From the moment Kassandra Conner 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 didnโt: safe hallways, small classes, and, most important, a chance to dive. But since transferring, all Kass can think about is whatโs missing. Like her best friend, Aleah, whoโs starting to pull away. Or the comfortable life so many of her classmates enjoy while Kassโs familyโs restaurant struggles to stay afloat. Even the excitement she always felt in the pool, now that sheโs on the same team as Amber Mooreโthe best diver in the state, whoโs barely said two words to her all year.
Kass feels like sheโs drowning, until she meets a boy named Miles. Heโs a diver, tooโsomeone who searches through dumpsters in the posh side of town for things he can salvage or sell. Miles knows what itโs like to be boxed in by things you canโt 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 boxโand what she might lose by doing so.
John David Anderson is the author of more than a dozen acclaimed and beloved books for kids, including the New York Times Notable Book Ms. Bixbyโs Last Day, Posted, Granted, One Last Shot, Stowaway, The Greatest Kid in the World, Keep It Like a Secret, and many more. A dedicated root beer connoisseur and chocolate fiend, he lives with his wonderful wife, two frawesome kids, and clumsy cat, Smudge, in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can visit him online at johndavidanderson.org.