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DIVE!(4 volumes)
(DIVE!)
Text by Eto Mori
Tokyo: Kodansha, 2000-2002
223 pp (vol.1): 188 x 128 mm
ISBN : 4-06-210192-0; 4-06-210520-9; 4-06-210857-7; 4-06-211414-3
Ages : 13+
Sport (Diving), Friendship, Failure and Growth
Shogakukan Children's Publication Culture Award 2003 |
This is a series of fictional sports novels describing junior high school boys who throw themselves into the world of diving. The boys are warned that their swimming school will close down unless at least one of them is good enough to be chosen as a member of the national Olympic team. So they practice hard with their coach Kayoko, who has learned a new style of coaching in the U.S.A. The main characters are Tomoki, an ordinary teenager who is determined to master a “super dive”, Shibuki, who used to dive from cliffs into the sea in his native village and Yoichi, a perfectionist whose parents were both famous divers. Sometimes they have to compete against one another as rivals but at other times they have to encourage one another to succeed. Each boy has his own worries and troubles. This series depicts the lively and dramatic struggles, failures and eventual growth of these three characters. The series is extremely popular and appeals to both junior high students and adults.
Eto Mori was born in Tokyo in 1968. She made her debut with Rizumu (Rhythm, 1991) which won her the Kodansha New Children’s Book Author Award. She is widely known as an author of picture books, storybooks and young adult novels. Her award-winning works include Uchu no Minashigo (Orphans in the Universe, 1994) which won her the Noma Children’s Literature New Author Award, Amondo iri Cyokoreto no warutsu (A Waltz of Almond Chocolate, 1996) which won the Robo no Ishi Literature Award, and Kaze ni Maiagaru Biniru Shito (Plastic Sheets Blown up by the Wind, 2006) which won her the Naoki Award for Fiction.
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