Pivot Point (Pivot Point, #1)

by Kasie West

Perfect for fans of Sliding Doors, Kasie West's riveting novel Pivot Point follows a girl with the power to see her potential futures. Addison Coleman's life is one big "What if?" As a Searcher, a special type of clairvoyant, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she is able to look into the future and see both outcomes. So when her parents tell her they are getting a divorce and she has to pick who she wants to live with, a Search has never been more important. In one future Addie is living with her mom in the life she's always known and is being pursued by the most popular guy in school. In the other she is the new girl in school, where she falls for a cute, quiet artist. Then Addie finds herself drawn into a murder investigation, and her fate takes a darker turn. With so much to lose in either future, Addie must decide which reality she's willing to live through ...and who she's willing to live without.

• ISBN10: 0062117378
• ISBN13: 9780062117373
• Publish Date: 5 March 2013 (first published 12 February 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 19 July 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperTeen
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

Pivot Point takes the hard question “what would you do if you could see your future” and brings it to life in a emotional and engaging story revolving around a teen called Addie. This book is unique, sweet, and with a pinch of intrigue.

The world of Pivot Point is surprisingly contemporary and in some ways I found this slightly disappointing. The interesting world of the Compound is described very sparingly and we don’t get to see very much of the inter-workings aside from the schooling and the testing. I would have to have some more world-building because the beginning was only so-so for me and it wasn’t until Addie was well into one of her paths that I became hooked. I found the idea of mental abilities to be really interesting and we do get to see some of what other people can do, and I loved the fact that it doesn’t paint any ability as mostly good or bad. Most of the story happens in Addie’s Search of her two possible futures and we are given both stories in alternating chapters labeled with either a Para or a Norm word to help you keep track of which one. I had a bit of trouble focusing and found the overall pace to be on the slow side, and it wasn’t until the last 3rd of the book that was well and truly pulled in.

I think it’s sort of obvious from the lack of extensive world building that this is a character driven book and that really run the show. Addie is a sarcastic bookworm, that while I really enjoyed reading about kind of fades into the background once the book is over. She’s a great girl though and she was pretty easy to connect to and understand, and while she’s definitely different from the normal female MC’s I can only say I feel somewhat invested in her future now that the book is over. Then there are the boys Duke and Trevor, who are complete opposites. I honestly can’t stand Duke. I hated him right from the off, because when hitting someone with a football is an acceptable introduction you lose me. Trevor is great though and I found him to be adorable, he’s definitely worth the time and effort of book shipping. Even though there are two guys this book does not have a love triangle. It sounds complicated and in some ways it is, but no love triangle here.

Overall I found Pivot Point to have a really interesting premise and I thought it was handle really well. I do wish it the middle hadn’t lulled so much but it was worth the effort to get to that ending. I’m definitely curious to see how things have developed in the second book and I’m really hoping we get to see more of the Compound.

[ladygrey]

Ugh. I mean, in some ways I really liked this book. The world was fun and the characters were decent and it was fast and intriguing. But ugh! The ending was so disappointing.

Ok, in some ways it was a good ending because, kind of, she got everything she wanted. At least that was the implication. But it wasn't what I wanted at all. As the mystery was coming together I started fearing certain things, I was really excited to see her pull all the pieces together from both choices and make a new future - to tell people about what she'd learned and stop something awful from happening. It was going to be so gratifying. But that whole idea about not being able to change the future was lame. Because telling people about Bobby and Duke and Poison would have changed the future. And it could have made it a lot better - not just worse. And because of that, because I trusted her patents to be able to take that information and do something good with it, her reasoning seemed like a cop out.

And even though she was theoretically going to get her memories of Trevor back, even though she was still going to have the chance to meet him - it was disappointing. Because it wasn't actually real and he didn't get to have those memories if her.

And she didn't tell Duke that he had to make Ray fix Trevor! I would have done that too.

I did like how strong the plot was and how both paths complimented each other so well. That was surprising and enjoyable.

And it's kind of the perfect antidote to a love triangle because you get to experience her relationship with both guys. And for a whole I liked them both a lot and was interested to see how she'd choose. Then I... I liked Trevor more. He has some really great moments at the end and his reversal is kind of perfect.

