Split
By Jacqueline Druga
Publisher: Independently Published
Publication date: August 28, 2025
ASIN: B0FP3RRGZX
Page Count: 215
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Skull Dread Rating: 💀💀💀 (the dread of realizing Mother Earth just rage-quit humanity)
Triggers: Natural disasters, survival peril, family separation, violence, loss
You can never go wrong with Ms. Jacqueline Druga. Seriously, I grab every one of her new releases like snacks before a Netflix binge, and Split proves once again that she’s the reigning queen of disaster fiction.
The premise? The world doesn’t end in one neat mushroom cloud—it falls apart like a Jenga tower during an earthquake, and poor Wallace Graves happens to be standing at the bottom. First an earthquake, then a tsunami, then oh, just the small matter of a chain reaction that could shove the entire planet into extinction-level territory. You know, light reading.
But here’s the thing: Ms. Druga never just writes about disasters. She writes about people clawing their way through them, finding slivers of hope, stubborn friendship, and the occasional laugh in the face of the apocalypse. Wallace’s journey to reach his daughter isn’t just rubble and chaos; it’s full of unexpected connections that remind you survival is more about who you have than what you hoard.
Is it tense? Absolutely. Will it keep you up past bedtime? Yep. And yet somehow Ms. Druga still threads in those moments of heart and humor that make her books feel less like bleak survival manuals and more like campfire stories told at the end of the world.
What Did I Just Walk Into?
An end-of-the-world story where tectonic plates have better timing than most villains, and the planet itself is a character with major beef.
Here’s What Slapped:
Disaster scenes written so vividly you’ll eye your emergency kit
Characters that feel like neighbors you’d trust to share rations with
Hope and heart stitched into the rubble
What Could’ve Been Better:
A few typos scattered here and there, but honestly? When the world is splitting in half, grammar is the least of anyone’s worries.
Perfect for Readers Who Love:
Fast-paced apocalyptic fiction that’s people-first, disaster-second
Survival stories with grit and warmth
Authors you can always one-click without regret
Reviewed by Robin for Robin’s Review.