Author: Kasie West
Published: February 12, 2013
352 Pages
4 Gold Stars
(summary from Goodreads)
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.
In West's world, there is a secret compound hiding people with abilities. They have advanced technology and enough skills to not need to go into the real world. Addie is a Searcher, able to see both paths of a future when faced with a decision. On the eve of her parent's divorce, she must make the choice to leave the compound and live with her father, or stay and live with her mother. Curious as to what the outside world is like, she searches both futures so she can decide which she'll choose.
With alternating chapters switching between paranormal life and normal life (with catchy definitions involving PAR or NORM to tell you which future you're reading) we follow Addie as she lives out both lives within a matter of hours. Things change quickly in her Compound life when the quarterback, Duke, suddenly takes an interest to her. At the same time, she's quickly making friends with Trevor, a norm boy who's sweet as pie. Each chapter, though completely different worlds, connect in subtle ways that made me smile. West is clever in her scenes and words, creating two very different lives where Addie seems like a totally different person in each one.
A mystery slowly starts to unravel around Addie and her friends. Unexplained football accidents and missing girls lead Addie trying to figure out her alliances and keeping herself out of trouble. The plot was quick and intriguing and I found myself not wanting to put this book down. I was rooting for the norm life the entire time because I love Trevor and he was so much better for Addie than Duke. I'm still surprised that she even gave Duke a chance since he was so wrong for her. This was actually the perfect way to incorporate a love triangle because it actually didn't make me want to throw up. My only problem with the book was that the romance was more important than anything else. I would hope that she'd pick a path depending on which family member she wanted to live with, but most of it came down to boys. Then again, most teenagers make decisions based on boys, so I guess it's realistic.
I loved the skills that each person in the compound had. West did a great job building this small world within a world and I enjoyed watching how things played out. Watching Addie struggle to live without her ability was nice, and watching her find out who she is without it was wonderfully written. It was a nice, quick read with a lot of heart and I'll certainly be thinking about it for awhile longer.
“One person can't change the future. Do you know how many people and things are involved in every major event that happens? Sure, you might be able to change some of the minor aspects of a day, but ultimately things that are going to happen, if you go along a certain path, do happen.”
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