Rating: 
Summary: Unrealistic!!
Review: True that this book was a good read, a quick read is probably better but it was very unrealistic. Her main character, a 20 something, self involved, midwestern girl was not very likeable. I agree, everyone needs to find themselves but the way Packer has her heroine do it is disjointed at best. How convenient that she takes off for New York and happens to find a place to live without rent, that she happens to find Kilroy, she has no worries about walking about the city, her safety, or money. She is ALLOWED to find herself at her leisure. She comes and goes out of people's lives at will, seemingly ruining them, and is, for the most part, forgiven by them. That is not real life, not for anyone. Her emotions are banal and the dialogue is fragmented and nonsubstantive. The library did not have the books I wanted to read so I picked this one up and recommend that if you like some meat to your books, this won't do the trick. If, however, you need to be mildly amused this is the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: An exceptional book....I couldn't put it down
Review: I'm from Madison and for many reasons, this book just touched me so deeply. The characters are believable and flawed, but all with pure hearts. It shows true conflict of the soul and how the decisions we make don't define us, that we define the decisions we make. I couldn't put it down and read it one weekend, now I can't stop thinking about it. This is the kind of book that puts your life in perspective and gets you to ask, and answer, those questions that aren't easy, but really help you define what you want to be and where you want to go.
Rating: 
Summary: Set Aside A Weekend for This One...
Review: Ann Packer's _The Dive From Clausen's Pier_ is riveting and full of surprises. Twentysomething Carrie Bell, who's lived her whole life in Madison, Wisconsin, is forced to make heart-wrenching life decisions after her fiancee (whom she'd already decided she didn't want to marry--but didn't tell anyone) takes a dive into a shallow lake and is paralyzed. I was reluctant to read this, as I usually don't care for "sweet" books--but Packer took me repeatedly by storm. Whether your usual reading material runs more along the lines of Tobias Wolff or _The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood_, _The Dive From Clausen's Pier_ is worth a read. Don't be deceived by the soft-sounding back cover; this book is solid through and through--full of character, details, and surprises.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring!
Review: I was really disappointed by this book, given the great reviews. I found the characters not believable and the dialogue awkward. It was boring and I finally put it down after struggling through the first half of the book. Don't waste your summer on this one!
Rating:
Summary: A Beautifully-Written Book
Review: Carrie is the narrator of her own story in this heart-wrencher. She has spent all her life in Madison, Wisconsin, and is engaged to her high school sweetheart. She has begun to have doubts about their future together when he (Mike) has a diving accident which leaves her numb. She doesn't know what to do and finds herself having trouble relating to his family, her family, and all her life-long friends. This story explores questions of loyalty, love, friendship and sacrifice. And, the ultimate recommendation, it made me cry... a lot. And I can't stop thinking about it.
Rating:
Summary: Sewn into a great book
Review: This book begins with one of the most horrible experiences a person could ever have to go through.It never goes away you just learn to cope a little better. We all know what its like to find out we have a certain illness or problem that can be corrected by a pill or surgery. Carrie Bell is a lovely healthy young woman who is put in the position of having to be both a doctor, psychiatrist, girlfriend and enemy at times. What would you do if this happened to your spouse or boyfriend of seven years? Do you runaway and start a new life only to find out you will never be the able to just be you?This is a great story of making decisions about who you are when it comes to handling tragedy.Most of us have lost a loved one and went through our griefing period and moved on but in this story there is always grief and the reminder of what could of been. I enjoyed this book for keeping my attention all the way to the end. Take the time and read this compelling story of love, losses and finding out who you really are.
