Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West (Book 1)
- Book Junk Hammy
- Aug 5, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 6, 2019
"When I read, I feel emotion all on my own. Emotion no living person is making me feel."
I never read any books written by Kasie West before, so when I stumbled upon Pivot Point, I was drawn in by the synopsis itself. A girl with the ability to see alternating futures? Count me in! I did some research and found out that Kasie West is well-known for her YA romance novels, so yeah, while Pivot Point’s main focus is on the romance, there are other elements such as political intrigue and family that drives the plot as well, and it has a well-built and strong plot, which will engage readers. The author did a very good job in alternating two different futures, and its possibilities. Oh, and let's not forget, there's also the sci-fi/ supernatural aspect in the book!
Without further ado, here’s the synopsis of the story:
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.
The Plot:
The story opens with our protagonist, Addison Coleman (Addie) who has the ability to see into two alternating futures. While she has the ability to see into the future, she’s a high school student whose parents are going through a divorce. She is given a choice to stay with either her mother, who works as a researcher at the Compound or her father, who is leaving the Compound to live with the Norms (humans with no supernatural abilities). Addie wasn’t sure who should she choose to live with, and to find out, she used her ability to look into two alternating futures: life living with her mother in the Compound, and life living with her father, outside of the Compound, with the normal people. Addie searches for the possibilities and decides which of the two futures will be best for her. But, selecting which is best for her wasn’t as simple as she’d thought. In these futures, she’ll meet two different love interests (one she already knew), and experience two very different lives. I like the way the author wrote and explain the story without getting the reader confused. Addie’s POV bounces back and forth effortlessly. She brilliantly explained the scenes and daily life occurrences in these two alternating futures, which will lead to a bigger picture of the plot. Addie will not only discover secrets that her parents have been keeping from her, but secrets that involved her friends as well, secrets that involved murder.
The Settings:
The story is set in the near future, but it feels contemporary to me. We have the top-secret community, the Compound, where people with supernatural abilities live, and Dallas, Texas (the normal world outside of the Compound). The Compound is very much like our cities in the normal world, except everything in there is technologically more advance and people there have different supernatural abilities from telepathy to object manipulation, similar to X-men.
The Characters:
I like Addie’s character as a whole. She is easily relatable and is not your angsty, my-life-is-a-wreck character that is often featured in YA novels. She is mostly calm and rational in her actions, which I adore. While we have Addie as our protagonist, we have Laila, her best friend who is the total opposite of her. We were exposed to Laila’s backstory, and it’s sad. The circumstances she had to go through with her family led her to behave in ways that were sometimes off-putting in the story. But we will get more of Laila in the second book (Split Second).
And we have our love interests, Trevor, who appears in the future where Addie lives with her father, and Duke, whom Addie knew from the Compound and appears in the future where Addie lives with her mother. I have to admit, Trevor is such a sweetheart in the book! He is cute, charming and he DRAWS (sorry, I have a weakness for characters who draws). Whenever I read his interactions with Addie, my heart flutters and squeals occasionally. I don’t know why, but Trevor reminded me of Lucas Till from Hannah Montana: The Movie.
And then, we have Duke. I didn’t like him very much. He controls Addie, and I dislike a controlling love interest. The romance between Addie and Duke felt forced and insta-love, too. Duke is a suspicious character from the beginning and when the author revealed about Trevor’s injury, I wasn’t surprised that his injury was caused by Duke and his gang.
"Because an illusion is an illusion. Reality always exists despite the facade."
Pivot Point, on the whole, is a light, heart-warming and very interesting read with a unique concept. The ending was predictable and I understood Addie’s choice. She wanted the best for her friends, especially her best friend, Laila. I enjoyed Kasie’s writing as well. I would describe her writing as “fluffy” and warm. It was a light read, understandable and flows seamlessly. I have bought the second book, Split Second, which features Laila, Addie’s best friend in the story, and I have yet to finish it. Review soon to come once I’m done reading it 😊
Rating: 4.5/5
Genres: Science Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Details of the book can be found on Goodreads:
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