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blogginboutbooks's review against another edition
3.0
As a genealogy buff, I'm always intrigued when the words "family history" show up in a book's premise. I'm not sure how realistic the family history school project trope really is (none of my four kids have ever been given such an assignment in elementary, junior high, high school, or college), but it does give Theo some motivation to start uncovering some family secrets. The way he goes about researching is a little crazy (Why, for instance, would anyone look for vital records in a high school coach's office??) and illogical. That part of the story made little sense to me. I'm also not sure how I feel about the supernatural aspect of this novel—I thought I was reading a straight-up mystery, so that was a weird story swerve for me. Interesting enough, just unexpected. The rest of DIVE SMACK's plot is compelling, although it also gets melodramatic and contrived in places. Still, it definitely kept me reading. I sped through the novel in a day just to see what was going to happen. As far as characters go, I didn't love them. Theo is sympathetic, but neither he nor his friends are super likable as they're mostly portrayed as crass, horny athletes who only care about swimming and getting high. They definitely needed more depth. So, while this novel kept me interested enough to keep reading, I can't say I loved it or even liked it all that much. In addition, the copy I read was filled with typos and editing errors which got super annoying. Overall, then, DIVE SMACK was just an average read for me.
kamilahlove's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
- writing errors
- last 30% really saved the book
- overall = 3.75⭐️
- last 30% really saved the book
- overall = 3.75⭐️
shai3d's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bookladysreviews's review against another edition
4.0
*I received this book for free, in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!*
Dive Smack was one of my most anticipated releases and literally jumped at the opportunity to read and review it, because it sounded like something I'd never read about before. The premise is extremely fascinating and even though it start off a bit slower than I would've liked, it picked up after the first couple of chapters and kept me on the edge throughout it! It was a truly enjoyable read, which gave a different and intriguing spin on the Contemporary Genre! It also spiced things up with the Mystery aspect and how suspenseful it made the story itself!
I absolutely loved the fact that the novel was told in Theo's POV. I haven't come across a lot of Contemporaries that are told in the male character's perspective exclusively so, this was definitely a breath of fresh air for me. It was more unique because of the fact that, I don't encounter it as often as I'd like it books so, it made the experience of reading Dive Smack even better! Right from the beginning of the novel, his voice was clear and determined, making him sound more mature than his age. The mystery is kind of introduced when one of his class assignments about his family tree, sparks questions he has no answers for and thus begins the journey to discovering more about himself and unraveling the truth of his past. His character was quite believable and more than easy to relate to, since he's a teenager that's going through some very dark times, perfectly described by the author throughout the novel and becoming even more vivid as the story progresses! He's also very likable from the beginning of the book and his character development is more than well thought out and executed. His friendship with Chip was another thing I immensely enjoyed while reading the book, since having supportive friends that stay with you through thick and thin is extremely important and very hard to find nowadays. Chip's loyalty was hard to ignore and his believe in Theo never faltered, a fact that made him and the bond they shared even more authentic!
Moving on to the love interest, Iris. She was phenomenal! The combination of tattooed nerd girl that's a complete bad ass was quite the surprise everyone! Color me impressed! She was basically her own person and I truly admired her for it! She has her secrets too, a fact that makes her as fascinating as our main character but, never lets her demons get in the way of her standing by Theo and grounding him when he needed it the most! She was a truly inspiring character that bloomed in front of my eyes and made things so much more interesting and exciting to read!
Another fact I personally greatly appreciated, is how the romance never overshadowed the rest of the story. I feel like many authors that decide to include the mystery aspect in YA Contemporaries to be specific, kind of make it more about the Romance than the Mystery itself because they get carried away but thankfully, that was not the case with Dive Smack. Even though the chemistry between Theo and Iris was there, it didn't really take anything away from everything that was going on in the novel. On the contrary, it added more to it by keeping it realistic and relatable!
