{Review} Pivot Point by Kasie West

Title: Pivot Point
Author: Kasie West
Format: Edelwiess e-book
Publisher: HarperTeen

Release date: February 12, 2013

Date Read: January 22nd - January 23rd 2013
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

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.

PREREVIEW STORY TIIIMMME

If you read any of my earlier status updates for PIVOT POINT, you are probably a very surprised person as it looks like I really hated this book. But, if you look at the book I read just before this, I think you'd understand better.

The last book I read was FROM ASHES and if you just do a quick look over my review, it's pretty obvious that I hated it with all my heart.

Whenever I read something that I hate with a burning passion, the next book is almost always a book I don't like. I think that I was still in that "RAWR I HATE YOU BOOK" mindset which makes every tiny little flaw look gargantuan. This of course makes me sound like a huge bitch while reading.


Thankfully, I got out of that mindset around halfway into PIVOT POINT and was able to enjoy it like I would in any other case - which may have caused a huge confusion because part of my statuses are "Grrrrr this sucks" and the other half are "ASDFGHJKL; I LOVES IT". 

TL;DR Version: Don't listen to me. Actually, no, um, please do. My whole reviewing career sorta depends on it.

Annnnnyyyway, here's this whole review thing now. 

Characters

Ok, YA authors, what's with the name Addie? It just seems to be everywhere now. Abbie and Addie. It's weird. I don't get it! Not that I have anything against the name Abbie or Addie, it's just an observation.

Now, on to the actual Addie character. Addie is a character who at first I didn't like - at all. She was whiny, clichéd, and had this woe-is-me attitude. Not good. I really just wanted to strangle her.
Now, I'm not sure if this is "RAWR" attitude speaking or actually what I thought of her because her character personality seemed to do a total 180 on me - which most characters do not do. The first 30% Addie was terrible, the 30 - 50% Addie was bland, and the rest was AWESOME ADDIE.
 
First 30% Addie basically was a girl complaining about how unfair and terrible her life is. It's both annoying and bland. There's hardly any character in there, just that walking cliché really. I really wanted to strangle her during that time. 

30 - 50% Addie was bland. She was funny, sure. She wasn't stupid, but not exactly the best character in the world. I didn't connect with her at all during this time. 

Ok, the next part is really, really hard to explain since PARANORMAL and NORMAL Addie differed so greatly. I really think that they were different characters. PARANORMAL Addie is one of those heroines that I want to kill most of the time while NORMAL Addie is one that I want to cuddle. I'll be discussing NORMAL Addie because I love her and hate PARANORMAL one.

After that middle slump, everything really picks up. Addie grows up a bit and becomes an awesome, squeal worthy heroine worthy of being part of that amazing group I call "My Favorite Heroines". I can't really explain how it's possible for such a monumental change, but it was and it did.

HOORAY FOR MAKING ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE

Now, there's the matter of the two love interests. I'm not sure if it really is a "love triangle" until the very end because both alternate story lines are basically dreams that Addie is having at the same time. I think it'll only make sense if you read the book. Anyway, one is the NORMAL dream, aka the one where she goes to live with her dad, and the other is the PARANORMAL dream, where she lives with her mom.

I'm also very certain that Trevor is the main LI, since after some moments in the book it's obvious that Duke, the other guy, isn't really a contender. 

Trevor = sweet, adorable, geeky, wonderful = YES

Duke = douche, weird, controlling, possessive = NO

The only character I hated, other than the other LI, is Addie's best friend Laila, who I despised. She was occasionally funny but most of the time? Boy crazy (nearing obsessed) and idiotic. I really found no growth for her character nor any little thing that made me say "Well... maybe she ain't so bad" (that may or may not be because I'd never say 'ain't').

Plot and Writing

Plot

The plot of Pivot Point is very low action for the most part. It's basically about a girl who has a power to see possible futures. It's not really a "if I get write this answer on my math test, will it be wrong?" kind of thing but it only works for big problems (I think). 

It's a beautifully developed power, unlike some of the random ones I've seen in YA lit. Usually, they involve some sort of elemental power or immediate future. Annnyway, this girl finds out her parents are getting a divorce and she has to decide whether to stay in the Compound (a super secret place for people with powers) or go into the world with her Dad.

Like a little cheater, she decides to see what the futures hold for her.

But seriously, it's a good idea and was done fabulously by West. The plot is a bit weak in this book at times since this is a very character driven novel - which is a good thing and the right way for this book. It still stands however, the plot can get pretty weak at times.

There's also this pathetic attempt at a murder mystery which I hoped would get bigger as the book moves along but it's mentioned halfway through and dropped until the end where all of sudden it gets VERY LOUD AND VIOLENT.

The ending surprised me a lot. Instead of doing what I was sure Addie would do, she actually did the smart thing! Usually, YA books end with a happy ending but personally, the ending was kind of depressing. Awesome twist there.

Overall, I liked the plot well enough but the murder mystery? Better left out because it didn't feel like it really belonged with the book.

Writing

Kasie West is such an amazing writer. I really loved living in her world for a bit (well for the most part). I would read anything she writes, if only you could skip the pathetic weeping girl whose parents just divorced. 

Likes and Dislikes

Likes:

- Addie

- Trevor

- Addie + Trevor togetha foreva

- Characters

- Plot

Dislikes: 

- Addie 

- Duke 

- Laila 

In conclusion

I really enjoyed PIVOT POINT, even though the beginning should have put me off it. I'm overall very happy that I decided to finish it.

Lisbeth is an American teenager who enjoys blowing shit up in videogames and discussing decapitation in great detail. She's also obsessed with Oceana, but you're not supposed to know that.