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Monday, March 3, 2014

NICOLE'S REVIEW: Split Second by Kasie West

Title: Split Second
Author: Kasie West
Format Acquired: ARC
Publication Date: February 11 2014
Publishing House: HarperTeen
ISBN: 9780062117380
Source of Copy: Requested from publisher

Summary:

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.



(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads;)

Review:

Split Second is the sequel to Pivot Point which I reviewed here. It's actually better if you read that first.

With the way things ended in the first book, it's not surprising that Addie wants a break from it all by spending time away from the Compound with her dad who has situated himself neatly in the Norm world.

It's not all rest and relaxation in the Norm world. Not when Addie meets Trevor - who is so familiar to her but she can't tell where she's seen him before. It also doesn't help that Addie's dad is lying to her and that Laila may have just dropped a bomb on her. You know, about Addie writing about events in a past search and having Laila erase it and asking her to restore it at another date. That bomb. Also don't forget to add to that the meddling Compound agents who have their eye set on Addie and have suspicions of her loyalty to her people.

And that my friends, is where I have to raise an eyebrow. Or two. Because I know the people who run the Compound are crazy paranoid creeps and all but seriously? I'm not going to go into detail to avoid spoilers but the amount of effort they put into stalking each and every person who've left the Compound is totally unbelievable. I get secret societies are crazy and you know, secret, but actually concocting elaborate schemes to determine a person's loyalty? Hah. I don't get why anyone would expend resources and man-power and time to do that. Crazy.

The book also alternates between Laila and Addie's point of views and I did like how their voices were easily distinguishable - Laila is more brash, more flirty while Addie is more timid and a worrier and an all around nice girl. The one problem with alternating POVs is that I feel like I didn't get to spend enough time with both characters which is why Laila's relationship with Connor felt a little....rushed. Eh.

How is this as a sequel to Pivot Point? It's okay, it certainly gives readers a view into how restrictive the Compound is and Addie and Laila have certainly gone through some character growth which is good. I'm just curious though, is this the end of the series? Because there were a lot of things left unresolved like Laila's family and Addie's mom and believe or not I'm kind of curious about what's in store for Duke.

Also I just want to say that Kasie West writes the cutest, fluffiest most adorable contemporary novels ever. Check out her The Distance Between Us (July 2013) which Michelle reviewed HERE and On the Fence (July 2014). Too cute. I cry.


Rating:


                          

2 comments:

  1. I loved Pivot Point, and it looks like Split Second is a solid sequel. I'm excited to have more insight into the weirdos who run the Compound, but mostly I'm just excited for more of Kasie's writing! Wonderful review!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! It's totally worth checking out. Hope you enjoy!

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