Moreover, the writing was great for a debut novel and I really loved how the author decided to built such a well thought out plot on top of such an interesting premise! It does have its twists and turns, which I wasn't really expecting, something that made it even more suspenseful and kept me on the edge of my seat. As I've already mentioned at the beginning of this review, the only reason I didn't give Dive Smack a five star rating was because of how slow paced it was at the beginning. What followed after that definitely made up for it though so, I don't really have anything else to say about it! Overall, this was such a fun read that definitely picked up and became more interesting as the story progressed! It was a page turner for sure and it's more than worth reading, if you enjoy YA Contemporaries with a Mystery twist!
Dive Smack was one of my most anticipated releases and literally jumped at the opportunity to read and review it, because it sounded like something I'd never read about before. The premise is extremely fascinating and even though it start off a bit slower than I would've liked, it picked up after the first couple of chapters and kept me on the edge throughout it! It was a truly enjoyable read, which gave a different and intriguing spin on the Contemporary Genre! It also spiced things up with the Mystery aspect and how suspenseful it made the story itself!
I absolutely loved the fact that the novel was told in Theo's POV. I haven't come across a lot of Contemporaries that are told in the male character's perspective exclusively so, this was definitely a breath of fresh air for me. It was more unique because of the fact that, I don't encounter it as often as I'd like it books so, it made the experience of reading Dive Smack even better! Right from the beginning of the novel, his voice was clear and determined, making him sound more mature than his age. The mystery is kind of introduced when one of his class assignments about his family tree, sparks questions he has no answers for and thus begins the journey to discovering more about himself and unraveling the truth of his past. His character was quite believable and more than easy to relate to, since he's a teenager that's going through some very dark times, perfectly described by the author throughout the novel and becoming even more vivid as the story progresses! He's also very likable from the beginning of the book and his character development is more than well thought out and executed. His friendship with Chip was another thing I immensely enjoyed while reading the book, since having supportive friends that stay with you through thick and thin is extremely important and very hard to find nowadays. Chip's loyalty was hard to ignore and his believe in Theo never faltered, a fact that made him and the bond they shared even more authentic!
Moving on to the love interest, Iris. She was phenomenal! The combination of tattooed nerd girl that's a complete bad ass was quite the surprise everyone! Color me impressed! She was basically her own person and I truly admired her for it! She has her secrets too, a fact that makes her as fascinating as our main character but, never lets her demons get in the way of her standing by Theo and grounding him when he needed it the most! She was a truly inspiring character that bloomed in front of my eyes and made things so much more interesting and exciting to read!
Another fact I personally greatly appreciated, is how the romance never overshadowed the rest of the story. I feel like many authors that decide to include the mystery aspect in YA Contemporaries to be specific, kind of make it more about the Romance than the Mystery itself because they get carried away but thankfully, that was not the case with Dive Smack. Even though the chemistry between Theo and Iris was there, it didn't really take anything away from everything that was going on in the novel. On the contrary, it added more to it by keeping it realistic and relatable!
Moreover, the writing was great for a debut novel and I really loved how the author decided to built such a well thought out plot on top of such an interesting premise! It does have its twists and turns, which I wasn't really expecting, something that made it even more suspenseful and kept me on the edge of my seat. As I've already mentioned at the beginning of this review, the only reason I didn't give Dive Smack a five star rating was because of how slow paced it was at the beginning. What followed after that definitely made up for it though so, I don't really have anything else to say about it! Overall, this was such a fun read that definitely picked up and became more interesting as the story progressed! It was a page turner for sure and it's more than worth reading, if you enjoy YA Contemporaries with a Mystery twist!
mindoe's review against another edition
5.0
Demetra Brodsky!!! You have done a beautiful job writing these characters. I love this story and your writing style. Can’t wait to read more of what you write.
Theo and Chip are the best friends that everyone wants to have. They have each other’s back, no questions asked.
Theo and Chip are the best friends that everyone wants to have. They have each other’s back, no questions asked.
merlin_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This one kind of took me on a ride and I really enjoyed it - but I didn't know that I enjoyed it until it ended. That's how wrapped up in the mystery I was.
