Hello, I'm Richard Nimz, prospector of the written word and literary explorer extraordinaire. Now it's time for something a little more complicated on this blog: chapter books. Due to their greater complexity, they're aimed at older readers, something that means they can explore topics more thoroughly and more explicitly than picture books. Young adult books can get into some especially prickly topics, like the book being featured here. That book is Swati Avasthi's Split.
Citation: Avasthi, Swati (2010).
Split. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Summary: One night, Christian Witherspoon leaves his abusive father's house behind, along with his mother and his little brother Jace. Years later, Jace drives twenty hours to live with his brother. As he adjusts to living with the sibling who left him behind and tries to lead a normal life, his thoughts are occupied with the life he left, particularly his mother and his girlfriend, and one dark secret that could destroy him.
Impressions: I would put this on the reading list of things teenagers should know. It deals with the topic of domestic abuse, but more specifically with how it can affect its victims (it helps that it was written by someone who works in domestic abuse cases). The two brothers are decent people, though not spotless, and the story is actually very gripping. While it does not end the way I would like it to, I must admit that it was probably for the best, for the message's sake. In the words of Ivy Book Bindings: "Overall, this novel is simply brilliant. It is a powerful, thought-provoking, and beautifully-written novel about two brothers coming to terms with their past and learning how to move on - together."
Auxiliary Sources:
(5 Sep, 2012). Ivy Book Bindings: Review: Split by Swati Avasthi. Ivy Book Bindings. Retrieved from http://ivybookbindings.blogspot.com/2012/09/review-split-by-swati-avasthi.html
No comments:
Post a Comment