Rating: 
Summary: Starts great, takes a dive
Review: Packer starts her ambitious novel with a picture-perfect prologue: in spare, elegant prose she sets the scene and sends her protagonist's boyfriend to his quadriplegic fate. She takes the reader inside Carrie's head, and her strong writing keeps us engaged as Carrie and friends wait for Mike to emerge from his coma and as Carrie dithers over whether or not she'll look like a creep if she dumps Mike now. Packer has populated her story with a few interesting people--the therapist mom, the co-dependent friend, Mike's pal Rooster--so we forgive the lack of plot and the lack of character development. Abruptly, the book switches directions. (Perhaps Packer decided that readers must be as bored with Madison as she and Carrie were.) Without warning to mom, friends, fiance, or the reader, Carrie jumps in her car and drives to New York. (Apparently young women never meet with foul play in Madison--Carrie's mom and friends don't seem concerned about her disappearance--they all somehow know that she skipped town because she didn't want to deal with her feelings about Mike.) Packer's leisurely style becomes lethargic once Carrie hits the Big Apple, where she quickly acquires a free place to live, the stereotypical gay buddy, and an enigmatic boyfriend, Kilroy. Except he's not an interesting enigma; Carrie never figures out what makes him tick, and neither do we. What's more, it's hard to care, or to understand what she sees in him. Nor does New York feel "real." Packer, who excels in portraying Madison, fails to capture any of the essence of the big city. The reader is still inside Carrie's head, but not a lot seems to be going on there. Much of her behavior is inexplicable. For example: she's planning to come to Madison for a visit (Rooster's wedding). Being a talented seamstress, she buys the most gorgeous, expensive fabric in the most upscale fabric store in New York and fashions a stunning outfit for herself. Then, at the last moment, she decides not to go. This scene, which could (and should) have some emotional depth--might even explain Carrie's internal state of disrepair--is simply flat. Finally, Carrie comes home to Madison (she never should have left) and the story picks up again--but by then I was tired of her whining, her lack of insight, her poor impulse control, and her inability to learn from her past mistakes. Other reviewers have mentioned the sex scenes. I suspect that a well-meaning friend or editor told Packer that she needed to spice up her book, and that's why she inflicted these embarrassing and ineptly written episodes on her readers. Bottom line: not awful, not great, could have been better.
Rating: 
Summary: I was ahead of the game - I read this B-4 GMA picked it up!!
Review: If Ann Packer's future books are similar in themes and style to Last Dive, then she's got a new fan in me. I enjoyed this book and thought it was a wonderful read. The book is full of messages and lessons - most readers will learn something from at least one of the characters. Ms. Packer was able to reach an emotional level in me many authors aren't able to do- I can't tell you how many times I found myself shaking my head in disgust after the latest of Carrie's decisions. A less effective author would have readers disliking Carrie Bell, perhaps or maybe even discontinuing their read, but Ms. Packer kept the reader interested and installed real feelings about each character. Some may think Carrie is a spoiled brat who runs from hard times - but if you read carefully, you'll come to learn that Carrie is just scared of what most young 20 years olds are afraid of - growing up. I think because of the accident, Mike was forced to mature much faster than Carrie was ready to. Her escape to New York was not only an escape of the horrifying realism she left behind in Madison, it was a way to capture the happiest days of her life - her adventurous teen years - when she & Mike first fell in love. Over the months, and through the many events that eventually lead her back to Madison, we see Carrie grow and mature. Slowly realizing that she can still have the same joys and happiness that she once shared with Mike and Jamie - just not as carefree as she once was. The happiness is still there, it just comes with added responsibility. Sometimes I thought the story went on and on a little too much - that maybe some chapters or explanations could have been shortened, or even eliminated altogether, but overall I enjoyed the book and look forward to future Ann Packer novels. I highly recommend this to women of all ages - You will all see a part of you tucked away inside one of these characters!!!
Rating:
Summary: Heartwrenching, but ultimately disappointing
Review: This one started off great guns, and just about tore my heart out (which is a good thing). It had me randomly hugging my husband and telling him how much I love him for days. (I think he thought I was on drugs.) The story couldn't have been more emotionally wrenching, and the author did a nice job of bringing us along on Carrie's rollercoaster ride. I didn't dislike Carrie (at least not as far as the situation with Mike, though with Kilroy was another story) -- after all, the only way we can truly understand any situation is through our own eyes, through the way it affects us. No matter how hard we try, we can never walk in someone else's shoes, and we can ultimately only look out for ourselves. What good are we to others if we aren't true to ourselves? And if we dislike someone for being true to themselves, then... Anyway, even though I never thought this was great literature, it was a great read, until the middle/end. I wanted to kill myself when Carrie switched her ring to her right hand and told Mike it was now a "friendship ring." Give me a break. The ending was a total cop-out, totally disappointing, and just a complete let down after such an incredibly emotional story. It isn't that I had to "have it my way" -- just that it was way too wishy-washy. The dialogue in this book was, for the most part, awful... That was my major technical complaint. I enjoyed the sewing anecdotes, as a (very) amateur seamstress myself. All in all, a good read, and one I didn't want to put down, but it left an awful lot to be desired, plot-wise.
Rating:
Summary: A compelling read--just don't ask questions...
