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kristid's review against another edition
4.0
What an emotional read.... I just finished a few moments ago and I'm having the hardest time composing myself and writing this review. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. What a fantastic debut novel. Did I mention that I was blown away... and heart-broken.
This novel is raw, it's honest, it's unbelievable. I've read stories about domestic violence, not many but a few, but I've never had a novel tackle the aftermath, the part of the story that the character has to deal with once they are out of the situation. It's much more heart-wrenching then I ever imagined.
To watch Jace struggle, it was so unfair.
The middle of the story did lag a little for me, but I think the exceptional characterization and writing more than made up for it.
And despite the subject matter... there is still an underlying notion of hope.
One of those books that you won't be able to put down... and one that will have a special place in your heart... as will Jace.
Awesome.
P.S. Did you notice the faces in the cover..... I didn't initially and now it's all I see!
This novel is raw, it's honest, it's unbelievable. I've read stories about domestic violence, not many but a few, but I've never had a novel tackle the aftermath, the part of the story that the character has to deal with once they are out of the situation. It's much more heart-wrenching then I ever imagined.
To watch Jace struggle, it was so unfair.
The middle of the story did lag a little for me, but I think the exceptional characterization and writing more than made up for it.
And despite the subject matter... there is still an underlying notion of hope.
One of those books that you won't be able to put down... and one that will have a special place in your heart... as will Jace.
Awesome.
P.S. Did you notice the faces in the cover..... I didn't initially and now it's all I see!
beths0103's review against another edition
5.0
Tragic and uplifting, a beautiful yet tormented tale of brotherly love in the wake of leaving their abusive father.
dinonino's review against another edition
5.0
I still don't know what to say about this book.
I had to put it down more than once because it just felt too deep.
It truly captured the problematics of abuse and he many different aspects that go along with it. It even gave us a second generation of abuser which we could face within the context of his past and sympathy but still withous excuses.
I had to put it down more than once because it just felt too deep.
It truly captured the problematics of abuse and he many different aspects that go along with it. It even gave us a second generation of abuser which we could face within the context of his past and sympathy but still withous excuses.
rlafleur85's review against another edition
2.0
Parts to the book to me, seemed a bit unrealistic. It had an interesting family dynamic. I like how the story kept the reader interested and hoping for Jace. The book covers a serious subject matter and unfortunately may be a reality for some readers.
mz_olson_8's review against another edition
4.0
Good; slightly disturbing. Not quite what you expect!
cn_scott's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tilly_is_not_here's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
heather4994's review against another edition
5.0
First note that this was an audio book that I checked out from my library using their Overdrive Media. I actually used it on my computer instead of downloading it to my iPod because I took a little spill on the ice yesterday and am resting today. The narrator of this novel was Joshua Swanson and I'd say he was perfect for the role. He didn't change his voice too much for the female characters but there was no confusion as to who was speaking. He was supposed to sound like a young teenage boy and that's exactly what he sounded like. His feelings came through at the right time and even though the subject matter was uncomfortable to me, he was believable as he retold the story of what happened.
The subject matter. I didn't know what Split was about, didn't even read the information, just decided I needed another book to listen to and checked it out. It was about spousal and child abuse. And I mean really bad abuse. The story starts with Jace at an apartment building looking for his last name on one of the buzzers. His brother is supposed to live there. He's got a letter from his mother that his brother sent to her with that address less than a month ago. But the name on the apartment says Marshall. That isn't their last name. He buzzes it anyway, says FedEx and is let in. The woman that answers the door slams the door in his face. Why wouldn't she. His lip is split. His face is swollen from the last beating he took from his dad. But he got a few punches in this last time. That's why he had to leave. His dad kicked him out because he finally hit back.
His brother had escaped many years ago. He'd taken the abuse for his mother. The one time they'd tried to leave had been horrible. What their father had done had been horrific and you don't find out until almost the end of the story how horrific it was. My jaw hung open listening. I take back all the things I said about not being able to become emotionally involved in an audio book. I was riveted. Glued. Appalled. And terrified. I knew what was coming and just kept shaking my head saying no, not possible. A man could not do that to his wife. But I was there could see it happen. It just took the right book to open me up emotionally. Or maybe I just had to have the right subject matter. But this one, you have to read or listen to. I will want to own a copy of the novel.
