Pivot Point by Kasie West is a young adult novel about Addie, a young woman who has the ability to preview the consequences of any decision she makes and see both sides of the coin so to speak. She makes use of this ability when her parents separate in order to help her decide which parent she will live with. Think Sliding Doors with super powered teens.
What I liked
Excellent execution of concept. While the concept itself isn’t new, I thought West put together a slick, tight execution. The internal logic held up exceptionally well. I liked that she explained not only the concept but gave it clear limitations: Addie can only view her own timelines, they must diverge from a decision she makes and she cannot view subsequent forks from within a viewing. I’m not explaining that very well. Why not go check the book out for yourself and it will make sense? I liked also that her skill was connected to that of her best friend, who can erase memories, preventing Addie’s being overloaded with false memories.
No decision was without consequences. I liked that there was no “good” decisions. True to life, sometimes no matter what you decide somebody is going to get hurt.
Slick pacing. The book is written with alternating chapters following the two timelines, the one in which Addie moves away with her father and the second where she stays with her mother. This kept the story moving along at a brisk pace. Some events, such as the big match, occur in both timelines with Addie’s having differing perspectives on them.
Tightly woven plots. The minor plot threads are expertly woven into the main narrative, with both the thread of the missing young women and the attacks on the athletes appearing in both.
What I didn’t like
Bland characters. Other than her ability, I found Addie and the other characters very bland and lacking in depth. I read the book perhaps a month ago and I had to go back in to look up the main character’s name.
All in all I did enjoy Pivot Point and while I won’t rush out to buy the sequel, Split Second, due out later this month, I will probably check it out at some point. I gave Pivot Point three stars out of five.
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