Dive Smack

April 23, 2018
In this amnesia-driven psychological thriller, an athlete is haunted by the slowly returning memories of the fire that destroyed his home and killed his mother, a fire he believes he started. Springboard diver Theo just wants to master his mother’s favorite dive in the hope that this accomplishment will help get him into Stanford. However, as he works with several classmates, including his crush, Iris, on a family-history project for school, he discovers numerous mysteries surrounding his mother’s life and death, and he starts to wonder if his adoptive uncle, Dr. Phil Maddox, may know more than he lets on. Furthermore, Theo’s increasingly frequent visions of imminent events are eroding his performance in both school and on the diving board. With Iris’s help, Theo tries to uncover the truth linking his lost memories and the glimpses he receives of the future before things spiral out of control. In an impressive debut, Brodsky injects her teen drama with ambiguity, and a subtle hint of paranormal phenomena, leaving readers to guess at what’s really going on. Strong characters and a compelling mystery make this a real page-turner. Ages 12–up. Agent: John Silbersack, Trident Media.