had enough of his father's beatings and wants to make an escape like Christian did. Christian's built a new life for himself, complete with his own apartment, a good job, and a girlfriend. Taking Jace in is not part of his plans, but he can't turn him away.

Jace settles in at school and keeps busy with soccer and working at a bookstore. He's even found an ally in Mirriam, his brother's girlfriend. It seems like Jace is heading for the life he's always wanted.

However, it's harder to leave the past behind than he'd thought. Jace is haunted by something he did before he left, and his mother is still in the house with his father. Together, Jace and Christian promise to take her in as well, as soon as she can get out.

Is it easier said than done? Will this family be complete again - and can they move on to the future?

I finished this novel in one day because I needed to know how it ended! What a fabulous first novel, and I hope that Ms. Avasthi has more in the works.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Good

I really liked this book it was very diffrent then most of my reads i would suggest this if u dont know what to read

Heartbreaking and Inspiring

Split pulls you in and never lets you go. Jace is someone you fall in love with even though you know his darker side. All the characters are brought to life with all their struggles and hardships and their brighter moments. This story felt real and sadly, it could be the story of anyone's life. It gives a great example of the pain an abused child lives and how hard it can be to break the cycle.

split

Sixteen year old Jace Witherspoon will be changing his last name to Marshal and creating himself a new identity just like his big brother Christian did. Five years ago toward the end of his high school year Christian disappeared from home and school and Jace has not seen or heard from him since. At a young age big brother Christian learned how to hate their father. So that dad's attention would be deflected causing him to beat up Christian instead of their mother. By time Christian left home he had suffered a series of broken fingers, concussions, and even had some skin grafted on his arm where their dad had held it to an electric burner. After Christian left Jace had taken over that role of trying to protect their mom from the beatings. But now that Jace has finally broken he hasn't snuck away like Christian. He's finally swung first before getting himself beaten to a pulp and literally thrown out of the house. Split is a very emotional and Alright read. The author does a wonder job of explaining Jace and his families conflict. Like when it talks about the wife getting beat. Another one is when Jace leaves and goes to his brothers house. Last when his brother Christian was not sure to let Jace stay with him.

Split

Sixteen year-old Jace Witherspoon will be changing his last name to MARSHALL, and creating himself a new identity just like his big brother Christian did. Five years ago, toward the end of his high school years, Christian disappeared from home and school and Jace has not seen or heard from him since. At a young age, big brother Christian learned how to antagonize their father, a conservative Chicago judge, so that dad's attention would be deflected, causing him to beat up Christian instead of their mother. By time Christian left home, he had suffered a series of broken fingers, concussions, and even had some skin grafted on his arm where their dad had held it to an electric burner. On a regular basis, their father diffused any potential suspicion by moving the family to a different Chicago neighborhood.After Christian left, Jace had taken over that role of trying to protect their mom from the beatings. But now that Jace has finally broken, he hasn't snuck away like Christian. He's finally swung first before getting himself beaten to a pulp and literally thrown out of the house. Now that she has no protectors left, Jace is determined to somehow get their mom to follow him to Albuquerque before their dad kills her. Split is a very emotional and raw read. The author does a wonderful job with Jace's narrative and as a reader, I felt everything Jace felt. She even did a great job developing Christian's character who is also dealing with the abuse. Their father was a sick, disgusting man and the brothers, along with Christian's girlfriend, who knew nothing about the abuse until Jace came along, help each other to deal and move on.

This is truly

Split, by Swati Avashi, is an excellent novel. The novel had a great plot, the level of suspense was amazing, and the characters and events were very believable. Avashi also spread out the flashbacks evenly through the book. The combination of factors made the novel extremely interesting. The plot of Split will keep you interested from the cover of the book to the last page. The novel starts off with the protagonist, Jace, at his brother’s front door. He is hoping his brother will let him live with him. From that moment on the protagonist deals with two different types of conflicts. One of the conflicts is an internal conflict which deals with Jace not wanting to be an abuser like his father. His father abused his whole family. The father used to just abuse Jace’s brother and mother, but when his brother left he started abusing Jace too. Also the protagonist is trying to adjust to his new life with his brother and trying to forget his old life back in Chicago. Secondly, Jace’s external conflict involves him trying to make sure he doesn’t do anything that may cause his father to find him. The author keeps you guessing. She just keeps you interested by giving you little pieces to the puzzle without giving the story away. The way Avashi set up the plot was great. While reading Split I felt on edge. The whole time I was reading it I was wondering if Jace was going to snap in the middle of a conversation. I was also wondering if his dad would show up randomly and break down the door while Jace and his brother are just sitting in the living room watching television. The suspense just got to a point that made me think,” If I put this novel down I might end up missing something,” and I was right. The characters and events are extremely believable. Jace is a typical 16 year old boy. The way he reacts to events is realistic. For example, when Jace got angry and frustrated, I understood why he felt angry and frustrated. I think I would have reacted the same way. There wasn’t a single point in the novel were I felt that the character or event were unrealistic. In addition, the novel still wasn’t predictable. The author also wrote as if she had gone through that experience or she knew someone who had. The flashbacks in Split were amazing. I liked how Avashi used the flashbacks to tell the story. For example when Jace won’t ask is in the library and won’t the girl out Avashi use a flashback to tell you why he won’t ask her on a date. She also uses it to tell why Jace’s brother left and why he never came back for his brother. Split was a great novel. If you read it you won’t regret it.

Great book!