Maybe eventually I'll reconcile myself to the ending because in a lot of ways it makes sense. But for now this is still one of those books where I liked pretty much the whole book then the ending spoiled it for me.

[Ashley]

BookNook — Young Adult book reviews

If there is any book in the world that can give you a book orgasm, it's this one.

Pivot Point is not just one of my favourite books. Screw favourite book of the month, or favourite book of the year. Screw favourite paranormal or favourite science fiction. This is at THE TOP. As in favourite book ever. As in the best book I have EVER read. Pivot Point was always really good, but when I got to the ending, my mind was completely blown, and this book soared to the top of my list. To see everything come together (Addie's two paths) was just PHENOMENAL, flawless, and heartbreaking. And holy sweet Searching, I wanted to stomp and kick and rage when the book ended because I NEEDED more!!! I Twitter stalked harassed threatened messaged Kasie, demanding book two immediately.

Lately, all of my favourite books have been new adult contemporary romances with that bursting-at-the-seams emotional trauma. It's almost like I can't love a book unless it has that gut-wrenching shake-me-to-my-core feel to it. Pivot Point has a bit of that, but what makes it different (other than the paranormal twist) is that it's brimming with originality and suspense, and it has a structure that can only be described as pure genius. This book is executed flawlessly and will keep you hooked, addicted, and all kinds of psyched out. It was almost like I didn't even care about my life any more. I just sat down and read and read and read and read because it was SO FREAKING GOOD and I could not be parted with it. You would have had to pry the book from my cold, dead hands. You weren't getting it away from me any other way.

Those other books I mentioned are good, but they're just emotionally jerking. I love that, and it's amazing, but Pivot Point made me see something more than that. This is an amazing example of a book that is so intricate, so complex, and yet delivered simply and flawlessly. It has "carefully crafted" written all over it.

Honestly, I was a little nervous of Pivot Point at first. I mean, two futures, two lives? That sounded really confusing! But somehow, Kasie West manages to pull it off with ZERO confusion! It was flawless. Just imagine: two paths—two different futures—both playing out simultaneously. They're different, but there's distinct overlap. You see how the futures have similar elements, and even a few similar events, but they are executed slightly differently. How the bloody hell do you pull that off? Ask Kasie West.

So in this book, we follow out these two paths in alternating chapters. The two paths lead to different love interests! BACK OFF OF TREVOR, HE'S MINE. *ahem* At first I was totally and completely torn between the two. They were different, but they were both pretty darn hot. But as the book progressed, I easily picked a side (oh Trevor, how I loveth thou!). Their relationship is really slow-building, tender, and sweet. And Trevor is the perfect book boyfriend. Honestly, my favourite part of the book was when Addie messed up and Trevor found out. In normal YA books, the love interest would have been pissed and raged out of there without an explanation. But Trevor was kind and patient. Sure, he was disappointed, but he allowed Addie to explain. Oh my god why don't more YA boys do that???

The characters in this book are just all so likeable (or hate-able). The dialogue had me constantly giggling, laughing out loud, and squealing with delight! I kept texting my boyfriend incoherent things like, "OH MY GOD! THIS IS AMAZING! THIS IS AMAZING! MY BOOK IS SO GOOD!! HOLY SHDFOISD;MNA!"!i" Addie was hilarious, but without trying to be.

"I don't care when people think I'm an antisocial, controlling bookworm because that's what I am. It's when they interpret me wrong that I have a problem."
—Addie, ARC of Pivot Point by Kasie West

"Thanks. And can we just get this out of the way? Your eyelashes make mine want to commit suicide from shame."
—Addie to Trevor, ARC of Pivot Point by Kasie West

I wanted to cry my eyes out when this book ended. Yes, it was sad, but mostly I wanted to cry because the pure, solid genius that is Pivot Point had ended. It took my brain a while to actually compute that. PIVOT POINT? ENDED?? WHAT?? ARE WE DIVIDING BY ZERO??? The way this book unravels is just so heart pounding; it left me awe-struck. Like.. I couldn't move. My eyes were actually all wide like basketballs O_O And when I finally regained my composure, cue insane, mindless Tweeting, sobbing, crying, and bribing at Kasie West for book two.

