Review: Split Second by Kasie West

Split Second by Kasie West
published by Harpercollins Publisher (HarperTeen) in February 2014

Life can change in a split second.

Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can’t believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time, too... but not without a price.

When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He’s a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories... once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don’t want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school—but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.

As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot... and a future that could change everything.

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Series: Pivot Point, Book #2

The Story: Addison Coleman lives in a top secret, paranormal compound where people have advanced mental abilities. Addie's ability is called 'divergence,' a kind of unique clairvoyance specific to herself. When faced with a choice, Addie can do a 'search' and see the two possible outcomes. In Pivot Point, after her parents' divorce announcement, Addie did a search to decide whether to live with her mother and stay at the compound or follow her father and live in the Norm world. In the end, she chose the former and asked her best friend Laila, who is a Memory Eraser, to erase her memories of the search.

When Split Second starts, the events that Addie had seen during her search has unfolded. Addie can hardly believe this was the future she chose. Her boyfriend Duke turned out to be a jerk, dating her only so he could make use of her ability to find out which path he should choose to further his football career. Her best friend betrayed her by making out with the jerk boyfriend. The worst though was that Duke was actually a mood controller and altered both Addie and Laila's feelings to make them fall for him. Oh and they almost all died at the hand of one of their classmates, Bobby, who turned out to be a psychopath.

After everything that has happened, Addie is happy to leave the compound behind and visit her father in the Norm world for the holidays. She needs a break from all the drama... and some distance between her and Laila won't hurt at this moment because even though Laila's betrayal wasn't entirely her fault, it doesn't mean it hurts less. However, this vacation isn't shaping up to be what Addie was expecting. First, Addie is  developing a new ability - to slow time - and has been getting horrible headaches whenever she's using her divergence... She's afraid that her encounter with Bobby has changed something within her. Then, it seems her father, whom she always could count on, has been keeping secrets from her. And of course, there is a boy, Trevor. Addie keeps bumping into him and is attracted to him. However, he's her new friend's ex and it doesn't seem like her new friend is over him... and what would happen if he learned about the compound?

Meanwhile, Laila is back at the compound and anxious at the distance between her and Addie. She's afraid she's losing her best friend. To make up for her betrayal, Laila decides to make one of Addie's wishes a reality: to restore Addie's memories about the search. In order to do this, Laila needs to advance her ability and that means rubbing elbows with some unsavory people. Luckily, one of her classmates, Connor Bradshaw, seems to have elected himself as her protector... but are his motives really pure?

My Opinion: Last year, I read and looooved Pivot Point, so much it was my favorite YA read of 2013. You know how some books just hit the right spots for you, well that was Pivot Point for me :) I was sooo happy to find out there was going to be a sequel! Although frankly, I did not really know what to expect from Split Second at all. How was Addie going to reconnect with Trevor? Would she?! As soon as I got my copy of Split Second, I devoured it to find out... and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with the direction Ms West took :)

First and foremost, what was so great about Split Second was that it wasn't a repeat of Pivot Point. As much as I loved the concept of Pivot Point, to have a second book all about Addie making a search, seeing two futures unfold and make a choice would simply have been a retread/rehash. Kind of like Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins where you have the feeling of reading the same thing again. Also, there wouldn't have been a storyline to the series ^_^; Instead, Split Second was a real continuation of Pivot Point where Addie had to deal with the consequences of the choice she made even if she was unaware for most of the book. That is in large part what made Split Second so interesting and engaging :) And really, I have to give credit to Ms West for this gutsy move because it's not easy to mess with something you know works! What's more, she turned it into a successful move with her writing, her characters and the story :)

The best change Ms West made to Split Second was adding Laila's POV to the story in my opinion. As Addie's best friend, Laila was an important character in Pivot Point... After all, she's the reason Addie chose the future she did and so, it was nice to get to know Laila better. It was also interesting because really, in almost every aspect, Addie and Laila are complete opposites - different family situation, different personalities, different views on their abilities, etc. As a result, we got contrasting opinions and insights :) I have to say, I wasn't a huge fan of Laila in Pivot Point as I found her too brash... However, getting her POV really changed my opinion of her. I loved her devotion to Addie, how much their friendship meant and mattered to her. Knowing her family background also made me understand her better and I couldn't help but feel for her. I also really enjoyed Laila's romance with Connor. Once again, it was a big contrast with Addie's romance with Trevor. To a certain point, it was a more mature relationship in my opinion because both Laila and Connor had more baggage and they had to deal with it, grow... but it made for a solid relationship and I'm glad that Laila has someone supporting her.