Dive Smack is the story of Theo Mackey, star diver, but haunted by the deaths of both his parents. His only living relative is his grandfather who likes to spend most of his days drunk and because of this Theo spends most of his time at his best friends house, or hanging out with his "Uncle" Phil. When a school project has Theo starting to look into his past, memories start flooding to the surface - memories that Theo hid. And he starts to question what is real and what isn't.
This book was just full of surprises. While I guessed two of the major ones, I still found myself as surprised as Theo at the turn of events. There was a heaviness to the story that I didn't expect and I felt bad for Theo. He wanted to know more about his parents, but seemed to hit a roadblock at every turn. And then he started to get paranoid and saw almost everyone as his enemy - which didn't help matters. But I liked Theo. I never really connected with him, but I could understand his frustrations. I also loved his best friend, Chip, who was just game for anything and pretty much the epitome of best friends.
Coming into this, I knew nothing about diving. And while it's not something that I really cared to learn about, Brodsky did her research on the sport. I liked how each chapter began with a diving term and it was fun to see how that corresponded to the chapter. I know some reviews said that there may have been too much dive talk, but that felt real to Theo considering diving was his life.
I will admit there were a few aspects that were a little far reach, but I went with it and was ultimately entertained. I look forward to what Brodsky has in the future as both books that I've read from her have been very unique.
Dive Smack is the story of Theo Mackey, star diver, but haunted by the deaths of both his parents. His only living relative is his grandfather who likes to spend most of his days drunk and because of this Theo spends most of his time at his best friends house, or hanging out with his "Uncle" Phil. When a school project has Theo starting to look into his past, memories start flooding to the surface - memories that Theo hid. And he starts to question what is real and what isn't.
This book was just full of surprises. While I guessed two of the major ones, I still found myself as surprised as Theo at the turn of events. There was a heaviness to the story that I didn't expect and I felt bad for Theo. He wanted to know more about his parents, but seemed to hit a roadblock at every turn. And then he started to get paranoid and saw almost everyone as his enemy - which didn't help matters. But I liked Theo. I never really connected with him, but I could understand his frustrations. I also loved his best friend, Chip, who was just game for anything and pretty much the epitome of best friends.
Coming into this, I knew nothing about diving. And while it's not something that I really cared to learn about, Brodsky did her research on the sport. I liked how each chapter began with a diving term and it was fun to see how that corresponded to the chapter. I know some reviews said that there may have been too much dive talk, but that felt real to Theo considering diving was his life.
I will admit there were a few aspects that were a little far reach, but I went with it and was ultimately entertained. I look forward to what Brodsky has in the future as both books that I've read from her have been very unique.
alexisneuville's review against another edition
4.0
court1386's review against another edition
3.0
The mystery in this novel kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting to find out the truth. I had many guesses as to what the real facts were and while I did figure out some before their reveal, others left me shocked. There were a lot of editing/grammatical errors that kept popping up that would pull me out of the story for a minute, but overall an interesting read.
vickycbooks's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
I really enjoyed reading this one! It was a very solid debut, and only got better as I read on.
I'm going to treat this review like ripping off the bandaid, taking care of the few meh things first, before jumping on all the positives (and there's a lot of them--positives that is).
There were a total of two things that I wasn't too fond of, in the scope of the billion other things I loved.
1. The first half was slower than I wanted it to be. Maybe I have a short attention span. Maybe I wasn't invested yet. But I feel like Brodsky didn't whet our appetites enough in the beginning and add enough intrigue at the start to make me really feel invested in the novel. It took a lot longer to start, but once I got to the halfway point, I was eating this book up like it was the best thing that ever happened to me. The second half was sooo worth it.
2. The premise needed a little more basis and background. As much as I like how Theo learns all these things about himself, I just felt like what spurred it on (a school project on family) didn't have enough backing to it and felt kind of weak and out of the blue despite it being the sole reason this book exists. Without the project, this wouldn't really be happening. So I wanted more discourse on just why the project exists and how it's important.
Despite both of these, I still really enjoyed the book. There were just so many good things to it.
It was absolutely thrilling by the end. I am so surprised by how invested I got in this novel, and I definitely didn't expect that! There was so much going on that you don't realize during the first half, but things are slowly revealed and you become more and more suspicious of some characters, and it was all so intriguing.
