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ohtrisarahtops's review against another edition
4.0
This review can also be found here
This book was extremely gritty and shows what can happen when the streets overtake someone you care about. It also shows the lengths that one teenager will go to just to rescue his brother. This is not a happy book, though it does have a happy ending. The journey throughout is dark and dreary and not full of much hope. That's the funny thing about teenagers, they try no matter what, especially when it's one of their own that's in trouble.
This is a story about love, but it's also a story about hate. What happens when one teen is pushed too far over the edge could very well be what happens to anyone. The streets claim you and when there is nobody left fighting for you there is no way out. Luckily for Indy his brother never gave up on him, no matter how angry he became and Tate would stop at nothing to save his brother and bring him home.
This is one of those books that will stay with me a long time. It's hard to forget about the struggles these characters went through, not because they're extreme or disturbing, though they certainly are, but because they're real. Any number of the events that take place in this novel can happen to anybody, and they do.
The whole skateboarding aspect adds a happier, more entertaining edge to this otherwise gritty novel. I don't skate and I don't pretend to know anything about it but the author made it like you knew everything these teenagers were doing. Besides the tricks there is no extreme skater lingo in this book and for that I was glad because it probably would have taken away from the other part of this story.
I liked Tate and Indy. They were two kids who may not have had the best lives but proved that you can fix your mistakes and still have a future no matter where you come from. Just because they come from the wrong side of town and grew up surrounded by drug dealers does not mean that their lives are set to follow that path. After all of the mistakes, Indy finds the strength to turn his life around.
I really would not reccomend this for younger audiences, the topics include drugs and violence and would be better suited for more mature Young Adult fans.
This book was extremely gritty and shows what can happen when the streets overtake someone you care about. It also shows the lengths that one teenager will go to just to rescue his brother. This is not a happy book, though it does have a happy ending. The journey throughout is dark and dreary and not full of much hope. That's the funny thing about teenagers, they try no matter what, especially when it's one of their own that's in trouble.
This is a story about love, but it's also a story about hate. What happens when one teen is pushed too far over the edge could very well be what happens to anyone. The streets claim you and when there is nobody left fighting for you there is no way out. Luckily for Indy his brother never gave up on him, no matter how angry he became and Tate would stop at nothing to save his brother and bring him home.
This is one of those books that will stay with me a long time. It's hard to forget about the struggles these characters went through, not because they're extreme or disturbing, though they certainly are, but because they're real. Any number of the events that take place in this novel can happen to anybody, and they do.
The whole skateboarding aspect adds a happier, more entertaining edge to this otherwise gritty novel. I don't skate and I don't pretend to know anything about it but the author made it like you knew everything these teenagers were doing. Besides the tricks there is no extreme skater lingo in this book and for that I was glad because it probably would have taken away from the other part of this story.
I liked Tate and Indy. They were two kids who may not have had the best lives but proved that you can fix your mistakes and still have a future no matter where you come from. Just because they come from the wrong side of town and grew up surrounded by drug dealers does not mean that their lives are set to follow that path. After all of the mistakes, Indy finds the strength to turn his life around.
I really would not reccomend this for younger audiences, the topics include drugs and violence and would be better suited for more mature Young Adult fans.
kelleemoye's review against another edition
5.0
*Each of us deals with our teen years differently, but I am sure that we all either know (or were) the teen that made some bad choices. This is a book about a teen much like these kids. It is narrated by his older brother and one of the story lines is about our protagonist, Tate, trying to find his own path, but the main story line in Under the Bridge is about his brother, Indy.
As a teacher, this one tore at my heart strings because it is definitely a story of a good boy gone bad. Many times throughout the book, I saw how an adult could help this boy, but nothing ever changed. Because of this, too, I immediately think of many readers who would bond automatically with Indy because of this. Michael Harmon's characters are very realistic and I think connections would be made quickly and even if the reader did not see themselves in Indy, they may in Tate or they probably know someone like the two of them. As soon as I finished, I knew exactly what reader needed to read this book and I asked his mother if it was okay if he did- she graciously agreed, thanking me for finding a book that hopefully her son will connect to and learn from. It is books like this one that shows me how important it is to have some gritty novels out there.
What I did learn from this book- "There are different ways to do the right thing." And I'll never forget it.
Read Together: Grades 10 to 12
Read Alone: Grades 9 and up
Read With: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Slam by Nick Hornby, Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli
Snatch of Text: "At three-thirty in the morning, I'd been reading for over 7 hours, rapt with attention as I scrolled through my brother's words and stories until I was brain-dead with fatigue. I hadn't even gotten to his novels. The last short story I'd read, his most recent, went deep, and I knew it was about him.
