Jennavier Recommends: Split Second and Pivot Point by Kasie West

Some writers are good, others are so good they can only be described with adjectives. Kasie West is electric. Her writing is amazing. She does things that have done before but when I read them it’s like I’ve never come across it before. I haven't read her contemporaries yet but I hope to soon. Until then I'm going to tell you why her paranormal duopoly is so amazing.



Her Split Second duology is about the Compound, a place where people with special abilities live in a culture advanced from their counterparts in the US. Addie is the heroine, although her friend Layla gets viewpoint scenes in book two. The story matches Addie’s special abilities. It’s told in two stories, as Addie looks into the future to see what choice she should make. Both are fascinating and the final decisions is as heartbreaking as it is necessary.

Addie is fun and different as a character. She’s conscientious to a fault, something you don’t come across very often in a YA character. As she challenges her own assumptions she grows as a person, making me as the reader very proud of her. Layla is a bit more traditional. She’s rebellious, pretty, and loud. But where she shines is when West shows you who she really is underneath. Her ultimate love story in Pivot Point hit all the right notes for me.

The books are well paced and well drawn. The world felt absolute. It was rich and deep but never commanded the story. It felt like something that was obviously real as soon as I was introduced to it, which sounds boring but was in fact a masterful stroke.

The series feels like this could extend even though the major plot lines are wrapped up. If West never returns to the world I would still enjoy that aspect. It feels like it’s continuing without us. Maybe someday we’ll get a different window inside.