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shieldbearer's review against another edition
4.0
Dive: The Deep is the second installment of Korman's Dive Trilogy, and he masterfully complicates the character development and the plot. Like the installment before, The Deep is a quick read. Korman weaves realistic dialogue and witty humor throughout the narrative and supports it with the dynamic interactions between his characters and palpable tension that keeps one turning the pages.
The nuanced development began in the first part of the trilogy comes to a head here as more and more of the motivations of the four protagonists are revealed. Star, who has a limp due to cerebral palsy, wants to show up the treasure hunters who assumed she couldn't dive because of her disability. Dante, a talented black-and-white photographer, wants to secure his future so that he can practice his art without worrying about living on it- a dream impeded by his colorblindness. Adriana, who comes from a wealthy family, is only interested in the history that the treasure and the ships speak of. And Kaz, a former hockey player, just wants to keep the dishonest Cutter- who blew up rare coral reefs in an attempt to get at the treasure, cheated them of the wreck that Dante found, and - from getting rich off his unethical behavior.
The problem is that they can't access the treasure unless they get access to the resources only the adults can use. Cutter, the man who hired them, is out of the question as he only wants to keep them out of his hair and away from the treasure. The kids have to be careful who they trust- 1.2 billion dollars is enough to set even close friends at each other's throats and all of the adults could take advantage of them if they wanted to.
The theme of class/money, which was planted in the first book, really blooms in this book. Dante's dream is hindered by his lack of resources, and out of the four protagonists he is the most fixated on the idea of getting the wealth from the wreck. The others are, of course, enchanted by the idea of all that wealth in addition to the other motives mentioned above. Korman does an excellent job of keeping his characters distinct but still showing how easily the lust for money can affect a person- particularly the young. Disability is also underscored in the second book with the revelation of Dante's color blindness. His disability and his desire for the money are bound together, because everyone expects him to develop into an excellent color photographer but because he is incapable of seeing any color, his future is in peril. Star's disability also affects her development and motivation for going after the treasure- at this point, she is not interested in the 1.2 billion lying on the sea floor. She is the best diver of the four, and knows that Cutter only chose her as one of the interns because he thought her disability would limit her ability to interfere with this plans.
In the second installment of Dive, Korman raises the stakes and tells an enthralling, action-packed story while keeping his characters organic and realistic.
The nuanced development began in the first part of the trilogy comes to a head here as more and more of the motivations of the four protagonists are revealed. Star, who has a limp due to cerebral palsy, wants to show up the treasure hunters who assumed she couldn't dive because of her disability. Dante, a talented black-and-white photographer, wants to secure his future so that he can practice his art without worrying about living on it- a dream impeded by his colorblindness. Adriana, who comes from a wealthy family, is only interested in the history that the treasure and the ships speak of. And Kaz, a former hockey player, just wants to keep the dishonest Cutter- who blew up rare coral reefs in an attempt to get at the treasure, cheated them of the wreck that Dante found, and - from getting rich off his unethical behavior.
The problem is that they can't access the treasure unless they get access to the resources only the adults can use. Cutter, the man who hired them, is out of the question as he only wants to keep them out of his hair and away from the treasure. The kids have to be careful who they trust- 1.2 billion dollars is enough to set even close friends at each other's throats and all of the adults could take advantage of them if they wanted to.
The theme of class/money, which was planted in the first book, really blooms in this book. Dante's dream is hindered by his lack of resources, and out of the four protagonists he is the most fixated on the idea of getting the wealth from the wreck. The others are, of course, enchanted by the idea of all that wealth in addition to the other motives mentioned above. Korman does an excellent job of keeping his characters distinct but still showing how easily the lust for money can affect a person- particularly the young. Disability is also underscored in the second book with the revelation of Dante's color blindness. His disability and his desire for the money are bound together, because everyone expects him to develop into an excellent color photographer but because he is incapable of seeing any color, his future is in peril. Star's disability also affects her development and motivation for going after the treasure- at this point, she is not interested in the 1.2 billion lying on the sea floor. She is the best diver of the four, and knows that Cutter only chose her as one of the interns because he thought her disability would limit her ability to interfere with this plans.
In the second installment of Dive, Korman raises the stakes and tells an enthralling, action-packed story while keeping his characters organic and realistic.
emlickliter's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
4.0
The Deep by Gordon Korman – When the four interns realize that their lack of skills were the reason they were chosen, they know their bosses are up to no good on this treasure quest. Happy Reading!
emlickliter's review
adventurous
medium-paced
4.0
The Deep by Gordon Korman – When the four interns realize that their lack of skills were the reason they were chosen, they know their bosses are up to no good on this treasure quest. Happy Reading!
pagesofmilkandhoney's review
2.0
I used to be obsessed with Gordon Korman books when I was in sixth grade. My Language Arts teacher had a classroom library and all of his books were in there. That being said, I always had a weird relationship with the Dive series because at first I didn't realise it was in fact a series, and would read the second and probably third one before the first, making me very confused and not like the series at all. Once I did get a hand on the first book however and read the series straight through like a normal person, I liked it a lot more.
renoku's review
5.0
Alternate title for this book: Everything That Could Go Wrong During a Diving Expedition Goes Wrong and Here's How. Also alternatively: Chekov's Gun in the Form of Giant Man-Eating Sharks. The only other words I can use to open this review are how is this a children's book?!
Despite the obligatory exposition chapter that recaps the first book that I'd finished reading ten minutes before picking up this one (the perks of a box set), this story immediately picked up from the get go. And with this, there were conflicts galore! Every single chapter became a game of "oh, here's this new aspect of diving that the main characters now get to experience and HERE'S HOW IT'S GONNA GO WRONG" and honestly I found this FASCINATING.
But the ending is so much! I honestly was waiting the entire book for English and the interns to make up, but not like this! And I know in the back of my mind that it's gonna be okay, BUT IS IT?! I thought that everyone was gonna be safe, because this is a children's book, but OBVIOUSLY THAT'S NOT TRUE ANYMORE. ANYTHING IS UP FOR GRABS NOW.
And what's even worse is I don't have the time to immediately start the next book. I have to wait like a normal person! So good, this was. Honestly, I often feel like the second book of a trilogy is usually the weakest, but if this is the case, I can't wait for how good the third will be!
Despite the obligatory exposition chapter that recaps the first book that I'd finished reading ten minutes before picking up this one (the perks of a box set), this story immediately picked up from the get go. And with this, there were conflicts galore! Every single chapter became a game of "oh, here's this new aspect of diving that the main characters now get to experience and HERE'S HOW IT'S GONNA GO WRONG" and honestly I found this FASCINATING.
But the ending is so much! I honestly was waiting the entire book for English and the interns to make up, but not like this! And I know in the back of my mind that it's gonna be okay, BUT IS IT?! I thought that everyone was gonna be safe, because this is a children's book, but OBVIOUSLY THAT'S NOT TRUE ANYMORE. ANYTHING IS UP FOR GRABS NOW.
And what's even worse is I don't have the time to immediately start the next book. I have to wait like a normal person! So good, this was. Honestly, I often feel like the second book of a trilogy is usually the weakest, but if this is the case, I can't wait for how good the third will be!
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