He'd made it fictional, but I could see right through his words and straight to how he felt about the world and school and us and himself. It wasn't sad or depressing or funny or disturbing, but all of them put together. Forty-one pages of my brothers feelings about life." (p. 93)
"Night skating is one of the coolest things to do in the world. With everything still and quiet but for your wheels rolling on the pavement, it's like skating in a dream. The glow cast from streetlights and the emptiness of the city either freak you out or make you feel like the pavement and rails and sets were made just for you." (p. 191)
Mentor Text for: Voice, Characterization, Suspense
Writing Prompts: When was there a time that you made a wrong choice and someone else had to help you realize the mistake you made. What was the mistake and who helped you?; At what point do you think that Indy chose to go down the path he did? What do you think he could have done differently?
Topics Covered: Skateboarding, Death, Drugs, Suicide, Choices, Anger, Story Writing (Narrative), School Counselors, Values, Parents, Goals
As a teacher, this one tore at my heart strings because it is definitely a story of a good boy gone bad. Many times throughout the book, I saw how an adult could help this boy, but nothing ever changed. Because of this, too, I immediately think of many readers who would bond automatically with Indy because of this. Michael Harmon's characters are very realistic and I think connections would be made quickly and even if the reader did not see themselves in Indy, they may in Tate or they probably know someone like the two of them. As soon as I finished, I knew exactly what reader needed to read this book and I asked his mother if it was okay if he did- she graciously agreed, thanking me for finding a book that hopefully her son will connect to and learn from. It is books like this one that shows me how important it is to have some gritty novels out there.
What I did learn from this book- "There are different ways to do the right thing." And I'll never forget it.
Read Together: Grades 10 to 12
Read Alone: Grades 9 and up
Read With: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Slam by Nick Hornby, Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli
Snatch of Text: "At three-thirty in the morning, I'd been reading for over 7 hours, rapt with attention as I scrolled through my brother's words and stories until I was brain-dead with fatigue. I hadn't even gotten to his novels. The last short story I'd read, his most recent, went deep, and I knew it was about him.
He'd made it fictional, but I could see right through his words and straight to how he felt about the world and school and us and himself. It wasn't sad or depressing or funny or disturbing, but all of them put together. Forty-one pages of my brothers feelings about life." (p. 93)
"Night skating is one of the coolest things to do in the world. With everything still and quiet but for your wheels rolling on the pavement, it's like skating in a dream. The glow cast from streetlights and the emptiness of the city either freak you out or make you feel like the pavement and rails and sets were made just for you." (p. 191)
Mentor Text for: Voice, Characterization, Suspense
Writing Prompts: When was there a time that you made a wrong choice and someone else had to help you realize the mistake you made. What was the mistake and who helped you?; At what point do you think that Indy chose to go down the path he did? What do you think he could have done differently?
Topics Covered: Skateboarding, Death, Drugs, Suicide, Choices, Anger, Story Writing (Narrative), School Counselors, Values, Parents, Goals
richardrbecker's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Michael Harmon's Under The Bridge offers plenty more than skateboarding. It's a story about broken families, friendships, teen angst, and drugs. It's told from the perspective of a likable hothead named Tate Brooks, who attempts to look out for his younger brother, Indy, after a family fight goes too far.
Tate always wants to do the right thing but tends to lean on physical rage as a solution to almost every problem, a temper picked up from his father. When his younger brother chooses the wrong path, slipping deeper into the local drug scene and tossed out of the house, Tate tries to patch up the damage in a family still reeling from the loss of one son.
While the skatepark primarily serves as a refuge from high school and the dingier, dangerous areas of Spokane, it plays a supporting role and offers the brothers one of several paths to redemption. The story is fast-paced and somewhat gritty, tempered only because the kids keep it grounded with sensibility and smarts.
The quick read was intensely enjoyable, especially in the build to the climax. I would have rated it five stars if the story had wrapped up so nicely. It's almost too perfect, spoiling the rest of the book's unpredictability. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys teen/young adult protagonist novels now and again.
Tate always wants to do the right thing but tends to lean on physical rage as a solution to almost every problem, a temper picked up from his father. When his younger brother chooses the wrong path, slipping deeper into the local drug scene and tossed out of the house, Tate tries to patch up the damage in a family still reeling from the loss of one son.
While the skatepark primarily serves as a refuge from high school and the dingier, dangerous areas of Spokane, it plays a supporting role and offers the brothers one of several paths to redemption. The story is fast-paced and somewhat gritty, tempered only because the kids keep it grounded with sensibility and smarts.
The quick read was intensely enjoyable, especially in the build to the climax. I would have rated it five stars if the story had wrapped up so nicely. It's almost too perfect, spoiling the rest of the book's unpredictability. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys teen/young adult protagonist novels now and again.
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