Brodsky totally rocked the thriller/mystery aspect of this novel, and it was my absolute favorite part of reading this book! There are so many clues Brodsky leaves in the first half, but it's a shame that you don't know they're clues until the second half because they're all important, yet less intriguing when you don't suspect anything.
Besides this, I really enjoyed the other aspects of the premise. I found it really cool to read about Theo, a diver, as I've never read many books featuring this sport before. But I really love how Theo's performance in diving was a sort of parallel to how disastrous his life was at the moment. Plus, it's still a very important part to the plot.
Also, it has a male narrator. Now, I really love my girls, but it was cool to see a male narrator and more importantly, male friendships that weren't pissing contests! Theo and Chip were such great friends and I really liked seeing their supportive dynamic. Even Theo and the rest of the team & rival team had some decent interactions, which was really positive to see.
(Now I just need a male reader to tell me if this is accurate.)
Plus, family! I love how important family was to this novel, and was definitely torn over a couple members in this book. Theo's kind of lost without his family, and seeing his journey to building relationships and finding new people (surrogate or not) to have as a family was really enjoyable.
Overall, I really liked reading Dive Smack, especially for the mystery, and totally recommend! Seriously, stick it through at least past halfway, because I assure you the mystery is worth it!
Thank you so much to Tor Teen and Jean Book Nerd for providing me with an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!
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I really enjoyed reading this one! It was a very solid debut, and only got better as I read on.
I'm going to treat this review like ripping off the bandaid, taking care of the few meh things first, before jumping on all the positives (and there's a lot of them--positives that is).
There were a total of two things that I wasn't too fond of, in the scope of the billion other things I loved.
1. The first half was slower than I wanted it to be. Maybe I have a short attention span. Maybe I wasn't invested yet. But I feel like Brodsky didn't whet our appetites enough in the beginning and add enough intrigue at the start to make me really feel invested in the novel. It took a lot longer to start, but once I got to the halfway point, I was eating this book up like it was the best thing that ever happened to me. The second half was sooo worth it.
2. The premise needed a little more basis and background. As much as I like how Theo learns all these things about himself, I just felt like what spurred it on (a school project on family) didn't have enough backing to it and felt kind of weak and out of the blue despite it being the sole reason this book exists. Without the project, this wouldn't really be happening. So I wanted more discourse on just why the project exists and how it's important.
Despite both of these, I still really enjoyed the book. There were just so many good things to it.
It was absolutely thrilling by the end. I am so surprised by how invested I got in this novel, and I definitely didn't expect that! There was so much going on that you don't realize during the first half, but things are slowly revealed and you become more and more suspicious of some characters, and it was all so intriguing.
Brodsky totally rocked the thriller/mystery aspect of this novel, and it was my absolute favorite part of reading this book! There are so many clues Brodsky leaves in the first half, but it's a shame that you don't know they're clues until the second half because they're all important, yet less intriguing when you don't suspect anything.
Besides this, I really enjoyed the other aspects of the premise. I found it really cool to read about Theo, a diver, as I've never read many books featuring this sport before. But I really love how Theo's performance in diving was a sort of parallel to how disastrous his life was at the moment. Plus, it's still a very important part to the plot.
Also, it has a male narrator. Now, I really love my girls, but it was cool to see a male narrator and more importantly, male friendships that weren't pissing contests! Theo and Chip were such great friends and I really liked seeing their supportive dynamic. Even Theo and the rest of the team & rival team had some decent interactions, which was really positive to see.
(Now I just need a male reader to tell me if this is accurate.)
Plus, family! I love how important family was to this novel, and was definitely torn over a couple members in this book. Theo's kind of lost without his family, and seeing his journey to building relationships and finding new people (surrogate or not) to have as a family was really enjoyable.
Overall, I really liked reading Dive Smack, especially for the mystery, and totally recommend! Seriously, stick it through at least past halfway, because I assure you the mystery is worth it!
Thank you so much to Tor Teen and Jean Book Nerd for providing me with an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!
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