By Sue Ellen Anderson

Ann Packer writes like Carrie Bell sews, with consummate skill. A several page description of Carrie sewing a garment out of velvet or silk enthralls the reader, rather than bores, so adroit is the author.

The title, "The Dive from Claussen's Pier," has two meanings -- one literal, the other figurative. In one, the fiance, with whom Carrie has fallen out of love, literally dives off the pier in too-shallow water to impress Carrie. After months of exhaustively trying to deal with Mike's resulting coma and paralysis, a man she no longer loves, she figuratively 'dives from Clausen's Pier' by packing up and leaving her Wisconsin town for the big city of New York.

In New York, Carrie finds peace and then passion. She is free from the expectations of her small town. She begins a passionate love affair with Kilroy, a man she briefly met back in Madison. Opportunities for her talent in design and sewing begin to open, too.

Then, Carrie is called back to Madison. She seems to know if she leaves New York, the magic bubble will burst; she'll never have the courage or momentum to come back. Will Carrie choose familiar people, places and responsibilities? Or unknown possibilities and loves in NY?

Perhaps that's part of the book's charm. I totally understood her feelings of entrapment in a loveless engagement, solidified further by her fiancee's tragic accident. I don't understand her life in New York. Except for seeking out Kilroy, among all the millions in New York, by standing by the bar where she knew he played pool -- she doesn't really take positive actions in her life. She drifts along, living in an alcove in a friend's rental house, rather than seeking more permanance. Although Carrie has a tumultuous love affair with Kilroy, she doesn't do anything to solve the alienation between them, caused by his inability or refusal to share his past with her. Despite the opportunity offered when a friend gets her into a design school, Carrie doesn't even take action to develop her talents in sewing and design.

We all have roads not taken that affect the rest of our lives. Carrie has several. You can't help but wonder if she makes the right choices and how different her life would be if she chose differently.

This superbly written book should keep your interest throughout -- it did mine.