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A review by shieldbearer
The Deep by Gordon Korman
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.