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.

May 1, 2018
Grades 8-11 In this strong psychological thriller, a school assignment sends golden boy Theo Mackey down the rabbit hole of his family's twisted history. Theo is careful to appear confident, easygoing, and reliable, the way a popular, straight-A student and star athlete should. Inside, though, he's still wracked with guilt over the only thing he remembers about the night his mother died: he started the fire that killed her. When his teacher assigns a family history project senior year, Theo has few resources. His father died last year, leaving his family's history in only two hands: his alcoholic grandfather's and his father's best friend's, a psychiatrist who's treating Theo for PTSD. Both of them seem to be working harder to keep Theo in the dark than help him learn the truth. Theo's search dredges up buried memories, accompanied by scarily accurate premonitions of danger. Brodsky's debut combines an engaging school story, filled with best-friend shenanigans, first love, and a fascinating look at competitive diving, with a tense psychological mystery that pivots reasonably well into the paranormal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)