The end of this book actually reminded me a bit of Heroes, which was a really cool surprise. I didn't even think about that connection until the very end. I won't tell you why, to avoid spoilers, but just know that it is FREAKING AWESOME. I wanted to cry because I didn't have book two. I pity the book I will read next because it will not be this good. I'm going to curl up in a ball in a corner and rock back and forth like a crazy person until book two is released. When is that? February 2014. So I guess I'll see you guys in one year, because I will be in no state to write reviews until then.

Kasie West single-handedly cures jet lag

Prior to reading this book, I was suffering from severe jet lag for an entire week. I was going to bed at like 6pm, waking up at 4am, taking a nap from 10am-12pm, and then starting all over again. It was absurd. But Kasie West is solely responsible for saving me from a life of being nocturnal. Normally I would have gotten tired at 6pm, or maybe 8/9pm if I was lucky. But, no. Because I was reading Pivot Point. I COULD NOT PUT THE BOOK DOWN. So instead of succumbing to exhaustion, I stayed up until 11:30pm. ELEVEN THIRTY. For a jet lagged person like myself, this was HUGE. And when I finally did go to bed, I lay there mumbling variations of "holy shit" and "wow". I'm not even just saying that for the sake of this review, I actually did that.

Going to bed at 11:30pm allowed me to finally sleep through the night, waking up at a more reasonable 8:30am. THANK YOU KASIE WEST!! Thank you Pivot Point, thank you HarperTeen. You guys have banded together to cure an almost-nocturnal bookworm. My would-have-been-skipped-because-I-was-sleeping-during-the-day classes thank you as well.

The moral of the story is...

Go buy this book IMMEDIATELY!! Or else I will find you. And haunt you. And hurt you. And... *ahem*.

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Pivot Point is a wonderfully compelling and highly engaging novel. Definitely a head spinner, it will suck reader's into the story, leaving them gasping at every twist and turn. Kasie West has written a stunning new young adult debut novel, that is sure to entertain and wow fans of the genre. Filled with murder, mystery, suspense, and intrigue, Pivot Point will leave reader's speechless with its captivating premise and amazing brilliance.

West pens a novel dripping with so much originality and intriguing plot twists, that reader's will simply not want to put it down until they've reached the end. Emotionally engaging, the characters are wonderfully developed, likable, and easy to relate to. Addison is an amazing character that is intuitive, funny, vulnerable, and wonderfully clever. It's incredibly easy to connect with this vivacious and strongly written, yet incredibly complex character. She's undeniably selfless and the kind of character that won't back down from impossible situations once she is faced with them. Instead, she meets them head on and weathers the storm, whatever it may be.

The clever spins on what the future grasps and the past and/or present consists of, is also one of the strongest and best elements about this novel. It lends the book most of its charm and appeal. Getting to see both the para-world and the norm-world set up against one another almost as if you were seeing both sides of the coin being tossed in the air, is part of what makes this book so amazingly rich in its depth, plot, and complex premise. The heartache and unexpected twists and turns that won't be expected, is what will leave reader's aching for more. Pivot Point is a painfully beautifully written young adult novel, that is probably one of the best the year has to offer. It is absolutely unputdownable amazing! Reader's will not want to miss out on this heartstopping story.

[Amber]

Pivot Point was my first read of 2013. After a slight false start and DNF-ing a different novel, I picked up Pivot Point without even really knowing what it was about. I can honestly say that this is one of the best books I've read in a while. I would compare it to Altered by Jennifer Rush, which I also adored, due to the two sharing the same mystery element and for being able to capture my attention so well.
Along with the ending, which I will get to momentarily, my favourite part of the book was the way the timelines connected. If you have read the summary, then you will see that Addie looks into the future to see two potential timelines and how they would work out if she chose them. Pivot Point alternates between the two timelines, and we get to see just how different Addie's life would be.

Full review here: http://www.booksofamber.com/2013/02/pivot-point-by-kasie-west.html