Not surprisingly, I still very much enjoyed Addie and Trevor's characters. In some way, with everything happening, I feel Addie and Trevor got the short end of the stick. I guess because their romance was pretty much the focal point in Pivot Point, it wasn't as developed in Split Second which was unfortunate :( I definitively could have used more scenes of them together... they were just so sweet in Pivot Point! Still, Ms West was able to re-capture their personalities in this book. I felt Addie and Trevor in Split Second were the same characters that I got to know and love in Pivot Point, so I can imagine a lot of sweetness for them in the future :P

What was interesting in Split Second was seeing other characters in a different light such as Stephanie and Duke. It seems that Ms West's message is that a lot depends on what perspective you see them. I have to say, I'm glad that Duke wasn't portrayed has an evil villain. Instead, he was a young man who made poor choices... Hard to like, but not unforgivable. While it was nice to revisit characters, I did also enjoy the new ones Ms West introduced. I mentioned Connor whom I really liked for his maturity and his heart-breaking baggage... I'm also giving two thumbs up to Laila's younger brother, Eli, who was a nice addition the cast in an upbeat fashion :)

While there was a lot to enjoy in Split Second, the book was not perfect. One of my issues was one of the plot lines... the one which created a drift between Addison and her father. I don't want to go too much into details, but I thought that plot line was a bit over the top. I understand the need for it because it added some excitement to the book and it moved the storyline forward at a brisk pace. I even understand the characters' motivation behind it, but I felt that these people pushed it a bit too far. Also, at times, it made the story quite confusing and difficult to follow. Also, I'm not totally sure it was necessary to the book... and if it was, there might have been different alternatives. However, what it showed was that the compound even with its advanced mental abilities wasn't a perfect world which is something important to me. I really liked that Ms West showed that the two worlds were flawed, that none was really better than the other... it made it realistic to me.

According to Ms West's website, this series ends with Split Second :( Unfortunately, I feel there were quite a few loose ends and questions unanswered. It feels like Ms West has written a HEA ending "for now" instead of a permanent one. It's not necessarily a bad thing, because it means Ms West could easily write more books in this series if she chooses to in the future, perhaps with different protagonists... but for a reader like me, I like my books to be wrapped up a bit more neatly. I wish there'd at least been an epilogue...

My Grade: B+. To me, Pivot Point was unique and will probably always hold a special place in my heart :) As a result, I'm not surprised that Split Second didn't measure up because Ms West had set the bar oh-so very high. Still, on its own, Split Second was a very good and enjoyable book with only some minor flaws. I feel had the intrigue been tighter, those flaws would have easily been overlooked. In any case, I really hope Ms West will choose the revisit this series in the future because I sure wouldn't mind reading more about the world and characters she has created :)

Review: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Hi everyone!

Wassup? Didn't mean to disappear, but I got really busy... Last week-end was the wedding, so I went to Washington D.C./Annapolis. Had a great trip and spent some quality time with relatives I haven't seen for a while :) More on that later, with pictures :P

Anyway, I spent the couple of days before the trip running around like a headless chicken. I need to learn how to relax before a trip, because seriously, it's getting ridiculous... That's mainly why I haven't blogged. That, plus the fact that my blogging muse is still gone. Sigh. Hopefully, she'll come back soon!

In the meantime, I have a buddy review with Ames up over at Breezing Through. The book is The Distance Between Us, a YA novel by Ms West. I picked it up because I really enjoyed her debut novel, Pivot Point :) To find out what I thought of The Distance Between Us, click here :)


The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
published by Harpercollins Publisher (Harper Teen) in July 2013

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

Genre: YA, contemporary
Series: None

Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West

Pivot Point by Kasie West
published by Harpercollins Publisher (HarperTeen) in February 2013

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.

Genre: YA, Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Contemporary
Series: Pivot Point, Book #1

The Story: Addison Coleman lives in a top secret, paranormal compound where people have advanced mental abilities. Around their tween years, each individual starts Presenting with one ability from a wide and varied range: telepath, telekinetic, mood controller, mass manipulator, perceptive, persuasive, etc., which is then nurtured to full potential. While Addie's ability is classified as Clairvoyance, it is actually a lot more specific. Called Divergence, which means extending in different directions from a common point, it allows Addie to see the future - the two possible outcomes when faced with a choice - when she does a Search. And her future is the only one Addie can see.

At the beginning of Pivot Point, Addie's parents announce that they are getting a divorce and Addie must choose with whom she wants to live. The catch is that her father has decided to leave the compound to live among the "Norms" as a FBI agent. Addie is much closer to her father, but does that mean she can leave the life she knows and her best friend Laila behind? In order to make a decision, Addie makes a Search six weeks into the future... But what she is about to learn is that even knowing what the future holds for you, some choices are hard to make... and sometimes, sacrifices are needed.

My Opinion: I was checking out the upcoming releases for Breezing Through's New Releases posts when the cover of Pivot Point caught my attention. Then, once I read the blurb, I knew it was my kind of books :)  I really love books about psychics and ones that deal with time manipulation. Therefore, Pivot Point was definitively on my radar and I am sooooo happy that I picked it up, because Ms West's debut novel turned out to be a winner!! :) Woohoo! LOL.

