Heat

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Cadnum's latest may not have as much heart-pounding action as some of his previous thrillers (Zero at the Bone; Taking It), but there is plenty of tension. As the story opens, narrator Bonnie Chamberlain, a diver, has just regained consciousness following an accident in the pool at her fancy private school. Bonnie, who has started to entertain dreams about the Olympics, is left with a concussion and serious doubts about future competition. As she fights anxieties about rejoining the team and possibly reinjuring herself, she is hit with a second whammy: her father, a prominent attorney recently remarried to his secretary, is arrested for defrauding clients. While the meshing of two heavyweight traumas is slightly awkward, other aspects of the plot--particularly the change in Bonnie's belief in her father's innocence to her knowledge of his guilt--are compelling. Adopting the laconic style that gives so much of his writing its tough edge and adult flavor, Cadnum challenges readers with hard questions about the nature of fear and of betrayal. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)

VOYA - Joel Shoemaker

Seventeen-year-old Bonnie's aspirations as an Olympic hopeful platform diver are threatened after she injures her head at practice. Relations with each of her divorced parents, dad's new wife, older sister, coach, best friend, and boyfriend all strain to accommodate Bonnie's changing perceptions during her physical and mental recovery from the accident. When the sudden and unexpected arrest of her lawyer father on fraud charges steamrolls into the plot, Bonnie's unwavering faith in her father's innocence is gradually and realistically shattered. Cadnum's taut and artfully disjointed prose gradually peels away layer after layer of detail. Confronting her mom, Bonnie is forced to recognize that each of them has profited by her father's crimes; they too are tainted. Facing these truths, she determinedly (perhaps obsessively) dives again, regaining her momentum and drive to succeed. Rich in details about the upper-middle-class Oakland private school milieu as well as sailing, the pool, swimming and diving, and family relationships, Heat is more intense and will challenge more mature readers than either Alcock's A Kind of Thief (o.p./VOYA April 1992) or Byalick's It's a Matter of Trust (Browndeer, 1995/VOYA February 1996). Although both of these titles successfully portray the loss of innocence by teenage daughters following the arrest of an adored father, Cadnum's narrative cuts deeper, showing the extent to which Dad's character is flawed. VOYA Codes: 4Q 3P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, Will appeal with pushing, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

Children's Literature - Christopher Moning

Don't judge this book by its cover. If you were to do this, you would conclude that this is a story about a teenage girl who must rebuild her life after she suffers a serious diving accident. This beautifully written novel is about much more than that. Three weeks shy of her seventeenth birthday, Bonnie Chamberlain learns that her father, whom she adores, is going to marry his secretary. Her mother is not completely surprised, not completely unhurt. When Bonnie sustains a concussion while platform diving, she must draw on her courage to make a comeback. Meanwhile, her attorney father is arrested and charged with defrauding his clients, and Bonnie seems to be the only one who believes in him. Cadnum has created wonderfully rich and textured characters, especially in the intelligent, quick-witted, courageous, and immensely likable heroine, Bonnie Chamberlain. A neurologist confides to Bonnie that she is going through a divorce. Bonnie addresses the reader: "This happens to me-people look at me, make a judgement about my character, and tell me about themselves." You will feel the same trust toward this unique protagonist. Don't be fooled; this book is not about diving. This book is psychological drama at its finest. A winner.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-Bonnie regains consciousness slowly after a high-dive accident. She survives the physical trauma, but that is the least of her problems. Foremost in her thoughts is her father, who is honeymooning in Hawaii with his former secretary. He is a high-powered lawyer, imbued with a larger-than-life ego, and is, figuratively speaking, "swimming with sharks." Just as she is cleared, perhaps prematurely, to get back into the water, he is arrested for defrauding his clients. She is horrified at her mother and sister's acceptance of the situation. Her father's obtuse arrogance, lack of remorse, and total selfishness will stun readers. Will Bonnie's drive to impress this man who only calls her "Champion" endanger her recovery? The author creates psychological tension with his attention to atmosphere. Readers can smell the chlorine and will tremble alongside Bonnie as she tentatively climbs to the top of the diving platform. Cadnum is a master at drawing powerful characters who struggle with inner demons and are unable to communicate with those closest to them. Other books that explore a father's fall from grace include Marcia Byalick's It's a Matter of Trust (Harcourt, 1995), which deals with the aftermath of Erika's father's conviction of white-collar crime, and Walter Dean Myer's searing Somewhere in the Darkness (Scholastic, 1992), about an escaped convict who happens to be the father Jimmy has not seen since infancy. Also recommend Heat to Chris Crutcher fans who enjoy his psychological studies of athletic endurance and competitions.-Marilyn Payne Phillips, University City Public Library, MO

Kirkus Reviews

For Cadnum (In a Dark Wood, p. 55, etc.), there's nothing like a little uncertainty to throw a top athleteþor a father- daughter relationshipþoff, headed for a permanent setback. There's no question that Bonnie Chamberlain will be an Olympic-level competitor in platform diving; then she hits the platform during a routine practice and is not only seriously injured but fearful of ever diving again. Encouraged by an understanding coach, Bonnie forces herself into the water and steels herself to keep on diving. Then comes a blow almost worse than the accident. Her divorced and recently remarried father is arrested for bilking his law clients out of large sums of money. Bonnie, devastated, believes he is innocent, despite the hints from her mother, older sister, and best friend that he is guilty as charged. As the truth sinks in, Bonnie comes to understand that the money that built her mother's business and paid for her own private-school education (and her hopes for diving) is part of her father's past schemesþthat she is not entirely excluded from his guilt. In this gripping look at family relationships Cadnum finds painful shades of gray for Bonnie to face for the first time; in her will to grasp the manner and timing of her healing is evidence that she is one of Cadnum's most complex and enigmatic characters. (Fiction. 12-14)