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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’ve ventured into Bill Konigsberg’s books before, and I’ll be honest I wasn’t that big of a fan of the works I read going into “The Bridge”.
When a young man (Aaron) and a young women (Tilly) both decide to end their lives, on the same bridge, at the same time, this story looks at all the possible scenarios: what if he jumped and she didn’t? What is she jumped and he didn’t? What if they both jumped? What if neither jumped? This book explores the ramifications of what each of these courses of action have on the people around them and on each other.
This is HEAVY reading material, and I don’t necessarily think I was in the right mindset when I decided to read this book. Looking back, I think I should of put it off another week or two. That said, stories like this are so important. And aside from the gravity of the material, it really is a solid book. Each scenario felt like it’s own book, and I was captivated by the way the results for different side characters played out based on who chose to jump. Tilly’s storyline involves racism, body shaming, parental neglect, and bullying. We see the effects her choices have on her parents, sister, bully, the guy she lost her virginity too, etc. while I found Tilly’s storyline more heartbreaking, her side characters weren’t as enjoyable. Aarons storyline involves mental health issues mostly, and while he is gay that is barely even spoken of. The shining star of this book is Aaron’s father. Liked Damn we all need a dad like him.
A thought provoking book, but please, please be sure your headspace is correct before venturing into this. You’ll be thankful you did.
I’ve ventured into Bill Konigsberg’s books before, and I’ll be honest I wasn’t that big of a fan of the works I read going into “The Bridge”.
When a young man (Aaron) and a young women (Tilly) both decide to end their lives, on the same bridge, at the same time, this story looks at all the possible scenarios: what if he jumped and she didn’t? What is she jumped and he didn’t? What if they both jumped? What if neither jumped? This book explores the ramifications of what each of these courses of action have on the people around them and on each other.
This is HEAVY reading material, and I don’t necessarily think I was in the right mindset when I decided to read this book. Looking back, I think I should of put it off another week or two. That said, stories like this are so important. And aside from the gravity of the material, it really is a solid book. Each scenario felt like it’s own book, and I was captivated by the way the results for different side characters played out based on who chose to jump. Tilly’s storyline involves racism, body shaming, parental neglect, and bullying. We see the effects her choices have on her parents, sister, bully, the guy she lost her virginity too, etc. while I found Tilly’s storyline more heartbreaking, her side characters weren’t as enjoyable. Aarons storyline involves mental health issues mostly, and while he is gay that is barely even spoken of. The shining star of this book is Aaron’s father. Liked Damn we all need a dad like him.
A thought provoking book, but please, please be sure your headspace is correct before venturing into this. You’ll be thankful you did.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
really eye opening, talks about all the effects of suicide Check TW
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment
Note: I started this out on audiobook, but switched to an ebook because I loved the characters and the narrator was ruining them for me with her inflections. She made Tilly sound especially rude and hard to like.
Oh man, I wish I had this book in highschool! I definitely feel for these characters and their struggles, because I have been there. I found the writing easy and immersive and I loved the first 3/4 of the book. I thought I would love the last timeline the most, but tbh it started feeling repetitive by that point. A lot of the interactions and messages and whatnot repeated or just slightly altered and it became kinda cumbersome. I wish the last part could have been trimmed or rearranged in some sort of way to make it feel fresher. But overall, I looooved the book and applaud the messages behind it.
Oh man, I wish I had this book in highschool! I definitely feel for these characters and their struggles, because I have been there. I found the writing easy and immersive and I loved the first 3/4 of the book. I thought I would love the last timeline the most, but tbh it started feeling repetitive by that point. A lot of the interactions and messages and whatnot repeated or just slightly altered and it became kinda cumbersome. I wish the last part could have been trimmed or rearranged in some sort of way to make it feel fresher. But overall, I looooved the book and applaud the messages behind it.
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My rating is really more of 3.5, and I think part of the reason it's so low is that it's really not for my age demographic. It reads very young, for middle to late high school, and I'm a bit past that. The writing is average but interesting, a few quotes really stand out especially in the beginning and the experimental aspect of multiple POVs and multiple timelines was a great and original idea. I think the ending was good but a bit disappointing; it felt like an easy ending.
This book's greatest strength and the reason I would recommend it to someone looking for a vulnerable read is that it really portrays depression well without any romantics, but it also goes beyond the depression. I think the characters are so well written with all their flaws. They're not likable nor unlikable characters, they just feel like people that you get to choose whether you like or not. It was the biggest reason I kept reading. I wanted to know how they would change and fight.
This book's greatest strength and the reason I would recommend it to someone looking for a vulnerable read is that it really portrays depression well without any romantics, but it also goes beyond the depression. I think the characters are so well written with all their flaws. They're not likable nor unlikable characters, they just feel like people that you get to choose whether you like or not. It was the biggest reason I kept reading. I wanted to know how they would change and fight.
A thought-provoking novel that presents 4 different timelines which each start at the same moment in time: when two teens arrive at the George Washington Bridge at the same time, contemplating suicide. The four different stories are: only the girl jumps, only the boy jumps, both jump, and neither one jumps. It's a brutally honest, raw presentation of events that led up to the starting point at the bridge, and of those that follow. I really appreciated this novel.