REVIEW: Split Second - Kasie West

GENRE: YA
PAGES: 360
PUBLISHER: Harper360
FORMAT: Hardback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 4 Stars

Check out Gem's review for Pivot Point here.

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.

REVIEW

After having read and loved Pivot Point, Split Second picks up where PP finished and Addie is just as awesome as ever. This novel differs as it tells the story from both Addie and Lailia's view points, allowing us to see both inside the compound and outside and in the norm world. The action kicks in immediately as Addie and Laila try to piece together a trail of breadcrumbs leading towards a conclusion that could change their lives forever. It's difficult to say much about this book without giving away big spoilers, but suffice to say it's awesome! I wish there were going to be more books in this series :)

- Gem.

GUEST REVIEW: Shift - Jeff Povey

PAGES: 368
PUBLISHER: Simon and Schuster
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 3 Stars

SUMMARY

Get ready for one apocalyptic detention. These misfits are going to save the world! Meet Rev, Billie, the Ape, Johnson, GG, Carrie, the Moth and Lucas, a motley crew of bickering teens who find themselves totally alone in the world after a strange power surge hits their classroom during detention. With no answers as to why or how the rest of the world has disappeared, the mismatched group is soon facing a bigger nightmare than they could ever imagine… Standing between them and the only way home are lethal duplicate versions of themselves, super powered teenagers who will kill anyone who gets in their way. Our unlikely heroes must somehow work together to save themselves… or they'll never see home again. SHIFT is the first in a fast-paced, page turner of a series, filled with action, adventure and humour. Perfect for fans of Michael Grant, Charlie Higson and Antony Horowitz and for anyone who loves Misfits or Shaun of the Dead.

REVIEW

This book is definitely not one that I would normally pick up, and even after reading it, I still am not that fond of it- but it was exciting to read nonetheless. 

Shift tell the story of 8 'misfits', Rev, Billie, the Ape, the moth, Johnny, GG, Lucas and Carrie (the names and nicknames were quite interesting), who are all in after school detention, unaware that in just a matter of a few minutes they will have to rely on each other to survive. They are pretty much strangers at the beginning of the book, but a few of them grow quite close as the story goes on. The book starts off with the teenagers being introduced, and then it is quite clear from the start that the Ape will be quite a character. When a sudden burst of light appears, the teenagers find themselves alone, they scoured ever inch and crook of the town they live in, but there is no one there, except for the ones who were in that room (excluding the teacher, who managed to leave just before 'it' all happened). 

The plot of the book is quite exciting and original, and the characters very extravagant. For me, I found that some of the characters were very over the top at times and hard to associate with. The book didn't offer great character development either so when a few of them were in unfortunate events, I didn't really feel or care for them. 

The romance in the book is not the main focus, but it does dominate a lot of the actions that the characters take. I did feel that the 'love' and 'liking' aspects were a little unrealistic at times due to the character's age, but I guess when you find that you are the only normal people left in the world, you’d cling onto the first person you see. 

I'd have to say though, my main criticism would be that the book took place over 48 hours- it definitely felt a lot longer than that, and I don't think all the events that happened could take place over so little time. 

Even though this was not an amazing, eye opening book- it kept me reading and wanting to know what will happen. Whether I will be reading the sequel or not, that's a mystery. The ending did grab me though, so I am a little curious as to what will happen next. 

- Maryam.