Split was really an amazing book to read. Once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. It's about a boy who gets abused at home by his dad, which also abuses his mother. One day, Jace (the boy)decides to stand up for himself, and hits his dad back. His dad kicks him out, and his mother gives him the address to his older brothers apartment. He goes to live with his brother, and eventually return to try and save their mother but she refuses to go with them because shes so used to being with her husband she cant imagine life without him. Anyways, this book is really great, and I highly recommend you to read it!

Highly Recommended

This book is an extremely good read. I couldn't put it down!

I loved it!

READ THIS! this is my new faivrot book. I really loved it. And it even makes you feel bad for jace. It has been hard for me too get into a book but i couldnt put this one down!

Great Book! Recommended!!

Jace leaves his home and travels about 19 hours to where his brother is staying. What is the cause of this? His dad beating him and his mother. Christian, his brother, was not expecting Jace to arrive there, and in his mind he was thinking it would ruin his whole life plan. After living with Christian for awhile, they both decide to go back to their original home and try to save their mom from their dad's beatings. The message to me was, if you know someone who is being abused, you should get help right away. Also, you should never make a promise to someone if you cannot fulfill it. I liked the whole book overall, but I did not like how the dad beat up the mom. You should read this because it helps you understand how someone can hide themselves being abused, and how a family deals with it. If you liked this book I recommend A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard.

Great book!! I would recommend it to anyone!!

This was a really great book! It was really intense though. So don't read it if you don't think you can handle it. It's really cool to read a book about how a brother's love can seem almost gone and then it just keeps building until one brother would do anything for the other. This story is about a boy who gets beat up by his dad and he has a brother that used to get it so bad that he ran away from home when he was seventeen and now his brother is sixteen and he gets kicked out so he goes to his brother for help. You have to read it to know more but I'm telling you that you will never regret reading this book! It is amazing! I almost cried like five times in it. It's really intense. But still great!

One of my favorites! A must read!

This book was realistic, dramatic, and page-turning! I devoured this book and can not wait to see what other books this author will write. If you love books about tough issues, PICK THIS BOOK UP NOW!

Great Book!!

This is an amazing book. i couldn't put it down! The book really drew mw in and captured my attention!

Such a good book.

I couldn't put it down - it's a detailed and great story without being too dark and heavy to read. His emotions are described in words, but there's also room for you to read between the lines yourself. Best book I've read in a while.

life in a harsh world

The story is about Jace, a teenager who lead a tough life in his parents home. His mother was abused by his father and Jace stepped in the way and took the beatings so she would not get hurt. He gets thrown out of the house when he hits his dad, and he drives fifteen hours away to a place he had never heard of, looking for someone he has known his whole life. When he gets there, his life changes drastically, and until he tries to get his mother out of the violent situation she still is in, he realizes that everything that happened when he was a child in his parents home is not his fault.

This book had my attention the entire time. I never wanted to put it down! It was a very easy read.

Split is a riveting page turner. A seamless narrative, appealing on many levels, Split tackles a powerful topic, made palatable by engaging, well-rounded characters, a plot that keeps you moving, and the kind of details we read fiction for.

Aside from the heavy issue of domestic abuse, the writer paints a picture of the dynamics of high school relationships with intimacy and accuracy (specifically dealing with competition and how we treat the opposite sex), delves into a scarred relationship between two brothers and asks the questions: What can we ask of family? Is it ever too late? Young readers will also be drawn in by the questions: What is inside me and what have I learned? Can I be a better person?

You will be with Jace every step of his journey, rooting for him in all his humanity.

A positive, but real message about the truth and consequences of a family living with violence and what lies beyond that.

An invaluable glimpse of an ugly reality that all kids will see

I read "Split" with gritted teeth. As the mother of two young sons, it wasn't pleasant to think that this would be a story relevant to their childhood. Thinking back to my own childhood, however, it was a fact of life that I accepted without question. Also not pleasant to think.

Swati made me think about it, however. "Split" is an unflinching, unapologetic look at the pathological devastation a battering husband and father can strew across generations of his family and everyone around them.

Swati made me realize that my family doesn't live in a bubble. Even if my kids' home life is "normal" (and somebody can explain to me what that means), chances are that one of their friends, classmates, or teammates lives with an abuser.

"Split" is a blinding halogen spotlight, glaring at the life of Jace Witherspoon. As if it weren't hard enough to be the teenage son of a highly successful father, he's also the younger son of a batterer and his doormat wife. In my own mind, it's a draw as to which of the two parents is more cruel: the one who batters or the one who allows it to continue, but that's neither here nor there. Swati does not let you avert your eyes. She does not sugarcoat, omit or elide scenes because they are ugly. Jace has to deal the ugly, and we're in it with him, so we do, too.

Jace is no hero, if we look only at his actions. He, too, has a terrible temper and hides a terrible secret. We can see that simmering inside his head. But he has the potential to rise above his nature and his upbringing and overcome the baser instincts to lash out and become like his father. Swati doesn't go into the "nature/nurture" argument (it doesn't address how to solve the problem; and that's the goal we need to attempt). Instead, she directs our attention to Jace's own self-determination, which is an empowering theme for any adolescent reader. "You are who you choose to be" seems to be the takeaway. And isn't it the goal of every child to become his or her own person, separate from parental advice or expectations?

There are no Darth Vader vs Luke Skywalker moments in this novel. Those aren't plausible in real life anyway. There is no quick fix. That's another quality lesson to learn. Life doesn't consist of 30-minute episodes with laugh tracks and an eccentric neighbor.

The more I considered "Split," the more I realized that Swati is showing her readers something real and valuable. It's not pretty, but neither is life. Parents, teachers, mentors, advisors.we all have to have these difficult conversations with the kids we are invested in because they will have questions that we can't leave hanging.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.