Review: Pivot Point – Kasie West

Pivot Point by Kasie West
Series: Pivot Point #1
Published by HarperTeen
Published: February 12th 2013
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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.

I can’t even put into words my love of this book. I honestly feel like saying it was amazing is doing a disservice to it. Amazing is so over used, for me anyway, when talking about a book. But I can’t think of anything else to really use to describe Pivot Point. To say I fell in love with is it a huge understatement, and reading this book proved to me that I need to read/find more books like it. Like Parallel by Lauren Miller, I am completely enthralled with the concept West used in this creatively told novel about two different life paths.

Pivot Point is Addie’s story. Addie has lived in her paranormal compound her whole life where she has been surrounded by other paranormals like herself. Each person has some sort of power varying from mind erasing(Addie’s BFF) to detecting lies(her dad) to telekinesis(some of the football players, to Addie’s own power as a Divergent, a person that can look into the future when given a choice to decide which path to take. When Addie finds out her parents are splitting she must decide if she wants to live in the compound with her mom or move to the Norm world with her dad. Using her power to search her two futures Addie is faced with deciding between her heart and the lives of the people around her.

First and foremost I must start by saying the characters in this book were pretty amazing. It’s very rare for me to find a book that this is true about, but I really enjoyed each and every single one of them. They all had a purpose and I found that purpose to be understandable without it being dumbed down for the reader. The way they were all written translated seamlessly into both words and that is a kudos to West. You can tell she really thought about the little things that make a book work and character connection is one of those things. What I really loved was the 4 main-ish characters, Addie by far being the lead, with Laila, Trevor and Duke her supporting cast. Laila was the kind of friend that stringent Addie needed. She brought Addie out of her shell but in a natural way. Duke, the school heartthrob that made Addie question some things about herself and the people around her, and Trevor, oh Trevor! He may be one of the cutest cowboys that ever did cowboy! SWOON I tell you. Perfect swoon for Trevor. But really it was all Addie and her interactions with this people that brought the whole thing together. That  and West’s amazing focus on detail.

I can’t say enough how the little things in the book is what brought it all together for me. Never once was I worried that I would be confused about which “reality” I was in before reading it, and West made sure I wouldn’t have to be with the way she wrote it. You don’t think a lot about what it takes to make a great book, unless you are an author I imagine, but the tiniest of details makes all the difference and the difference was made in Pivot Point, right down to the very very end with an ending that blew me away, broke my heart, made me hopeful and set up the series quite nicely.

Straight up, Kasie West is a genius. I mean, hardcore genius. This book was so chockfull of awesome. From the dictionary words at the beginning of each chapter distinguishing the Norm World from the Paranormal World, to the tiniest of details used to connect both worlds in some way, to the amazing characters, West created what I would classify as a masterpiece. It was entertaining and thought provoking and had a great love story that made you want more. To be honest I am usually annoyed when I get sucked into another series, but I just can’t be with this one. Pivot Point was written in such a way that it actually demands a series be made out of it. So bravo to you Ms. West for not only creating this epically awesome book, but for making me excited there will be more. Even if you think paranormal isn’t your thing, trust me on this, Pivot Point will convert you it is that good.

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