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.