Abuse is hard to listen to or read about. Hearing Jace talk about it and he and his brother don't really discuss it much, is hard. Jace narrates the story and befriends his brother's girlfriend, Miriam. She is a teacher at the school he attends and also lives in the apartment next door. Christian is only grudgingly letting Jace stay with him, despite the fact that Jace is paying rent and helps clean and follows his rules. Jace has not learned how to control his anger and he's a hothead, though he let's it bubble on the inside. But like a teakettle it has to boil over and it does eventually and it has before. And he's lied to his brother. He's done what Christian considers unforgivable, but then Jace feels that Christian has done some unforgivable things, too. As brothers, they are as dysfunctional as they were as a family. Christian is closed off to us as much as he is to Jace. Jace lets us in and we think we know him until he makes the big reveal. Then we feel a little betrayed. But the most enigmatic person is the girlfriend, Miriam. She goes from resenting Jace, considering him an "at risk" teen to allowing him to live with her even after Christian kicks him out. She's part mother, psychologist, rescuer, listener, friend and refuge.
Jace's one goal, throughout the story, is to get his mom to leave his dad, a prominent judge in Chicago. She promises as he's pulling away that she will. They email secretly and she says she'll come by Thanksgiving. Christian reveals he's been sending her money every month, but Jace never knew. Never had any idea they were in contact until she handed him the envelope of money with Christian's address on it. Jace practices for weeks making a turkey and all the fixings in preparation for her coming. But Christian doesn't get his hopes up. When they get an email two days before Thanksgiving saying she's fine, they know she's not coming. Because to make it to Albuquerque by Thanksgiving she would have had to already left. This sets off a chain of events that ends with Christian and Jace not speaking to each other and Jace living with Miriam. Of course it's a long way from two days before Thanksgiving to there, but I don't want to reveal anything.
This audio book was slow at times, but then the pace picked up and then it becomes so tension filled and as I said before horrific (it's the only word I can use to describe what happens) that I found myself sitting up cringing and holding my hands, wanting to talk to someone about what was going on. If this novel can help one teen escape an abusive home or relationship or show a mother what happens to her children if she stays in an abusive marriage or relationship, Swati Avasthi will have done the world a favor. But even if that doesn't happen, it will give those of us, not in that situation a little more compassion and empathy for someone stuck in that situation, to understand why it's so hard to leave. How the patterns are made and even though it isn't right, it becomes their version of normal. One great piece of advice I got from a therapist once was just because it's normal doesn't mean it's right. So true, but we have to learn what is wrong for ourselves, no one can teach us. The characters in this book, all in their own way, learn that.
I recommend this book for any age YA reader 12 and up. The abuse scenes are graphic but there are only a few and their is dating abuse as well as child abuse and spousal abuse. (All the abuse is physical) It's probably something all teens should be aware of. No, not probably. Every teen should know about dating abuse. And anyone stuck in an abusive relationship might gain some hope from this novel. It isn't HEA, but there is hope.
The subject matter. I didn't know what Split was about, didn't even read the information, just decided I needed another book to listen to and checked it out. It was about spousal and child abuse. And I mean really bad abuse. The story starts with Jace at an apartment building looking for his last name on one of the buzzers. His brother is supposed to live there. He's got a letter from his mother that his brother sent to her with that address less than a month ago. But the name on the apartment says Marshall. That isn't their last name. He buzzes it anyway, says FedEx and is let in. The woman that answers the door slams the door in his face. Why wouldn't she. His lip is split. His face is swollen from the last beating he took from his dad. But he got a few punches in this last time. That's why he had to leave. His dad kicked him out because he finally hit back.
His brother had escaped many years ago. He'd taken the abuse for his mother. The one time they'd tried to leave had been horrible. What their father had done had been horrific and you don't find out until almost the end of the story how horrific it was. My jaw hung open listening. I take back all the things I said about not being able to become emotionally involved in an audio book. I was riveted. Glued. Appalled. And terrified. I knew what was coming and just kept shaking my head saying no, not possible. A man could not do that to his wife. But I was there could see it happen. It just took the right book to open me up emotionally. Or maybe I just had to have the right subject matter. But this one, you have to read or listen to. I will want to own a copy of the novel.