Rating:
Summary: Readers will be engaged with this novel's plot and setting
Review: THE DIVE FROM CLAUSEN'S PIER opens with an immediate tragedy to draw readers in to the story. Mike, showing off for his somewhat disgruntled fiancée Carrie, dives into some water and seriously injures himself. He is comatose for a period of time and, when he awakens, it is discovered that he is paralyzed. Though first impressions may suggest that the novel will focus on Mike and his recovery, in reality the central focus is on Carrie and her arrival to self-discovery.This tragedy begins Carrie's journey, literally and figuratively speaking. Carrie is feeling pressured by expectations; the expectations are those of Mike, his family, his friends and, most importantly, Carrie herself. Carrie feels she is expected to be there for Mike during his recovery, whether she wants to be or not. Mike and Carrie were having problems in their relationship before the accident. However, Carrie now feels obligated to stay with Mike throughout his recovery, given the circumstances. She almost begins to lose herself and her identity to Mike and the pressures of his recovery. Carrie ends up spending most of her time at the hospital instead of at her job. She feels guilty about doing anything other than sitting by Mike's bedside and even thinks she should give up her own life because of Mike's injury. She is identified at the hospital as Mike's fiancée, not as her own person. Eventually the pressure becomes too much for Carrie, and she takes off to New York City to stay with a friend from school. This allows her time away from her obligations caused by Mike's injury. While there, she runs into Kilroy, a man who she met briefly at a co-worker's house. Kilroy intrigues Carrie and she finds herself drawn to him, almost in spite of herself. Carrie and Kilroy begin a love affair, though it seems to follow Kilroy's terms and conditions. Carrie also begins taking fashion design classes while in the city. This opens up a new part of Carrie that has not yet been tapped into, helping her to regain her own identity. Gradually, Carrie begins to head home. Readers will find themselves swept up in Carrie's displacement when she finally returns. Her best friend is very angry with her and isn't speaking to her. Her relationship with Mike is unclear. His family and friends seem to almost resent the fact that she is back. Slowly, Carrie begins to find some sort of peace within herself. She starts making decisions that are right for her. She repairs her relationship with her best friend and reaches some sort of understanding with Mike. Carrie is a character who readers will become involved with on an emotional level. Readers will respond to her feelings and admire the strength that she finds at the end of the book. This novel has many interesting elements to it: a love story (or two, if you count Carrie and Kilroy), an interesting setting (New York City), and a plot that has many twists and turns to keep readers engaged. Despite its tragic beginning, this novel ends on a positive note. --- Reviewed by Melissa A. Martin
Rating:
Summary: soap opera stuff with too many adjectives
Review: Is knowing that Carrie's mother has a red and orange scrubby at her kitchen sink really integral to this moralistic, middle-American tale of a female doing the right thing in the end? It's page-filling pap, as high school short story writing by someone who visited New York twice in the 1980's. If you like non-poetic fipperary with the odd requisite erection, this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: amazingly good but also very sad
Review: Carrie Bell, aged 23, is already questioning her settling down with Mike, her fiancee whom she has dated since age 14, when a fateful dive in shallow water on Memorial Day puts him in a coma and then reveals he is a quadriplegic. Carrie is the narrator and she always has been in her hometown of Madison, WI, with the same friends and family she has known all her life (Mike, her best friend Jamie, Jamie's whole family, Mike's whole family, Mike's best friend Rooster.) Carrie retreats into her hobby of sewing as she grapples with the fact that it is Mike who is suffering, not her, yet she knows she hurts as well. A chance encounter at a dinner party makes her drive to New York City without a goodbye to anyone. Now Carrie has everything she was missing in Wisconsin -- including a new boyfriend named Kilroy --- but has she lost herself? The problem is Carrie never really formed a self -- she was always defined by everyone who knew her since childhood. This is like a coming-of-age story, which is odd as the woman in question is already 23. Her quaint hobby of sewing is a good metaphor as she progresses throughout the year after the accident, and interesting since most people today don't sew at home.
Rating:
Summary: Average read
Review: This book is an enjoyable easy read, although I believe the author left many characters hanging at the end of the book. She develops a few characters that the reader never gets to find out what is really going on with them. I was a little dissapointed when I finished the book.
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