Review: Split

Title: Split
Author: Swati Avasthi
Date Released: March 9th, 2010
Pages: 282
Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:
Sixteen-Year-Old Jace Witherspoon arrives at the doorstep of his estranged brother Christian with a re-landscaped face (courtesy of his father’s fist), $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, who is still trapped with his dad, and his ex-girlfriend, who is keeping his secret.

At least so far.

Worst of all, Jace realizes that if he really wants to move forward, he may first have to do what scares him most: He may have to go back. First-time novelist Swati Avasthi has created a riveting and remarkably nuanced portrait of what happens after. After you’ve said enough, after you’ve run, after you’ve made the split—how do you begin to live again? Readers won’t be able to put this intense page-turner down.

Review:
Split was very real. It deals with the heavy subject of physical abuse within the family, which main character, Jace Witherspoon, had gone through for most of his life, watching his mother, brother, Christian, and even himself, get beat up by his father.

When I started this book, I honestly had no idea of what I was about to get myself into. The description in the cover flap kind of left me a little confused when it was talking about how he had a banged up face, and I was kind of like, “What??” But note to self: never judge a book by its description. Or at least in this case.

I loved most of the characters, especially Jace because he was a funny and very courageous character, who goes through some confusion when it comes to seeing if he’s just like his dad or not, but he’s a very likable character. One character that I couldn’t really stand at all was Christian’s girlfriend, Mirriam. She was kind of nosy, and tried fixing things when clearly Jace didn't want her help.

The plot was very well thought out as well.  It moved at a nice pace, not too slow, and not too fast.  Although, the middle might have lagged a bit, I liked reading about Jace's constant struggle over whether or not he would become like his dad, and what happens after you leave an abusive relationship.

Avasthi wrote a very eye-opening novel in a way because I never thought that abuse could have an impact like that on a person.  Split was a really great read, but it wasn't exactly a very light read. It can get a little intense, but, nevertheless, give it a try if you're looking for something new because I definitely recommend it. 

Cover Review:
It's a really cool cover.  The red really pops out at you, but the keys are what really grab your attention.  I really had no idea of how keys related to the story, but I found out that if you look closely, you can see two faces!!  Once you find them, the faces are really all you can see!

Cleo :)

*Description and picture from goodreads.com
**Review copy won in a giveaway.