Split

Split is the debut novel of Swati Avasthi, an Indian American writer and teacher. This young adult fiction book was written in 2008 funded by a grant from the University of Minnesota where Avashi had studied. The manuscript underwent eight revisions and was finally published, after an auction, by Knopf in 2010. The book has received a plethora of awards such as the 2011 International Reading Association Award, the 2011 Cybils award, a 2010 Silver Parent's Choice Award, and the New Mexico State Book Award. It has received mostly positive reviews. The book has also received eleven nominations for state awards and it has been published in four languages. The story was inspired by Avasthi's experiences while working at a domestic abuse law clinic. Avasthi was inspired by an encounter with a mother and her two young children, a boy and a girl, who went through a traumatic and abusive experience. The book is written in the present tense and narrates the experience of a teenage boy, whose father physically abused the boy's mother. As he grew up the boy would later abuse another young woman. Plot The main character in the novel is Jace Witherspoon, who lives with his parents in River Forest, Illinois. He fights with his father to draw attention away from his mother, like his brother, Christian, taught him to. His father is skilled at leaving no marks. When Jace finally snaps and fights in protest against his father's brutal treatment of his mother, his father beats him up and forces him out of the house. His mother gives him money and Christian's address, who had run away years before. Their father is still searching for him. Badly injured, Jace then moves in with Christian. Gradually it comes out to the reader that Jace beat his ex-girlfriend, Lauren, after he finds out that she had been sleeping with his friend. Jace is haunted by this, and refuses to be involved in any romantic relationships, despite feeling a strong attraction to a co-worker, Dakota. The brothers then work out a strategy to see that their mother is rescued from their father's abuse. After their mother refuses to come at Thanksgiving, as planned, Jace and Christian go to River forest. As she is not home yet, Jace visits Lauren, and they share a kiss. Jace breaks off the kiss upon remembering that he is there to apologize to Lauren, who claims that everything is ok. Jace refuses to accept this and apologizes.