Book: Pivot Point by Kasie West

Published February 2013 by HarperCollins|248 pages

Where I Got It: I own the e-book

Series: Pivot Point #1

Genre: YA Paranormal

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.

I’ve wanted to read Pivot Point for a while, but now that I have, I’m not sure how I feel about it.

On the one hand, I love the idea of a girl who can Search her future.  It’s an interesting concept, and the idea of a paranormal compound full of people who have paranormal abilities is a pretty cool idea.

I also like that we see both futures side-by-side-, and how they’re different from each other…but also how they mirror each other.  The book alternates between her life in the Compound and her life outside the Compound, and we’re basically getting two sides of the same story, which is really unique, and it’s pretty well-plotted.

That’s also where the book lost me.  At first, I didn’t realize that we got two different stories, and I was confused by the random jumps between inside the Compound and outside the Compound.  Especially because we had nothing in terms of chapter headings and where we were.  I did go back to the beginning and started over just to figure out what was going on because I was really confused, and that was when I figured out we got the two different futures.

Once I got my bearings (which is sort of a weird way to put it, but it also describes how I feel about the book), I really enjoyed the book and the story and the two different paths the story took.  It did lose me a little at the end too, because I thought the ending was a little too weird.  It took me off-guard, and it was definitely unexpected, because I had no idea where it was going or how it was going to end.  But that last chapter was sort of confusing because I wasn’t expecting a time jump and it was a little disorienting.  While I want to re-read that chapter to see maybe a re-read will sort things out, I also feel done with the book.

Still, I am curious about the sequel, and what’s in store for Addison.  I’m not in any hurry to read the next one, but I will get to it eventually, because I am pretty intrigued by this world.

3 stars.  I’m on the fence with this one- I liked the dual futures we see alternating, and I like that they’re just different enough from each other to be distinct, but also have similar enough stories to see that some things don’t change no matter what path you take.  There were times when the dual paths lost me, notably at the beginning and the end, but overall, all of the things I really like outweigh everything else, which is why it’s not getting a lower rating from me.

Book: The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Published February 2015 by Orion|383 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: The Red Queen #1

Genre: YA Fantasy

This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart…

I really liked The Red Queen!  I can’t believe it took me so long to read, but I was glad to finally have picked up a copy from the library, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

There were quite a few twists and turns, and some of them took me by surprise…but looking back, they probably shouldn’t have.  I like the idea of people thinking Mare is fake because she has red blood but the ability of silvers…and that she’s not the only one with the ability…or that horrible things happen to people like Mare.  I feel like she has a little bit of the chosen one thing going on (which isn’t that surprising, considering it’s fantasy), and something about the plot reminds of more than a few sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal/dystopic novels out there.  I don’t read enough fantasy to know how the plot stacks up against other fantasy novels.  As for the other genres, I try to mix things up enough that it was noticeable but not too noticeable.

I wish we saw more of this world, and everything that happened before the start of the book, because it seems like there’s a lot going on that we don’t see.  Maybe we’ll get more in the books to come.  I really hope so because I want to know more!

Still, it was a pretty cool book to read, and the ending really took me by surprise!  I liked Mare, and I liked seeing her change and become such an awesome character.  There is the teensiest bit of a love triangle in this book, with two brothers, but I honestly didn’t particularly care for either one…although, to be honest, I can’t remember which brother is which at this point (since it’s taken me over a week to write a review), but if I had to pick a brother, it would be the one who didn’t do the horrible thing towards the end of book.  I don’t know if that will make much sense, because I don’t want to spoil the ending for anyone who hasn’t read it, but one of them really made me hate him.  And even though I understand why he did it, I also felt like it was a horrible thing to do, and he made me like him, and it seemed like he was cool and then he wasn’t.  It’s weird, because now that I think about it, I don’t think I liked either of them at the same time.

And it seemed like there is potentially something with the one friend, but I just didn’t like him, and I hope he’s not a love interest in any of the other books, but he might be, and I don’t want that!  Actually, I kind of wished there was a little more romance, because I felt like it was hinted at, which is weird, considering she gets engaged.  But at the same time, I get why the book is more about her new-found abilities, and some of the stuff going on in the country.

It’s interesting, too, because it’s such an interesting combination of past and future in the book.  It’s not contemporary, but there are times where it felt like the distant past, and other times where it felt like the distant future.

4 stars.  I really liked it, and it’s a really cool premise!  It definitely had its twists and turns.