Dive
dive
By John David Anderson
From the beloved author of Posted comes a powerful, poignant, and unexpected upper middle grade novel about the rules in life that box us in and the determination to break out.
From the moment Kassandra Connor leaps from the diving board to the moment she hits the water, everything feels in control.
The rest of her life does not.
St. Lawrence Academy is supposed to have everything Kass’s old school didn’t: safe hallways, small classes, and most important, a chance to dive. But since transferring, all Kass can think about is what’s missing. Like her best friend, Aleah, who’s starting to pull away. Or the comfortable life so many of her classmates enjoy while Kass’s family’s restaurant struggles to stay afloat. Even the excitement she always felt in the pool, now that she’s on the same team as Amber Moore—the berst diver in the state, who’s barely said two words to her all year.
Kass feels like she’s drowning, until she meets a boy named Miles. He’s a diver, too—someone who searches through dumpsters in the posh side of town for things he can salvage or sell. Miles knows what it’s like to be boxed in by things you can’t control, and as Kass spends more and more time with him, she starts to wonder what would happen if she tried to break out of her own box—and what she might lose by doing so.
Publishes August, 2025
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“Anderson offers nuanced explorations of a family with wide but perhaps in time healable cracks and of two young people whose distinct differences of outlook and personality are bridged by a powerful, loving bond. An intensely felt tale of adolescents desperate for both stability and change.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Memorable. Anderson knows to let a big, complicated family story be complicated, to afford it the space it needs, and to allow a young boy to earn wisdom throughout the course of a powerful narrative.' — The Horn Book
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John David Anderson is the author of some of the most beloved and highly acclaimed books for kids in recent memory, including the New York Times Notable Book Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, Posted, Granted, Sidekicked, and The Dungeoneers. A dedicated root beer connoisseur and chocolate fiend, he lives with his wonderful wife and two frawsome kids in Indianapolis, Indiana. He’s never eaten seven scoops of ice cream in a single sitting, but he thinks it sounds like a terrific idea. You can visit him online at www.johndavidanderson.org