Dive

Because of her diving skills, 13-year-old Kassandra Conner’s restaurant-owning parents transfer her to St. Lawrence, a private Catholic academy that, despite the financial strain, they believe will afford Kass better opportunities than her former public school. Now Kass struggles to manage academic, athletic, and parental pressure alongside feelings of loneliness. Then she meets Miles, a 17-year-old who has dropped out of high school. He teaches her about the joys of dumpster diving, and as their friendship develops, Kass begins stepping out of her comfort zone and contending with new emotions brought about by Miles’s attention (“When he talked to her, she felt something... awkward and uneasy and exciting”). Simultaneously, she unexpectedly befriends her diving rival Amber, who’s dealing with her own challenges. In this heartfelt, emotionally complex story, Anderson (Keep It Like a Secret) expertly depicts Kass’s desire to break free from overwhelming expectations both internal and external. An underlying current of hope balances the novel’s profound depictions of the protagonist’s need for connection, understanding, and acceptance. The main characters read as white. Ages 8–12. (Aug.)