Dive Smack is a fresh slap across the face and a vision into the possibilities of the YA genre. 'Heartbreaking, human and heroic, Demetra Brodskys Dive Smack is a Perfect 10' Karen LaFace, 1992 USA Olympic Springboard Diver At the Publishers request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. Theo is a high school kid dealing with a lot of stress. The way he must learn to move on is absolutely the reason why this book ranks higher than most it deals with grief and loss in a genre that generally focuses more on romance and action and presents it in a manner that is easily identifiable for other readers. Dive Smack by Demetra Brodsky is a solid debut novel, one which tells an easy to follow story filled with enough mystery, suspense, and supernatural elements to keep readers turning the pages. While it is common for individuals to feel responsible for an untimely demise, Theo’s emotions are much stronger than that: he believes that his parents’ deaths were both completely his fault and preventable. Probably what stands out to readers the most is the way in which Theo deals with his parents’ deaths. Grappling through schoolwork, romance, and a competitive sport, Theo Mackey must learn to face his demons, both inwardly and outwardly. Most of all, he wonders if he could have prevented their deaths. In diving parlance, a ‘dive smack’ occurs when a diver mis-judges their entry and hits the water painfully instead of smoothly. But past his shining exterior, Theo wrestles with his grief over the loss of his parents in separate tragic accidents. DIVE SMACK ( Amazon ), Demetra Brodsky’s debut YA novel, is a fast-paced mystery that conveys both the exhilaration and exhaustion of teen life with a supernatural twist.

As the captain of his school’s well-respected dive team, he hopes that his athletic status will help him get recruited into top-tier Division I universities. Like every high school student looking for a good college, Theo Mackey has his gimmick that will hopefully make him stand out. Review by Jacob Chon, age 16 Dive Smack by Demetra Brodsky