Needless to say, I loved Pivot Point. I thought it was an excellent book and I enjoyed everything about it - the world building, the characters, the story and particularly the writing. First, I really liked the premise of the book. It's not time traveling per se, but time manipulation and for some reasons, I like that LOL. It's just like Forgotten by Cat Patrick (which I enjoyed a lot, but haven't reviewed - oups ^_^;) where the heroine see the future, but forgets the past. I like that things can change, that they are not stagnant and as such, it just made Pivot Point interesting for me :) I also thought Pivot Point was refreshing, different because it pushed the boundaries of genres. For example, Addie's day-to-day routine was very contemporary; the paranormal compound was well, paranormal; the "time manipulation" aspect would be sci-fi, etc. It seemed to me Ms West had an idea, had a story to tell and she just did. And because she mixed so many elements, it stopped Pivot Point from being usual, stereotypical and made it refreshing :) One of the element that was crucial for that feel was the world building and I really enjoyed it. I liked Ms West's take on the mental abilities. When you think about it, these mental abilities are very akin to psychic abilities... and what Ms West did was take those and put her own spin. I liked what Ms West came up with like the Perceptives which are the ones that can change what you can perceive, usually visual, and etc. It feels like Ms West put a lot of thoughts into it to come up with the abilities and the designations and it really pays off. Also, I liked that the people have control over their abilities - to a certain extent. For example, Addie can do a Search when she wants. And because they have control over their abilities, they can improve it, hone it. Also, advanced mental abilities often translate into advanced technology and it was the case in Pivot Point. I thought it was really cool to have kind of two worlds occurring in parallel. It was like having a present and future worlds going on at the same time :) In the future where Addie chose to live with her dad, she had to get used to turning on lights, to DVD machines and so on. So it was fun and again, unique :)

As I mentioned above, I enjoyed the world building, the characters and the story. So let's talk about the characters and the story :) I actually really loved Addie and I thought she was a great heroine. What I liked most about her is how individualist she was. She was comfortable in her own skin and didn't care what other people thought, said or did. Pivot Point wasn't a story about a heroine finding herself because Addie had already done that. She knew what she liked and who she was. When she started high school in the "Norm" world, she wasn't interested in becoming popular or finding a boyfriend and again, I found that refreshing. The fact that instead, she was looking for a best friend, I think that made her relationship with Trevor ultra-sweet :) As for Trevor, I really liked him as well. I liked that he has moved on. Of course, there was some bitterness over his injury ending any potential career as a quarterback - who wouldn't have any? But it wasn't his whole world, he didn't hang onto it and that showed me how mature Trevor was. A lot more mature than many characters I've seen in sport romances ^_^; He was also very attentive and observant. That scene where he told his mother stuff about Addie, again, very sweet :) All in all, Addie and Trevor made such a cute couple and I loved reading their storyline. I also enjoyed the secondary characters a lot such as Addie's parents and her best friend, Laila. It was nice to have parents that were present and their dynamics with Addie were very interesting. As for the story, it's kind of hard to talk about it without spoiling it, but it was good LOL.

Seriously though, what stands out for me about Pivot Point is how well thought out the book was. Not only the world building, but the storyline as well as the narration. What Ms West did was basically tell two possible outcomes of a same future in one story and not only did she succeed, but she did it seamlessly, with brilliance and without confusion. I mean, I'm not even sure I manage to explain it without confusion here ^_^;, so imagine writing it! LOL. What I also loved about the story Ms West wrote is that these two possible outcomes didn't go into two opposite directions, but instead they inter-crossed. No matter what future Addie would have chosen, they were events that would have happened. True, they would have happened in a different way, but they would still have occurred. For example Addie meeting Trevor, the football match between the two high schools, the prank on Poison, etc. It was really interesting to see how the two possible outcomes unfolded, but also how they actually connected :) Another aspect of Pivot Point that made it stands out was Ms West's writing; I was really impressed by it :) The way Pivot Point is written, Addie's two possible futures are told simultaneously with alternating chapters. Not only was it was clever, but also very effective because Ms West avoided bogging the story down with re-writes of the same scenes in the different futures and the readers were always aware of the timeline. In addition, it kept the story balanced as you had equal numbers of chapters of Addie in the paranormal compound and Addie in the "normal" world. As much as I enjoyed the characters, the world building and the story, there's no doubt in my mind that it's the execution of the book - Ms West's writing and planning - that made this book a winner :)

My one and only complaint about Pivot Point is a small one and that is the rushed ending. Or actually, I should say the climax in one of the possible outcomes. It just felt a little too rushed. The foreshadowing was well done in my opinion, but it just felt that things fell into place a bit too conveniently for the climax to occur. As for the real ending, I was really satisfied. At the end of her Search, Addie had a really tough decision to make. Actually,  not so tough... Which future to choose was obvious, but it wasn't without sacrifices. And I guess that's the message of the book, knowing the future doesn't necessarily make a choice easy. Also, given that Pivot Point is the first book in a series, Ms West has accomplished a rare feat: no cliffhanger!! How awesome is that? LOL.

My Grade: A. It's really been a long time since I've read such a well balanced book where every element was so strong. Pivot Point just worked for me and I  strongly recommend it to everyone! I'm definitively going to re-read it while I wait for the next installment! Really looking forward to it :) Lucky for me though, Ms West has another book scheduled this year, The Distance Between Us, which is a contemporary YA and it should hold me off ;) I'm also very curious to see how she handles another genre :)