The book Dive is a coming of age story about a teenager who transferred to a new school. It’s about finding who you are and not taking things for granted. The writing is fast paced and the story moves at a good pace. I suggest this book for 10-12 year olds.

Kass is feeling like a fish out of water at her new private school. The only thing that keeps her going is diving practice after school. Even there she faces some dirty looks and mean girl vibes. She is missing her best friend and the feeling of belonging she had at her public school. To complicate matters further, she is afraid that their family's restaurant business isn't doing well which causes tension with her parents.

Unexpectedly, she encounters a stranger who does a different kind of diving-dumpster diving. She tentatively pursues a friendship with this older boy, and things quickly become complicated.

I enjoyed reading Kass's point of view as she worked through many complicated relationships. She learned a lot about empathy and making assumptions. She put herself into some dangerous situations which made me uncomfortable as a parent, but there were reasonable consequences for these mistakes to help with the learning.

Older middle school kids will relate to this character, especially when facing a new school or new situation that has them feeling a bit displaced.

“In every dive there’s that moment of hesitation, standing on the precipice, trying not to imagine what could happen if you get it wrong. All the people you could disappoint. And you have to decide if it’s worth it. But the truth is, you won’t know if you don’t go.”

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I thought Dive was just going to be about the typical drama of being on a team full of hormonal girls—boy was I wrong. Beautifully poetic, a girl on the swim team learns about a different type of diving: dumpster diving. When 13-year-old Kass meets 17-year-old Miles one day diving through the trash, they both don’t realize how much they will teach one another about life, assumptions, and compassion.

With Mean Girl references and quotes from classic books as well, John David Anderson does a nice job toeing the fine line between modern-day cool but giving us a deep dive view of the harsh realities. We don’t know what tomorrow brings us, and we don’t know what everyone around us is truly going through.

What if someone you love just leaves? What if you wake up without the money to pay the bills? What about mental illness? What about gambling and losing everything you’ve ever had? What if you become homeless? Life is fragile. Day to day.

Kass learns to look past the assumptions and not only befriend the mysterious dumpster diver but also the swim team all star rich-girl, Amber.

This heart-wrenching, and heart-warming coming of age tale will have tears streaming down your face and then have you grinning ear-to-ear like a complete fool the next.

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“I think that’s the worst part about getting older…you start to see everything that’s wrong, but you still have no idea how to fix it.” —Miles

“Salsa can’t fix everything. Okay. It fixes most things.” —Kass

"Dive" is one of those books that presents you with one surface problem, Kass's general dissatisfaction with her life, and then pulls you under into a deeper exploration of that unease. A myriad of small problems: the distance growing between her and her best friend, her family's financial straits--partially brought on by them pushing her into an expensive private school, the unseen limit she seems to be hitting at diving practice. Then Kass meets Miles, a diver of a different sort, who goes through garbage to salvage or resell, and suddenly her perspective of the situation seems to shift.

Anderson does a good job of making Kass's developing friendship with Miles feel real and not like pity slumming. And while Miles feels almost too perfect for a teenager who had to drop out of high school due to poverty and a single parent with PTSD, he is not a character solely meant to make Kass's life better or teach her some life lessons. He has his own hangups and relationships that play into the story. Although there are moments where believability toes the line, such as Miles leaving messages for Kass in bottles in the dumpster for a scavenger hunt.

The biggest strengths of "Dive" is that all of Kass's relationships, from new ones like with her teammate, to old ones like with her parents and Aleah, feel complicated and different from each other. You can see how each of them push and pull her into her decisions, as well as the undefined malaise some rising teenagers get when their life isn't perfect. I would say the tone of the book would push it more into a tween section than pure middle grade like "Ms Bixby's Last Day" or "Posted." Kass's crush on Miles is teased but it's not a pure romantic one you would get in YA, a well done nebulous first step into feelings she hasn't truly grasped emotionally. It also isn't fully a sports book, as diving takes up a lot of Kass's life but the primary focus is on her newfound awareness, and improved diving mindsets are a happy side effect.

Well-written and emotionally resonant, "Dive" is a high quality emotional story that older middle grade and tweens would enjoy.

I enjoyed this book. 13-year-old Kass was easy to love from the beginning. Although flawed, you can help but root for her and the Conner Family. I would recommend this book to my students! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Dive is a enjoyable book about Kass who has recently had some changes in her life. As she is adjusting to a new school, finding her place on the dive team, and watching her parents navigate a slow season in their family restaurant, she meets Miles. Miles takes Kass on a scavenging adventure that helps her find more than just other people’s tossed treasures. Kass begins to find who she is and the kind of friend, daughter, and teammate she was meant to be.

Dive covers a lot of ground and really well. When Kass moves to a new school she has a lot of challenges to overcome; making new friends, trying to fit in, missing her old friends and feeling that distance, wanting to find a group to be a part. of, struggling family restaurant, parents fighting and Kass just wants to find connection. Any child that has changed schools will relate to the feelings presented in this book. John David Anderson hit the mark with Kass's journey with friends, new, old and potential.

I was a bit skeptical that a story about high diving and dumpster diving would work, but this one does! The characters feel authentic, compelling, and rootworthy.

