Heat.

The second book I read was __Heat__, by Michael Cadnum. Heat is a sports book about a dedicated diver named Bonnie who has to deal with physical and family problems. Bonnie has divorced parents and her dad has just married a woman named Cindy. Weeks before Bonnie’s Olympic trials, Bonnie injures her scalp in a diving accident and is faced with the challenge of getting back in the game and facing her fear. At the same time, her dad works as an attorney and is convicted of defrauding his clients and has to go to court. At court he pleads guilty and is sent to prison for two years. The main theme of this book is courage, because Bonnie has to recover from her accident and get back up on the diving board. “Halfway up the tower my nerve failed. My knees locked and I had this bizarre sensation that my knee joints were going to bend backward…I stiff-legged my way higher, not letting myself count the remaining steps…if you can’t dive well, dive badly. My arms and legs chose the time.” This quote demonstrates how scared she was diving again. It also shows how much emotional strength it took her to dive again. What I like about the writer’s voice is that he has a great plot and story line. What I did not like about this book is that the book gets confusing at times. This is because it is difficult to determine what part of the book is a flashback and what is actually happening. I do not really recommend this book because it was hard to follow. -Alex Bergman