Title: Pivot Point (Pivot Point #1)
Author: Kasie West
Publisher: Haper Teen
Publishing Date: February 12th 2013
Length: 352 pages
Keywords: YA, fiction, romance, paranormal, crime, alternate future
Source: Edelweiss
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.
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.
Summary by Goodreads
PIVOT POINT is the first YA debut I’ve read in 2013 and I got something even better than I’d expected. I hadn’t heard much about Kasie West’s debut before, but that didn’t keep me from rushing through the book once I’d gotten my hands on a copy. Now I’m overly exalted that PIVOT POINT is finally out in the wild and that everyone gets a chance to read it!
The story is set in a city, a compound, which is home to a number of specially gifted humans. Its inhabitants possess certain abilities and are highly intelligent. They own advanced technologies and knowlegde in various fields which guarantee an enhanced way of living that needs to stay hidden from all the other people living outside the compound walls.
The story is set in a city, a compound, which is home to a number of specially gifted humans. Its inhabitants possess certain abilities and are highly intelligent. They own advanced technologies and knowlegde in various fields which guarantee an enhanced way of living that needs to stay hidden from all the other people living outside the compound walls.
The setting is fantastic, because it felt so seclusive, exclusive and like the perfect place to invent all the great new devices of tomorrow . It feels special, because it is contained and yet there is always a note of longing for the rest of the world.
Among other things,the term pivot point is used to analyse stock market fluctuations. In Kasie's novel, the pivot point describes the point at which Addie's story starts to take a different turn. It's about two alternate futures that could lay ahead of her. The only thing left for her to do, is choose the path she wants to live. And at exactly that point Addie finds herself after her parents annouce their divorce.Which way should she take? Stay with her mother or leave with her dad?
Giving Addie the talent to search her future is a brilliant way to draw the reader into the story. What is better than having two futures to choose from? I adored that play between many different possibilities. The concept of Addie's talent is impressing and the whole story very intriguing.
There are two love stories, as I’d expected a few chapters into the story. One can be found in Addie's future in which she stays with her mother, and the other is waiting to be discovered outside the compound. And these two boys, Duke and Trevor, are as different as the outcomes of her alternative futures.
Falling in love with Trevor was the best thing that could happen to Addie. He’s exactly the right guy for her. I fell in love with him even before Addie did. He’s comical, talented and artsy. Most important, Trevor puts Addie before his needs and he understands her in a way no other person does.
PIVOT POINT has the quality of a YA contemporary novel, Addie and Trevor finding to each other and slowly falling in love. But there is also a definite paranormal feel to the story, thanks to the compound and its people's gifts. The intricate and clever plus of PIVOT POINT is, that Kasie West added a crime aspect to the story by including a kind of murder mystery. It adds an investigative touch and requires Addie to solve the secrets around hurt football players around the country and the deaths of two young girls, who allegedly killed themselves. There is nothing else I could've wished for. PIVOT POINT equals awesome sauce in its entirety!
Among other things,the term pivot point is used to analyse stock market fluctuations. In Kasie's novel, the pivot point describes the point at which Addie's story starts to take a different turn. It's about two alternate futures that could lay ahead of her. The only thing left for her to do, is choose the path she wants to live. And at exactly that point Addie finds herself after her parents annouce their divorce.Which way should she take? Stay with her mother or leave with her dad?
Giving Addie the talent to search her future is a brilliant way to draw the reader into the story. What is better than having two futures to choose from? I adored that play between many different possibilities. The concept of Addie's talent is impressing and the whole story very intriguing.
There are two love stories, as I’d expected a few chapters into the story. One can be found in Addie's future in which she stays with her mother, and the other is waiting to be discovered outside the compound. And these two boys, Duke and Trevor, are as different as the outcomes of her alternative futures.
Falling in love with Trevor was the best thing that could happen to Addie. He’s exactly the right guy for her. I fell in love with him even before Addie did. He’s comical, talented and artsy. Most important, Trevor puts Addie before his needs and he understands her in a way no other person does.
PIVOT POINT has the quality of a YA contemporary novel, Addie and Trevor finding to each other and slowly falling in love. But there is also a definite paranormal feel to the story, thanks to the compound and its people's gifts. The intricate and clever plus of PIVOT POINT is, that Kasie West added a crime aspect to the story by including a kind of murder mystery. It adds an investigative touch and requires Addie to solve the secrets around hurt football players around the country and the deaths of two young girls, who allegedly killed themselves. There is nothing else I could've wished for. PIVOT POINT equals awesome sauce in its entirety!
1) two alternate futures mean twice the fun
2) of a real chance to be a superhero
3) of a compelling crime thread
4) of its fascinating compound setting
5) of the varied palette of mental abilities it has to offer
5/5 ***** PIVOT POINT – Mind-blowing and truly divergent!
I’m still marvelling at the brilliant possibilities of two future stories Kasie West enabled with the pivot point! I couldn’t decide which possible future of Addie I wanted to continue reading after each chapter, because they both had me glued to the book! If you want to get a good start into the 2013 debuts, begin with PIVOT POINT, it won’t disappoint!
* Be on the look-out for Kasie’s next novel, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, coming summer 2013! * Read an excerpt of PIVOT POINT here.
* Want to meet Kasie West? Check out her event schedule!
* For further information about Kasie West and her books visit www.kasiewest.com
* Thanks to Harper Teen and Edelweiss for giving me a chance to review PIVOT POINT!
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