Rating: 
Summary: A Realistic Moral Dilemma
Review: I was disappointed that so many people disliked this book because they disliked the characters. We know that in life people do not behave as we would wish, and we ourselves often do not live up to our image of ourselves. I was fascinated to read about someone reacting to a terrible event with indecision. Does a tragedy at the start of adult life require the victim's partner to also give up opportunity and adventure? This is pretty good stuff for a novel. I thought Packer did a good job with this book and I am still musing about the situation. Read it as a story, as a question, not as a map of how to live. I have friends like Jamie who drive me crazy but love me truely, I know pretentious but beautiful New Yorkers, I was intriqued by this book.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely prose tells about growing up
Review: The Dive from Clausen's Pier has as its subject the old "who am I really?" that is at the heart of so many novels, and so many stages of life.It shouldn't be a tiresome question, not in novels and not in life. But the question is not interesting if the answers or process getting to the answers are inauthentic--gimmicky--false--or surface; again, in books OR life. The Dive from Clausen's Pier was a page-turner because it has the inexorable quality of
real life. It is also a great book for staying on that page for a while, to reflect what has happened. I was totally, totally impressed--and satisfied. Satisfied with a great read and many deep dense thoughts afterward. It was a real gift. So many books in modern times do not have that density. Reading it, I never felt hurried-- or falsely moved by a SIGNAL for emotion rather than the emotion itself. I came to care for everyone: I cared about Carrie, of course, I cared about Mike; I even understood that the witty, sexy, attractive Kilroy, Carrie's boyfriend in New York, had to do what he did because that what was so clearer what he'd become. The novel contained as much information about psychology, personality and human motivation as 60 psychology books, well integrated into an absorbing novel. My kind of book exactly.~
Rating:
Summary: honest and well written
Review: Carrie Bell is a small city girl living the life she is expected to live when her fiance's tragic accident results in his becoming a quadriplegic and forces Carrie to reexamine her life. The beauty of this story is not just the characters or the plot but in visualizing the world around them. I really enjoyed Ann Packer's writng and after a while I even liked the people she created. They are not heroes and they are not important people, but they somehow seem more relevant with their flaws and indecision. I highly reccommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Until the End
Review: I really liked this book at first. It was a little slow to get into it, but once Carrie ran away to New York, it picked up. However, in the end, it turned out to be a book about a girl who settles because she doesn't have the courage to follow her dreams. And apparently she's very good at "out of sight, out of mind." Not exactly a protagonist you can root for. One good thing came out of it, though. I got the sewing bug.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth a Dive
Review: What made Packer's book interesting is all that she left out; a description of Carrie (our narrator), her reasons for what she did, etc. Packer creatively weaves an interesting story, and leaves much un-said for the reader to get involved by drawing their own conclusions. Yet, this book is not without it's drawbacks: the characters are more caricatures of twenty-somethings, than actual characters, and for a while Packer leaves the storyline floating with no place to go (an un-inspired little mystery about the character Kilroy slows down the pace, rather than moving the story along). Still, the book has left me wanting more from Packer in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Yuppie fiction for yuppie readers.
Review: Ever notice how almost every novel you pick up these days involves a character who either works as a model, a stockbroker, or an advertising executive in Manhattan? When did "reality" of the world get so glossed up and sanitized? We expect it from Hollywood, but now it's happening in fiction as well. "DCP" involves a woman named Carrie. Carrie is stuck in the midwest and she decides to ditch her fiance after he has a horrible accident. She goes to NY to follow her dream -- of what else? -- being a fashion designer. For the rest of the book Carrie whines, justifies, and then whines some more about what she's done, while losing herself in an absurdly unbelievable character named -- get this -- Kilroy. How many guys named Kilroy have you ever met? The New York in this book is written by a yuppie and made for yuppies. I wonder if Packer has even been to the city. If she has, certainly she must know how damn hard it is to find free housing -- unless you're homeless, and that's certainly not the side of New York Packer wants to portray. This is Literature, remember? Plus, there's not a single description that actually captures that combination of grit and splendor that characterizes New York. It's all written as though it came out of a trendy tourist brochure. And Carrie is by far the most annoying character in contemporary fiction. Some people think Packer is being honest in her depiction of a selfish sniveling chick who drops her beau because he doesn't wear clothes bought from Banana Republic or read Victorian novels -- and, oh yean: because he's in a deep coma because he jumped off a stupid dock. I think Carrie is merely annoying, as is the story, as is the entire conceit behind this silly book.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking
Review: I loved this book, couldn't put it down!
Rating:
Summary: HereInMilwaukee
Review: I bought this book despite the rather poor customer reviews I read at Amazon.com and am glad that I did. I thought the book was great. The writing was so clear that I felt as though I was going through the emotions with Carrie and I could sympathize with her. I read another reader's review critizing the fact that the author didn't describe Carrie physically, but I found that aspect of the book intriguing. I think the things that the author left OUT of the book were as important as what she put in. For example, we never really know Mike's thoughts and that gave me a lot to think about. Again, I thought the book was excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Slow read at first
Review: I found this book to be slow reading and somewhat boring in the beginning. How many times can we hear about her guilt? Starting the second half of the book, though, the action picks up, and the reading was more enjoyable. Not my favorite book, but not a bad read.
Rating:
Summary: The hype doesn't make sense
Review: Reading this book was mostly frustrating. I too didn't like Carrie (or Kilroy, Jamie, or Mike for that matter) or her snobbery about the midwest (although I have no objection to Carrie's main decision after Mike's paralysis).
But being a frustrating read with an unlikable characters doesn't MAKE a book bad. Dive From Clausen's Pier could have been an interesting book had the motivations for people's actions been realistic or well-explained. But they weren't! I have no idea what Carrie is thinking at the end and why she thinks she is making a good decision. What kept me reading was the big "secret" about Kilroy that was dangled in front of you for most of the book. It turned out to be completely unsatisfying and unrealistic as a reason for why he is the way he is.
I really don't get this book.
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