Abuse is hard to listen to or read about. Hearing Jace talk about it and he and his brother don't really discuss it much, is hard. Jace narrates the story and befriends his brother's girlfriend, Miriam. She is a teacher at the school he attends and also lives in the apartment next door. Christian is only grudgingly letting Jace stay with him, despite the fact that Jace is paying rent and helps clean and follows his rules. Jace has not learned how to control his anger and he's a hothead, though he let's it bubble on the inside. But like a teakettle it has to boil over and it does eventually and it has before. And he's lied to his brother. He's done what Christian considers unforgivable, but then Jace feels that Christian has done some unforgivable things, too. As brothers, they are as dysfunctional as they were as a family. Christian is closed off to us as much as he is to Jace. Jace lets us in and we think we know him until he makes the big reveal. Then we feel a little betrayed. But the most enigmatic person is the girlfriend, Miriam. She goes from resenting Jace, considering him an "at risk" teen to allowing him to live with her even after Christian kicks him out. She's part mother, psychologist, rescuer, listener, friend and refuge.
Jace's one goal, throughout the story, is to get his mom to leave his dad, a prominent judge in Chicago. She promises as he's pulling away that she will. They email secretly and she says she'll come by Thanksgiving. Christian reveals he's been sending her money every month, but Jace never knew. Never had any idea they were in contact until she handed him the envelope of money with Christian's address on it. Jace practices for weeks making a turkey and all the fixings in preparation for her coming. But Christian doesn't get his hopes up. When they get an email two days before Thanksgiving saying she's fine, they know she's not coming. Because to make it to Albuquerque by Thanksgiving she would have had to already left. This sets off a chain of events that ends with Christian and Jace not speaking to each other and Jace living with Miriam. Of course it's a long way from two days before Thanksgiving to there, but I don't want to reveal anything.
This audio book was slow at times, but then the pace picked up and then it becomes so tension filled and as I said before horrific (it's the only word I can use to describe what happens) that I found myself sitting up cringing and holding my hands, wanting to talk to someone about what was going on. If this novel can help one teen escape an abusive home or relationship or show a mother what happens to her children if she stays in an abusive marriage or relationship, Swati Avasthi will have done the world a favor. But even if that doesn't happen, it will give those of us, not in that situation a little more compassion and empathy for someone stuck in that situation, to understand why it's so hard to leave. How the patterns are made and even though it isn't right, it becomes their version of normal. One great piece of advice I got from a therapist once was just because it's normal doesn't mean it's right. So true, but we have to learn what is wrong for ourselves, no one can teach us. The characters in this book, all in their own way, learn that.
I recommend this book for any age YA reader 12 and up. The abuse scenes are graphic but there are only a few and their is dating abuse as well as child abuse and spousal abuse. (All the abuse is physical) It's probably something all teens should be aware of. No, not probably. Every teen should know about dating abuse. And anyone stuck in an abusive relationship might gain some hope from this novel. It isn't HEA, but there is hope.
syndi3's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Reading Jace is like waiting for volcano to explode. I keep holding my breath. I have to say the writing is very good. it can bring out cruelty without feeling sorry. The words evoking something more than heart wrenching. It evoking the domestic abuse at it truest form.
I like the relationship between Christian and Jace. Both of them suffers but dealt with it in different ways.
I like the relationship between Christian and Jace. Both of them suffers but dealt with it in different ways.
michreadsmanybooks's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book so very very much. Everything about it from the characters to the pacing of the plot and everything in between was just perfect. Books like Split are my absolute favourite to read because they really grab a hold of the reader and shake them. They open your eyes, they educate. They are so much more than just a form of entertainment and speak to the reader in a way that next to nothing else can. Ultimately, this kind of book really offers an outside looking in perspective.