Kassandra loves diving, she good at it and she can control it, when everything else around her is chaos. She just had to switch to a new school one her parents have to pay a lot for but it is the only school close enough that has a dive program. Sometimes if her parents can’t pick her up Kass has to ride the city bus home one such day she encounters a boy, Miles, there. Miles is trying to get a big old TV out of the dumpster and asks for her help soon Kass gets the dumpster diver bug to and lies to her parents and even skips a practice to go places with Miles. But it all ends abruptly. But then Miles needs her and her parents help.
This book hits on so many levels that it truly is a great read for everyone. It teaches so much in such a great and entertaining way that it really is in a class of its own. I loved it and can’t wait for the next book by John David Anderson her books never disappoint.

Kass and Miles are both divers, but in very different ways—Kass dives into the water, while Miles searches through dumpsters.

Kass has just transferred to St. Lawrence Academy, a calmer and safer school where she can focus on her love for diving. But the change isn’t easy. Her family’s restaurant is struggling after COVID, and paying for private school makes money even tighter. On top of that, she’s trying to balance old and new friendships.

One day, while waiting for the bus, Kass meets Miles—who is stuck in a dumpster. Their friendship begins with a pair of worn-out boots she finds for him, and soon, Kass starts noticing things she used to ignore, like homelessness and poverty. But keeping her new friend a secret makes life even more stressful. When Miles calls her late one night, asking for help, everything changes.

With realistic characters and a story that feels true to life, this book is a great addition to any middle school library.

Anderson has once again crafted a beautiful and informational book looking at the relationships that tweens form with others. Kass is adjusting to a new school, navigating friendship and family challenges, and generally just getting by when she meets Miles digging through a dumpster by her bus stop. Miles, an older teen with struggles of his own, shows Kass a new side of her world while teaching her about dumpster diving. As time goes on, Kass begins to come out of her shell and things at home and school improve, but she's also lying about where she is. Overall, readers will enjoy the variety of relationships depicted in the novel and will relate to Kass' home, friendship, and school difficulties. While the messages about reuse and people throwing things away the minute they're not useful were poignant, there are concerns that tween readers won't fully consider the larger elements at play and might take up dumpster diving or similarly risky hobbies versus a more structured opportunity to help. I would have appreciate Anderson putting some more information about the safety risks re: dumpster diving in the book somewhere and noting that this isn't a recommended activity.

First, This ARC was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Book, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful, powerful story that so many kids and adults alike will relate to. The struggles of life and dealing with hardships of money, parents not getting along, and trying to fit in felt so real and relatable, even if it's not something I've personally experienced. Anderson does a great job of teaching the lessons of never judging a book by its cover and treating everyone your encounter with kindness as you never know what others are going through.

Kass is trying so hard to find her place in her new school, while feel vastly outcasted because she does not look the part of the rest of the school. While she exceeds at diving, that does not guarantee her automatic friends. Eventually she makes friends with a boy named Miles, who she can tell has his own inner and exterior struggles. She is able to be there for him in ways that she needs her own friends to be there. This alone helps Kass find worth and value in herself and continue to grow in big ways.

I haven't read anyother John David Anderson stories but I have become a fan and cannot wait to read some of his other stories! His writing and craft and sense of story telling really draws in readers while helping continue to move the story!

I great story that entertains and educates. I love the
Lessons that come from this story. A story of courage, taking chances, being understanding and not judging others. It is well written and would be a great book club selection.

Kass has started at a new school and hopes to make new friends now that she’s on the dive team. One day she meets Miles who’s dumpster diving and realizes one shouldn’t make assumption about someone. As they get to know each other, Kass can tell Miles is struggling. Kass slowly makes friends with Amber on the swim team and tells her when I push myself I feel powerful. Kass realizes that there are things she can’t control, but she has diving to do the way she wants. When Kass helps Miles with his dad, her dad tells her she has a big heart which will push her to do things that matter. A great coming-of-age story showing courage and how to take chances.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. All opinions are my own.

Dive follows Kass as she adjusts to life in a new school, away from her longtime friends, a situation that I also went through when I was about her age, and I could easily relate to her worries and struggles. The book also touches on dumpster diving, which I don’t have much experience with, but these scenes were written with enough detail that I could easily imagine Kass’s and Miles’s adventures.

This is a poignant story highlighting the emotional, social, and familial struggles of modern day students. I can see many of my students relating to one or another character or situation from this book.

Heart. This book had plenty of it.

No, not the romantic variety. Instead, it’s the familial one (fathers to their daughters, sons to their fathers), the friendship one created and strengthened( with former friends and new ones),and the humanistic one (to animals and strangers).

It was the book’s cover that caught my eye. But it was the book’s synopsis of the parallel dives that cemented my decision to read it. Kass’ actual voice as well her emotions are felt (by the reader (prime example-her unwise second visit to the Professor).

While it’s wholly Kass’ story, the characters that orbit around her from her parents, friends,the Professor, Miles, and even the cat, Knox propel, this story to a realistic, satisfying conclusion.Though wouldn’t mind a sequel featuring Miles and Kass’ a few years from now (a YA version, if you will).

#Dive #NetGalley

This ARC was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Book, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.