Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West

Title: Pivot Point

Author: Kasie West

Series: Pivot Point, #1

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publication Date: February 12th 2013

Source: Bought

Description: Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thoughts: One person can’t change the future.

Pivot Point follows Addison, who can Search into the future when she’s faced with a choice to see both outcomes. She lives in the Compound, where only people with an ability like hers live. One day, Addie comes home from school and her parents tell her they are getting a divorce: she now has to search six weeks into the future to decide with who she’s going to live.

Okay, I can’t contain my gushing anymore: this. Was. Amazing. I loved it! I can’t think of one flaw. One! The characters were likable, the romance was slow and sweet, and Pivot Point surprised me over and over again.

Addie was great. She’s a believable teen, and I loved her wit and sarcasm. Especially this scene won me over:

I look up and meet his eyes. “You know we’re nothing alike, right?” “Isn’t there a reason for the saying ‘opposites attract’?” “Yes – magnets.”

This book was set up with expertise and skill. The way both Addie’s futures alternate and complement each other was magnificent. Her futures might take place in different settings, but they chronically align and West handled this so good. Some major events take place in both futures, and the way West drops hints in both futures without being obvious baffled me. I hadn’t expected for this to be done so professionally.

But the mystery in this book is what surprised me the most. I honestly hadn’t expected that, but a sci-fi with a contemporary feel. Which it was, but with the mystery and suspense added, this book was a complete win. I read this in one sitting, and this is one of those books where you wish you could have Laila Erase your memory so you can read it for the first time again. I didn’t see the ending coming and the way everything was coming together was brilliant.

There are two love interests in the story, because Addie has one in each future. However, nowhere in the novel is there any feel of ‘who shall I choose’ because Addie never knew them at the same time. I disliked Duke from the beginning, but his beginning romance with Addie was sweet and well done.

But for me, only one love interest counts: Trevor. Oh, Trevor. He reminded me of Tucker from the Unearthly series, and that’s a huge compliment. He’s one of those love interests I wish were real, and, more importantly, living in my neighborhood. He was so sweet and understanding and I absolutely loved him.

The ending was so bittersweet. I loved how Addie chose the path that ended up the best for herself and her friends, and that she didn’t necessarily choose for one of the boys. If I was someone who cried over books, I would have at that ending. And I need book two, Split Second, right now.

All in all, this book was magnificent. The characters are flawed and likeable, the romances are sweet, and the way West weaves everything together shows great skill and will stun you. I’m basically begging you to buy and read this now. NOW!