Pick a Path: Pivot Point

Pivot Point by Kasie West (Pivot Point #1)
Harper Teen, 2013

*ARC provided by HarperTeen via a Goodreads giveaway - Thank you!!*

This book. Where do I even start with this book? When I was younger, I used to say I wasn't huge into science fiction, but in recent years with books like these, to say that's changing puts it mildly.

Pivot Point, Kasie West's debut novel, completely blew me away. The fact that it's a debut is just staggering. The premise grabbed me the first time I heard about it: Sliding Doors meets special abilities, all in YA. But it's so much more than that.

Addie has spent her whole life living in the Compound, essentially a secret town for people who all have exceptional mind abilities. Her father is a human lie detector and her mother can persuade people to do almost anything. When they tell her that they are splitting up and Dad is moving for a life outside the Compound's walls, Addie must choose who she will live with. Using her ability as a Searcher, she looks into the future and sees both outcomes. As chapters alternate between her two possible futures, a mystery unfolds and as the summary says, she must choose between "which reality she's willing to live through...and who she can't live without."

This book takes Robert Frost's infamous "two roads" idea to epic heights, and it really does make all the difference. The tale is perfectly paced and plotted so that it genuinely took me a while before I decided which future I was rooting for. A mystery unfolds in both worlds, and Addie is incredibly strong on both paths. She's facing the things normal teens face, but in extraordinary circumstances. Plus there's romance - never overwhelming, but it's certainly a significant part of the story - and I was shipping one couple in particular so hard.

According to Goodreads, a sequel will be coming our way in 2014 and that better be true. Even if it's not, Pivot Point is a story that will keep you guessing up until the very last page (but not in a frustrating sort of way).

Comments welcome, and, as always, happy reading!

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