Review: Split Second by Kasie West

From Goodreads: 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. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: With the way Kasie West’s Pivot Point ended, the sequel, Split Second, made for an interesting read because unlike the reader, Addie doesn’t have any significant memories of Trevor. The way the story was written though was never confusing, and for that West needs to be commended.

Although I didn’t love the plot of Split Second as much as Pivot Point because it involved the Containment Committee and the Compound yet never gave us much information about them, I loved returning to Addie’s story due to her endearing personality. Of course it was also great to see her meet Trevor and fall in love with him all over again.

Besides the perspective of Addie, Split Second was narrated by Laila. While I didn’t really like Laila in Pivot Point, she grew on me over the course of this novel because she was much better developed and easier to sympathize with. I especially enjoyed her interactions with Connor, who I think complemented her well. 

Split Second was released in February 2014 by HarperTeen. 

Comments About the Cover: I’m not really a fan of it.

Reviews: Pivot Point by Kasie West and Parallel by Lauren Miller

Thoughts on the Novels: The theme of parallel universes/alternate realities seems to be a growing trend in YA. So much so, that HarperTeen released both of the debuts that I recently read – Kasie West’s Pivot Point and Lauren Miller’s Parallel. As such, rather than reviewing them separately, I’ve decided to a compare and contrast type of review.

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Set up of Plot: As a Divergent, Addie has the ability to Search how two options presented to her can affect her life on a day-to-day basis for however long she chooses. When her parents tell her they’re divorcing and her dad will be leaving the Compound to live in the Normal world, Addie decides to Search which parent she should live with. Chapters therefore alternate between how Addie’s life would be like were she to live with her mom versus if she were to live with her dad. Essentially, it’s like reading two stories at once, with some common events between the two. 

Protagonist: Addie is someone I can totally picture being friends with! She loves to read, is organized, doesn’t care about popularity, and prefers hanging out with a smaller group of close friends than going to something like a party. 

Worldbuilding: In Pivot Point, the Para-community does its best to ensure that its existence is kept a secret from the Normal world. They hardly interact with Norms, and appear to be mentally and technologically more advanced. 

Romance: Since I thought Trevor, Addie’s Norm friend, was sweet, and disliked Duke, Addie’s romantic interest in the Compound; I hoped that Addie would opt to live in the Normal world because it seemed like her decision would ultimately be based around a guy. So, I was pleasantly surprised that Addie’s choice wasn’t influenced by a guy in the end. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Set up of Plot: In Parallel, two universes collide, with the alternate universe being a year behind in time of the present one’s. As a result, alternating chapters reveal how the older Abby’s current circumstances are affected by her younger alternate’s decisions every day. Like the older Abby, I was constantly confused as to what was going on in the beginning because details of her reality kept changing. But, I liked how Miller showed that even a small choice can change a person’s course of life dramatically. 

Protagonist: I was never able to form a connection with the older Abby. Meanwhile, alternate Abby was sort of nosy and seemed kind of dumb. Who thinks it’s a good idea to walk around barefoot in a construction zone?! Also, both versions of Abby seemed to develop crushes very easily. 

Worldbuilding: By far the best part of Parallel was the theory behind alternate universes because Miller explains the physics in such a simplistic manner. 

Romance: I didn’t really care which guy older Abby ended up with because neither captivated me. There was also lots of talk about soul mates, a concept I don’t believe in. 

Overall Comparisons: Despite the fact that both Pivot Point and Parallel have very romance-centric plots, it’s a lot more obvious in Parallel. That, combined with West’s engaging writing and my preference for Addie over Abby means that I’m more likely to recommend Pivot Point over Parallel. Where Parallel wins though is definitely the worldbuilding. 

In exchange for an honest review, Parallel was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.