Sonderbooks Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

Buy from Amazon.com

Rate this Book

Sonderbooks 53
    Previous Book
    Next Book

Nonfiction
Fiction
    Literary
        Previous Book
        Next Book

Young Adult Fiction
Children's Nonfiction
Children's Fiction
Picture Books

2004 Stand-outs
2003 Stand-outs
2002 Stand-outs
2001 Stand-outs

Five-Star Books
Four-Star Books
     Previous Book
     Next Book

Old Favorites
Back Issues
List of Reviews by Title
List of Reviews by Author

Why Read?
Children and Books
Links For Book Lovers
Book Discussion Forum

About Me 
Contact Me 
Subscribe
Make a Donation

I don't review books I don't like!

*****= An all-time favorite
****  = Outstanding
***    = Above average
**      = Enjoyable
*        = Good, with reservations

cover

****The Dive from Clausen's Pier

by Ann Packer

Reviewed May 6, 2003.
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2002.  370 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (F PAC).

The Dive From Clausen’s Pier tells the story of Carrie Bell, who has been dating her fiancé Mike Mayer for eight years, through high school and college.  Now the bloom is wearing off, and she’s not sure what’s wrong.  She keeps putting off the wedding date.

Then Mike dives from Clausen’s Pier and breaks his neck.  Carrie’s world changes.

When is it important to be there for people, and when do you need to look after yourself?  What if you aren’t strong enough to be the person people think you should be?

This is a powerful and well-written novel.  I found myself completely emotionally involved.  We have Carrie’s perspective so fully, it becomes hard even to tell if we would have acted differently.

As a word of warning, the book does include some pretty explicit sex.  This isn’t the focus, and the book goes far beyond those scenes.  This is a wonderful and complicated novel.  Definitely not light reading, but very satisfying.

Copyright © 2005 Sondra Eklund. All rights reserved.

-top of page-