Split

January 25, 2010
Petrucha (The Rule of Won
) offers a reality-bending take on the idea of split personalities. After the death of Wade’s mother in the prologue, the story jumps ahead three years and unfolds in alternating chapters, both narrated by Wade but in two very different realities. In one, the high school senior is a Type-A aspiring scientist, anxious to prove a theory that modifications to the town’s particle collider are a potentially deadly threat; in the other, the particle collider has been closed down and Wade is a selfish, guitar-playing dropout, who gets involved with some dangerous mobsters. Which universe and which Wade are real (if the answer is even one or the other) gets murkier as reality shifts, culminating in a meeting of the two Wades, but there are enough textual and visual cues (different fonts for each Wade, among other elements) that will allow readers to follow. Though both story lines and the dialogue lean toward the melodramatic, Petrucha’s story should leave readers considering the power of fate versus choice and the internal urges and desires that regularly jostle for control. Ages 14–up.

March 1, 2010
Gr 7 Up-As a young teen, Wade sometimes talked to himself after his mother died. Fast forward three years as "Split" begins: with two Chapter Ones, two Chapter Twosand two Wades. They both live in present-day Rivendale with alcoholic fathers (one currently drinking, one not), girlfriends named Denby, and friends named Ant. One Wade is a high school senior and a computer genius, writing code on his rig and living a straight-arrow life. The other Wade is a musician, in debt to violent loan sharks, who doesn't think much of "scien-ticks" and "flashy drives." There is a sinister company (Prometheus) that may or may not be running experiments that could destroy the world. Petrucha's "all or nothing" style ("How can you not take it too seriously if you're the only one who can prove the world might end?") demands a suspension of disbelief, but many readers will eagerly go along to see what happens when the two Wades not only meet, but also switch places. It's frustrating that Petrucha never explains the dual universe, how the split happened, and how the personalities exchanged, but it's clear that Prometheus is the bad guy and that Wade saves the world, so that may be enough. Most of the character development is sacrificed in pursuit of action, but for many readers, a book that reads like it might be made into a movie at any moment is just fine. For a more authentic computer adventure, suggest Cory Doctorow's "Little Brother" (Tor, 2008)."Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2010
Grades 7-10 At 15, the death of Wades mother paralyzes him with indecision about how he wants to live his life: keep to the straight and narrow, or drop out to play music. Three years later, he has done both. Alternating narrativesboth by Wadedescribe his life after pursuing each of these paths. Neither is depicted as being the right one, and each Wade has his own problems. Straitlaced Wade writes a computer program proving that the towns particle accelerator could end the world, putting him at risk when the company discovers that he is likely correct. Dropout Wade gets in deep with a loan shark and deals with a higher level of criminal. The two Wades begin dreaming of one another and, at their lowest points, meet in the flesh to change places and fix what the other was unable to handle. The shifting action keeps the fast-paced dual plots moving, and teens will be entertained by the two Wades embodiment of the tension between being success oriented and following your whims.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)