DIVE

A middle schooler tries to find her place in the world.

Thirteen-year-old Kassandra Conner is a talented diver and a new student at a private Catholic school. Her parents chose it for its academic rigor and the sports opportunities her old school didn’t have. But Kass, who lives in an apartment above her family’s struggling restaurant, is lost. She doesn’t fit in with the wealthy kids, her best friend is increasingly distant, and her parents are arguing about money. Her lackluster dives show the toll of all this stress. By chance, Kass meets 17-year-old Miles Dempsey, a high school dropout and fellow outsider who seems to understand her. He dumpster dives, and Kass, who’s intrigued, joins him. Soon, Miles’ “lessons” expand beyond dumpsters to places he visits for free necessities and community. Kass learns there’s more to both Miles and the world than her initial assumptions led her to believe. But she gets in over her head with the lies she tells her parents, ultimately endangering the people she cares about. Irreverent teenage humor blends with reflective third-person narration to create a cast of genuine-feeling characters, including well-meaning adults, whose worries and interactions feel true to life. Anderson gives his characters room to make mistakes but also to grow, experience consequences, and forgive. Main characters are cued white.

A well-written, introspective story about the assumptions people make and the journey to belonging.