Pivot Point (Pivot Point, #1)

by Kasie West

[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.