I have read novels where abuse is prominent (particularly verbal and physical abuse) yet I'd never read anything where the character has escaped the abuse and is trying to get their life back in working order. Split follows Jace, the protagonist of the novel who has in the opening chapter recently fled home due to his father's abuse. He ends up at his somewhat estranged older brother's house as a result and so begins the start of Jace's new life. I really appreciated how nothing was sugarcoated in this novel. Many of the flashback scenes that Jace recounts from memory dealing with his abusive past and father were quite jarring and difficult to get through. We all know what physical abuse is and what it entails yet to have it showcased as it is in Split really makes a difference especially when you are so emotionally connected to these characters and want the best for them.
Another aspect of this novel that I really enjoyed was the reality of it all. Everything was very well handled and realistic. I was very happy with the ending for it offered just enough closure without making it a perfect little ending. With such a serious subject matter being addressed it would have been impossible not to mention unrealistic had everything suddenly been resolved and perfect. I don't want to give too much away but Split is authentic in its ability to remain raw and pragmatic.
I am a huge fan of well developed and credible characters which Split definitely has. I have to say that Jace is one of the best protagonists that I have come across in a long time. What made me really like him is just how far from perfect he is. It takes guts as a writer to give a character negative qualities and traits and to highlight them multiple times throughout the novel because you want the reader not only to like your protagonist but to sympathize with them as well. Giving them negative traits and characteristics can sometimes backfire but for me, it always makes me like a character all the more. This was the case with Jace. Again, I don't want to give too much away but he was an admirable character who didn't always do the right thing but wanted better and was committed to trying.
Aside from the Jace, Christian and Merriam were two of my favourite supporting characters in Split. They were two very different individuals each adding something important to the novel. I liked how with Christian, the way he acts and goes about things especially his reluctance to talk and share was later explained and showcased. Merriam was great because she was the opposite, a talker who thought that things needed to be discussed in order to heal and move forward. I felt as if each character and each scene in this book all served an equal purpose in the overall story. Nothing was filler or unnecessary. Everything in this novel only adds to the overall result.
Overall: I think everyone should read this book. Not only is Split a well written novel with great characters and a well executed plot but its subject matter is one that is very important and I feel we should not shy away from.
I have read novels where abuse is prominent (particularly verbal and physical abuse) yet I'd never read anything where the character has escaped the abuse and is trying to get their life back in working order. Split follows Jace, the protagonist of the novel who has in the opening chapter recently fled home due to his father's abuse. He ends up at his somewhat estranged older brother's house as a result and so begins the start of Jace's new life. I really appreciated how nothing was sugarcoated in this novel. Many of the flashback scenes that Jace recounts from memory dealing with his abusive past and father were quite jarring and difficult to get through. We all know what physical abuse is and what it entails yet to have it showcased as it is in Split really makes a difference especially when you are so emotionally connected to these characters and want the best for them.
Another aspect of this novel that I really enjoyed was the reality of it all. Everything was very well handled and realistic. I was very happy with the ending for it offered just enough closure without making it a perfect little ending. With such a serious subject matter being addressed it would have been impossible not to mention unrealistic had everything suddenly been resolved and perfect. I don't want to give too much away but Split is authentic in its ability to remain raw and pragmatic.
I am a huge fan of well developed and credible characters which Split definitely has. I have to say that Jace is one of the best protagonists that I have come across in a long time. What made me really like him is just how far from perfect he is. It takes guts as a writer to give a character negative qualities and traits and to highlight them multiple times throughout the novel because you want the reader not only to like your protagonist but to sympathize with them as well. Giving them negative traits and characteristics can sometimes backfire but for me, it always makes me like a character all the more. This was the case with Jace. Again, I don't want to give too much away but he was an admirable character who didn't always do the right thing but wanted better and was committed to trying.
Aside from the Jace, Christian and Merriam were two of my favourite supporting characters in Split. They were two very different individuals each adding something important to the novel. I liked how with Christian, the way he acts and goes about things especially his reluctance to talk and share was later explained and showcased. Merriam was great because she was the opposite, a talker who thought that things needed to be discussed in order to heal and move forward. I felt as if each character and each scene in this book all served an equal purpose in the overall story. Nothing was filler or unnecessary. Everything in this novel only adds to the overall result.
Overall: I think everyone should read this book. Not only is Split a well written novel with great characters and a well executed plot but its subject matter is one that is very important and I feel we should not shy away from.