Book Review: Pivot Point (Book #1) by Kasie West

Pivot Point by Kasie West

Series: Pivot Point (Book #1)
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: 12th February 2013
Tagged under: 2014 read, 2014 favourites, fantasy, 4.5, YA-fiction, book review
Pages: 343
Buy at: Amazon, The Book Depository

One Girl. Two Fates. One choice

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 new 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 always 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.

Book Review [Spoiler Free]

This book, like so many books I'm reading recently, came to me highly recommended, so much so that I listed this book and its sequel, Split Second, on my Autumn TBR list. The plot is intriguing, almost in a pick your own adventure/ending sort of way, and I eagerly dived into this book.

As the plot summary suggests, Addison Coleman has an advanced mind. Her ability, Divergence, allows her to "live through" two lives whenever she needs to make a choice and thus, helps her select which outcome she wants to end up in. Thus, when the story opens with the news of her parent's divorce, she decides to Search it for six weeks to decide her fate.

At first, the two separate choices are distinct stories, each with their own share of problems and intrigues. In the life that Addison chooses to stay with her mother, she stays with her best friend and is being pursued by the school's quarterback. But life soon changes from idyllic to something sinister as trouble brews in the horizon. In the life that Addison could have if she chooses to leave the Compound with her father, she becomes the new girl in a Norm school and has to juggle the need to keep her past life a secret and the growing friendships she is developing with the Norms. However, even out here, she couldn't escape the mystery that's brewing back in the Compound. 

As the two stories progress, things begin to intertwine and the reader discovers that perhaps the two lives are not as separate as everyone thinks. One of the best features of this book is as the two stories begin to overlap and blend, pieces of the two time streams begin to appear in one another. A close friend in one life will appear as an interesting stranger in the other. Someone that pops in and out of the characters' lives in one life has a name and background slowly revealed in the alternative. Witnessing Addison live out the two lives, the reader has a bit of foreknowledge yet at the same time, Kasie West keeps a tight reign on the plot and only reveals things at the time and place of her choosing. 

And the relationships! I'm not a big fan of love triangles unless it's done well and this one had me all gooey and melting on the inside. It's not technically a love triangle yet at the same time, Addison is in theory torn between the two boys and with her decision on which life she wants to live out, she does end up choosing one or the other. That's all I'm going to say on this topic. And my lips are zipped with regards to the ending. Suffice to say, I eagerly dived into Split Second as soon as I closed the cover of this book.

Overall: 4.5/5

This book is definitely a strong contender to be featured on this year's favourites list. I enjoyed it very much and can't wait to start its sequel. I highly recommend it to people looking for a good YA-fiction that's urban fantasy in nature without dystopian elements thrown in.