5. The Dive From Clausen's Pier

I just finished The Dive From Clausen's Pier and it was really good. First, the B&N description: In this beautifully written, intelligent, and completely absorbing first novel, Ann Packer provides a refreshingly insightful meditation on the classic quest for identity and fulfillment. As Packer sends her main character packing -- from Wisconsin to New York City, fleeing a fiance and long-time boyfriend who was recently paralyzed in a terrible diving accident -- she shows us a woman suddenly awakening to her potential, realizing a vibrant new identity, and asking herself difficult questions about how to balance what we owe to friends and family with our responsibility to be true to ourselves. What I liked about this one was how realistic is was in terms of looking at how your actions can impact others but also when you need to do what's right for you even if it isn't what's best for those around you. Carrie - the main character - made choices I wish I could make. A key line: "It's not very helpful to regard your choices as a series of right or wrong moves. They don't define you as much as you define them."