Rating: 
Summary: Loved this book!
Review: I thought this was a great book from beginning to end. Carrie Bell (the main girl) is torn between what she feels she could do and what she should do. I enjoyed all of the characters in this book and had a hard time putting the book down. I felt the book was real and it was as if I knew the characters personally. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. I am looking forward to reading more from this author. This was an easy read. I would encourage you to give it a try and I think you will be pleased. I have never left a review before but thought I would leave a little note hoping someone else will read this book and find the enjoyment from it that I did.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the time
Review: Looking for a great summer read? This book is not it. Packer's characters are lackluster at best. There's little to like about any of them. They have little depth, are wooden and remote, like they aren't really in the story, just sort of hovering around the edges of the plot. And, just when you think there might be an interesting story line developing, it slips away. This book is not clever, compelling or intriging. I kept reading,hoping the story would deliver in the end, but it never happened.Don't let the book reviewers fool you. There is nothing satisfying about this novel. Reread anything by Annie Proulx instead.
Rating:
Summary: What everyone has considered at least once
Review: What would you do if the person you love suddenly isn't like the one you have always known? Would you love them anyway? Would you leave? Would you risk leaving your safety net? Could you deal?
These are the questions Carrie finds herself meeting when her high school sweetheart is paralyzed after...well, a dive from Clausen's pier.
I liked this book because the situation seemed real to me, and I think the main questions this book addressed were ones we have all thought about (not to be morbid) at some point in time. Whether you agree with her or not, the choices Carrie makes are what make her human. The writing held my attention and the flow to the plot was very smooth. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Don't take a 'Dive' with this one...
Review: I have to say that this book started out with promise. During the first few chapters, I was hooked. I enjoyed Packer's interesting details although some of them were not quite accurate and some of the plots just left you hanging. Nevertheless, I was excited to follow Carrie through her "maturation" although this never really happens. At first, I sympathized with Carrie and the hard choices that lay before her. Unfortunately, Carrie's selfishness and cold-heartedness to the ones that she loves, make her character become downright annoying. It seems as if all she ends up doing is running away anytime things get a little too complicated for her. During her trip to New York, I expected that Carrie would grow up and find herself. It never really happens. She begins classes at Parson's only to flee again and nothing ever really becomes of her sewing. She immediately jumps into a wierd relationship with Kilroy when she arrives in NY. The relationship is ridiculous...what woman would put up with his secrets and emotional unavailability! I thought that there would be some discovery on the relationship with his parents, but you never get there. Again, leaving you hanging. The way that Carrie criticized Wisconsin (dowdy fashions, pace etc), you would never think she would end up going back or that she would ever be happy there again. All in all, the novel does not give you much satisfaction. Carrie is a complainer, whiner and extremely selfish individual. I was expecting to be moved but instead I was just annoyed.
Rating:
Summary: The trials of womanhood
Review: This book was recommended to me by a number of friends, but the minute I opened it I was hooked. The author painstakingly details Carrie's experiences so you feel like you are there with her. I related to her turmoil of being trapped into doing what everyone thinks she should do or truly finding herself.
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre, Yet Interesting...
Review: I agree with those who have said that this book is entertaining at times, yet overall, quite mediocre. The ending was disappointing. Also, the character Kilroy is brooding and dark with no real ephiphany occuring...but perhaps that was the intent. At times, I found the story to be quite engaging, but with many dead ends. Carrie is a talented seamstress, but nothing ever becomes of it. Why? Also, the storyline that focuses on Carrie and her childhood friend was frustrating and annoying. I felt like I was hit over the head repeatedly with the fact that there was a rift between them. We get it already! The author does a great job of fleshing out the character of Mike, who is paralyzed during a diving accident. Overall, I am not sure I would recommend this book. Borrow it if you can.
Rating: 
Summary: boring, shallow, and predictable
Review: The plot is predictable, the characters are shallow and boring post-adolescents, and the underlying social premise is victorian. If you have to read this for a book group, read the first two chapters and the last one, and skip the tedious chapters in between. You won't miss a thing.
Rating:
Summary: A book to help you reflect on your own innate personality
Review: "The Dive From Clausen's Pier" -- by Ann Packer A female author also wrote the second book I read in January (the first being "The Lovely Bones"). I won't hide the fact that many elements of both stories contained those foreign viewpoints that only women understand because most men are really from Mars (or is it Venus). That statement aside, I was mesmerized by this story. Ann Packer is a faultless writer, a stickler to details, a magnet for vibrant words and a connoisseur of character development. The rich dialog unfolded as if the author followed the main character through the real-life story with a tape recorder. Although the novel was based on a relatively simple premise, the transformation of the main character (Carrie Bell) was gut wrenching. You see, all of us are one accident, one death, one tragedy or one broken relationship away from a world-shattering/soul-shifting crisis. Are we stronger when we face the tragic event head on or are we stronger when we muster up the courage to turn our back on the horrific event and start our lives over again? I've had a few occasions in my life where I was tempted to run away and start over. Ultimately, the same "you" ends up in the new setting. Things don't change. You sure as hell don't change. Problems that existed prior to the escape are still present. Carrie Bell's story occurs in three acts. During the first act, Carrie's life is abruptly changed when her estranged boyfriend makes an ill-fated dive from Clausen's Pier. During the second act, Carrie escapes from her small Wisconsin town and starts over again in New York City. Act three contains the real shocker. Carrie has started a brand new life in New York complete with new friends, a new boyfriend and a new career direction. Would she run away from this life and go back to Wisconsin? Should she be described as despicable, selfish and unsympathetic or should she be regarded as a woman just trying to do the right thing in the best way that she knows how? Ultimately, that becomes the reader's pronouncement. "The Dive From Clausen's Pier" gave me many things to ponder. Sometimes, I placed the book on the floor and reflected on my own innate personality. This story (finely crafted by Ann Packer) allowed me to analyze my own life-choices, my own spirit my own faith and just as importantly, my own flaws and insecurities. Could anymore be asked of a novel? My Grade A
Rating:
Summary: a slightly hesitant recommendation
Review: I read this book knowing that it had changed people's lives, so maybe I expected too much, but while I thought the book was wonderfully written I was never able to fully sympathize with the main character, Carrie Bell. The book begins with Carrie's fiance diving off a pier into a too-low Wisconsin lake and becoming paralyzed; however, the real tragedy is that Carrie had already decided to break up with him when the event occurs, and blames herself for the accident. As Mike comes out of his coma and enters physical therapy, Carrie begins making drastic decisions about her life and future, but seems to execute them impulsively with little thought to the ripple of consequences affecting everyone around her. I would still recommend the book. It will hit close to home for a lot of people (it did for me), but nevertheless, some of the details just didn't ring true.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping
Review: I started & finished this book in the same day. Although the plot was emotionally draining at times, I just couldn't put the book down. The author's writing style is so realistic. She really captures the essence of her characters & paints a vivid portrait in the reader's mind. I highly recommend this book!
|
