Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West

Title: Pivot Point

Author: Kasie West

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: 2.12.2013

Pages: 320

Genre: SciFi

Series: Yes (Pivot Point #1)

Source: ARC from publisher

Rating: A+

Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

Review:

I’ve been staring at the screen for 15 minutes, trying to put into words my absolute love of this novel. Love just sounds so weak. This book utterly consumed me. Pivot Point is that rare book you would let the house catch on fire and burn to keep reading. Once I started, I simply couldn’t stop. Kasie West has made a lifelong fan in her stunning debut.

Addison is one of my favorite book characters EVER. She’s funny, smart, sensitive, vulnerable, and everything in between. She is also ones of the strongest narrators I have encountered—there is very little she leaves unexplained. I had no problem slipping into her mind and understanding her. I connected with her by the end of the first chapter.

And Trevor? Sweet mother of mercy. This guy is everything a girl could want in a book boyfriend. Words absolutely fail me right now. But you know that gooey feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when a guy melts you? Trevor totally does that. I swooned. I admit it.

This book flips back and forth between futures. One chapter shows the path Addie would’ve taken with her father, the other if she stayed. Now it sounds like that may be confusing, but it truly is not. If anything, it enhances the story. The chapters are like two sides of the same coin. It was so enlightening to see how small details from each future added up to this huge picture. West could have easily befuddled her readers, but instead she sucks them even further into this devastatingly fantastic world she created.

I read this book in 2012, and if you look back on my favorites of 2012 posts, you will frequently see this book mentioned even though it won’t be published until 2013. This is the book I wish I could press into everyone’s hands. It’s simply amazing. It can’t be soon enough that I have a finished copy of Pivot Point sitting on my shelf. This is a book I will read and reread several times over. If you buy one book this year, make it Pivot Point.

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