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Summary: well written slow drive to the end
Review: it's a well written novel and that's why i read to the end. the charachters are bland at best and the story is slow moving and predictable. i don't presonally recommend reading this novel.
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Summary: Characters who make you want to them off the pier
Review: An unfortunate mix of skilled writing with a lead character you not only stop having hopes for, but learn to despise.
A young woman struggling with issues of duty to others and herself ultimately opts to get neither one right.
Reading the last thirty pages is like watching a car wreck in slow motion as you realize how it will end, but keep thinking(of the author)"She's not really going to do this, is she?"It would have been better if the quadraplegic had run(driven away) from the annoying people he was surrounded by.
A flair for description and atomosphere doesn't excuse a lack of heart. If the writing wasn't so good, I'd have said one star.
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Summary: If you like 'Lifetime' movies...
Review: This book is very much like a made for TV movie. If this is your thang, you might enjoy it.
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Summary: Wish it was more bolder, less predictable
Review: This was just ok. I had a hard time figuring out what all the hoop-la was about back when this was featured in one of the morning show book club. It has a great premise and it could go many places, but I found many of the places it went silly and predictable....and even unexplainable. Some parts of the novel were too engrossed in unnecessary detail that I skipped over sentences here and there. But overall, I enjoyed the unique plot of the novel - very different from the usual "boy meets girl" story. It may also be interesting to read a mini-novel about Mike's (the accident victim) point of view. I just would like it to have been more bolder in some places and less predictable in others.
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Summary: Dive in and keep swimming...
Review: There is something magical about Ann Packer's writing style. She manages to weave the ordinary with the extraordinary. Some of her sentences are glittering gems that deserve to be read over and over. In a way, this book almost felt like a mystery novel. It's a page turner but without major surprises (well, maybe a few). Something about her plot, characters and writing seem so 'G' rated, but then all of a sudden they dip deeper. I felt a little cheated by the ending. She abruptly leaves NY, a place which was so fun for the reader to watch her observe, and all her new friends/relationships are tossed aside. I understand this for the character, but it is not very satisfying as a reader. Still, this is an insightful, moving, transforming novel.
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Summary: I loved this book
Review: I read this book in a matter of 3 days and didn't want it to end. The main character Carrie is interesting to follow. She is still discovering herself; in a suffocating relationship and dull life in Madison driving her to escape. The emotional roller-coaster is great I couldn't wait to see what she would do next. She was almost real, annoying, selfish, kind, caring; no one is perfect and neither is she. I higly recommend this book. It was a great break from reality.
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Summary: Life-changing and heart-breaking
Review: This is one of the best novels I've read in quite a long time. It was thoroughly engrossing, forcing me to stay up well past my bedtime for several nights in order to plow through it. I saw so many bits of myself and my life in the story, even though I've never been through anything near to Carrie's experiences. But I felt very close to the story, at this time in my life. The heartbreaking part for me was the ending, to make a huge understatement, was not entirely satisfying. In fact, I spent the last several chapters thinking NO, no no no no! Part of me thinks that Ann Packer, who I now know is a marvelous writer, became tired of writing the story, and simply came up with an easy ending. All I see in the ending is someone settling, accepting the status quo because it was where she was at the time. And I suppose that there are times when that is a good thing. However, I don't think this was one of them. Carrie had so much potential, so many roads laid out in front of her; not just Kilroy, but Parsons', Lane, everything in New York. At another time in my life, I may have reacting entirely differently to the end. But right now, I felt let down. I feel like I've been inspired enormously, and then all at once, sent to my room.
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Summary: Great start, but what happened....
Review: The first few chapters of this book took me on an emotion ride. I thought of myself in this situation. I loved this book and thought to myself that this could be the most wonderful, beautiful book in the world....and then....what happened? I was deeply disapointed from the middle of the book until the end.
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Summary: You might not like Carrie, but you'll enjoy the story
Review: The first several pages of this book had me hooked. Ann Packers writing style, poetic at times, drew me in, as well as the story itself. Even if one of the main characters, Carrie, was hard to like most of the time! Mike and Carrie are engaged and have been together 8 years when they hit rocky times. The passion seems to have fizzled out for Carrie, but not for Mike, who tries with all his might to save their relationship. In trying to do anything to win her heart again, he decides to dive off a pier, into water he doesn't realize is shallow, breaking his neck. With a long road of recovery ahead of him and learning to live with the damage done, Carrie is still in the process of deciding if she wants to be with him. It's now or never. And in a rash decision of a person cornered, she takes off to New York- for an uncertain future. Like I said, Carrie is hard to like a lot of the time. You can relate to her some times and others, you just want to slap her and wake her up! You'll feel compassion for Mike in his struggle, which makes you like her less. But the story, of having to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life, that is compelling. Most of us have been at a point where we don't know what to do, and Carrie is there, probably stuck worse than most of us ever get. And at times, you can't help but feel badly for her, in trying to decide what she wants to do and who she is, it really is like she doesn't know who she is at all. Ann Packer did a wonderful job of making us feel and see Carries position. I'd recommend this book for one reason- the journey. The story Packer tells is so all-encompassing, you really feel like you're "there" and that you've learned a little about human nature and maybe even yourself. While I was not satisfied with the ending, perhaps other people will be. Overall excellent reading!
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Summary: What happens when a lover is paralyzed
Review: What happens when a lover is paralyzed
I have two friends who are married to paraplegics, and they say it ain't like this, that this tale is not realistic. But as a book, a story, The Dive from Claussen's Pier works just fine. What happens is that, right as their relationship is probably about to break up, the guy dives into water that's too shallow and is paralyzed. What will his girlfriend do? Will she stay the course, or will she take off and begin her life anew. Abandon him, or stand by her man? It's worth reading to find out, but the book dives deeper than just this superficial plot line. In beautiful prose, Ann Packer explores friendship, love, wisdom, and the hold the past has on the present.
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