Read of the Week: Pivot Point by Kasie West

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.

Pivot Point is the book I’ve been looking for all month.

Edgy, mysterious, fast-paced, adventurous, and most importantly, addictive.

Kasie West has gone somewhere that virtually no author has gone to before. She’s taken us into the world of a girl who’s able to base her decisions in life off of what she sees through a ‘Search.’ I am so completely in love with this idea solely because whenever I’m faced with a decision to make I wish I could know where either path leads up to, and Kasie’s protagonist goes to show that as beneficial as it is, an ability like Addie’s isn’t always fun and games.

I love West’s way of developing character relationships so thoroughly from both perspectives and the way she keeps the suspense going all throughout the book. There’s never a dull moment, and characters are all real and supported in their own ways, and it makes for excellent story telling. It’s interesting to see the other abilities of people around Addie and the way they’re able to channel it and use it to their advantages, and everyone’s different calling plays an important role, so it’s fun to watch it all play out interchangingly

Trevor, who plays the role of Addie’s future best friend and potential crush, is sugar and spice and everything nice. His friendship with Addie is sweet and develops beautifully along the pages. Nothing is forced and everything flows wonderfully. I love it when an author knows just the right way to move along romantics.

I really admired Addie as a main character. It isn’t often that people find a protagonist they feel is justified in their decisions, and I love that even though Addison has to make one of the hardest choices possible, she chooses the one that benefits others over herself, even after betrayal and all. A protagonist driven by justice is the best protagonist there is, for me.

Even though Pivot Point is considered paranormal, I felt like the possibility of the world Addie lives in isn’t too far from actually existing. West latched onto a brilliant idea that that can be passed off as believable with just enough imagination, and that is all it takes for me to love a fantasy novel: possibilities.

The cliffhanger at the end of Pivot Point just about left me pulling my hair out, as it most likely will you, too. I am, personally, a big fan of unresolved endings. They make your gut twist and your heart ache, and it’s all something that’s beautifully masochistic. I’m the first one to push for the gratifying cliffhanger; indecision, uncertain death, revived characters, the works. Pivot Point, though, took me to the edge and pushed me over when I was looking the other way. It was painful, and while I’m used to that, because, hello, cliffhangers bring anguish to everyone that encounters them, it still hurt too much for me to handle. I am anxiously awaiting the sequel, and sadly, I have to wait almost a year and I’m pretty sure I’ve lost my marbles about the twentieth time just thinking about it.

It’s been two days since I finished Pivot Point after a seven-hour reading frenzy— Read, eat, read, sleep, read, etc.— and I still can’t get it off my mind. I’m thinking of rereading it just to get my thinking straight.

Pivot Point is a great read for anyone with potential free-time, because I can tell you once you pick this one up, you won’t be putting it down till you hit the last page.

Rating: 10/10