Review: The situation is gripping: Carrie Bell, on the verge of breaking her engagement to Mike Mayer, her high school/college sweetheart, is confronted by his sudden paralysis caused by an ill-thought out dive from Clausen's Pier. Readers will be caught up in her dilemma immediately. The narrative drive of Carrie's story as she grapples with her inner conflict between her feelings and her sense of ethical behavior is unrelenting. I couldn't put this novel down. Carrie's first-person narration brings her vividly to life, and her story is both heartbreaking and intense. However, a close examination of the novel reveals some major shortcomings: perhaps because Carrie narrates her own story, most of the other characters seem rather flat and predictable. Mike, her injured fiance; Rooster, his best friend; Jamie, Simon, and the other friends Carrie makes, all seem more like types than real people. Even Kilroy, the rather unusual New Yorker Carrie gets involved with, while generally fascinating to read about, ultimately is no more than a 21st century Mr. Rochester, right out of "Jane Eyre," a sensitive and tragic romantic hero. For me, however, the major problem with the novel is a plot device that remains totally unexplained. Packer never offers a convincing reason why Kilroy, a life-long New Yorker whose veins, we are told, course with New York blood, inexplicably turns up in Wisconsin early in the book. Apparently, he's there simply so that he can meet Carrie; later, as we get to know him, we learn how completely unlikely that important meeting really is. Ultimately, Carrie's story is a satisfying one of self-realization and coming of age. The hurtlingly fast pace of the narrative covers the novel's faults for a first-time reader, but this is not a book that will repay a second read.
Rating:
Summary: An incredible first novel
Review: Ann Packer has done a great job in her first novel. "The Dive From Clausen's Pier" tells the story of Carrie Bell, who, as the novel begins, has just had an emotional jolt as her fiance breaks his back on a dive off the pier of the title. The novel basically follows Carrie on a journey of the self as she tries to come to terms with what's happened to Mike (her fiance), and to her friends, family, and most of all to herself as a result of that fateful dive. Packer's Carrie is a fully realized character who I empathized with and believed in for the entire novel. She paints her people with broad strokes of the brush but nevertheless succeeds in bringing them to fully realized life. Very few novels I've read in recent months have done that. The most impressive character in this story to my mind is Kilroy. Immediately upon meeting him I had a strong impression of what he should look, think, and feel like. He is, in my view, a character tailor-made for George Carlin to play if they ever turn this book into a movie. His philosophy and Carlin's outlook on life seem to fit together like a hand into a glove. If this first novel is any indication Packer has a glorious career ahead of her.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought provoking and compelling!
Review: The Dive from Clausen's Pier is a beautiful, well written story of 23-year-old Carrie Bell, a young woman from Madison, Wisconsin. The novel begins with Carrie spending a Memorial Day picnic with her childhood friends, including her fiance, Mike. Carrie has pretty much had it with the relationship with Mike and he suspects the same. She is also beginning to get a bit bored with her friends, including Jamie, her best friend for many years. Things suddenly change for everyone at the picnic when Mike dives off the pier, and breaks his neck, and is permanently paralyzed. Carrie, who can be a bit of an ice queen, as far as narrators go, can't really decide what to do now. She is still going through an existential crisis, and although she doesn't say it, suspects she has outgrown many of her relationships in Madison. She decides that she needs a change of scenery, but breaking away from the life as she's known it proves difficult... Her misguided choices may anger some readers, but I think most will appreciated her story and understand how she grows as a person. I found Carrie's story thought provoking and compelling. I literally could not put the book down for the last 100 pages or so because I had to see what she decides to do. As I said, as a narrator, she can be a bit chilly, even unlikable at times, which makes sense given her fear that the story she is relating may seem selfish (which I don't think it is). I marvel at this wonderful tale of a woman and the choices she finds herself making. I highly recommend this novel and believe that most readers will enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh Please......!
Review: The author had the opportunity to make a rich novel. Instead it is a book that will eventually make its way to the clearance table at the bookstore.
Rating:
Summary: The Shameful Main Character
Review: Carrie Bell has to be the most selfish woman I have ever read. I was outraged at her behavior when her fiance is tragically injured in a diving accident. Carrie chooses to play the woe is me role as if she were the victim. The woman never redeemed herself and while I know there are people like this and this is realistic, I really don't care to read about such a person. There must be some redeeming value in a main character in the book. This trait is fine for secondary characters, but when the whole story is told through her eyes, it gets pretty old.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly engrossing, and yet...something's missing
Review: Unlike many novels told in the first person, I did not find Carrie to be particularly self reflective, but rather selfish and self indulgent. I think the writing was wonderful in that it allows the reader to understand where Carrie is coming from, without a lot of self pity or inner dialogue on her part. When she finally decides to pack up and take off, away from her childhood sweetheart and all that she has known, it is easy to imagine how she has gotten to this point.
I agree with some other reviews that suggest the characters are flat, one dimensional. It was hard for me to formulate a picture of any of them fully, including Kilroy, Carrie's love interest when arrives in New York City, yet somehow this does not diminish the story in any way.
In the end, I believe this story does a wonderful job of describing the reality of living two completely separate lives, fitting in fully in either one of them, yet unable to move back and forth between the two. Some worlds are not meant to collide.
Rating:
Summary: Scarlett's savvy
Review: The audio version of this novel is entrancing due to a combination of fine writing and Scarlett Johansson's scratchy sexy interpretation, perfect for the character of Carrie.
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