Scan barcode
maggiemaggio's review
2.0
2.5 stars
The Bridge From Me to You isn't a bad book, it's just not a book for me and I honestly don't think it's a book that will appeal to many of my YA-reader friends or the people who read this blog (who I also like to think of as my friends). It's not poorly written or silly, but it felt very outdated and, this is really evil of me to say, but kind of like what people must be referring to when they talk about how YA books aren't "as good" as adult books.
I was pretty much immediately set up not to like The Bridge From Me to You when I started reading and realized that the chapters from Lauren's perspective are written in verse. Not like rhyming verse, but just in verses. They're also pretty short. As I read more I realized that Lauren's chapters are actually excerpts from her journal (at least I'm pretty sure that's what they were, it was never explicitly made clear) and while I actually was pleasantly surprised to find myself not loving the chapters in verse, but also not hating them, there was this dichotomy between Lauren's chapters and the chapters from Colby's perspective, which are written in traditional prose.
In both perspectives Lauren is no doubt suffering. Right before the start of her senior year of high school she's been kicked out by her mother and forced to move in with her uncle, aunt, and three young cousins. While Lauren has always had a difficult relationship with her irresponsible mother she blames herself for her mother kicking her out and just wants to go back to her mom and her baby half-brother. Lauren's verse chapters were sad and bittersweet and pretty tragic, but she was also never threw herself a pity party and that made me really respect her as a character. The Lauren we see in Colby's chapters is funny, pretty confident, and a little flirty. The fact that she was interested in Colby came through in her chapters, but I didn't see the self confidence or the humor in her chapters. While it does make sense that the confidence and humor were a front, the writing and the story in The Bridge From Me to You lacked the nuance for me to really accept those differences.
All that said I had a much bigger issue with Colby's chapters than I did with Lauren's. In no way, shape, or form do I believe a 17-year-old guy would think, talk, or act like Colby thinks, talks, or acts. It's almost like Lisa Schroeder knew she couldn't write in two distinct voices (bravo for self-awareness) so she made Lauren's chapters into verse and Colby's into prose to differentiate them. That might have worked if she could convincingly do a guy's voice, but Colby's way of thinking and interactions with his best friend Benny just didn't ring true, or read as very young guy, like 12-or-13-years-old, rather than an almost-adult.
Going into the book I knew I was interested in the actual idea of the story and even after reading it I don't think it was a terrible idea, I just didn't enjoy the execution. Basically Colby is new to town and she's not only trying to come to terms with what happened with her mom and find a way to get back to her family, she is also trying to make friends and fit into a new (small) town where people regard her with a level of suspicion. The idea of Lauren being an outsider really appealed to me and I was sorry that Schroeder didn't choose to explore it further. It's kind of mentioned and then goes away and mentioned again at the end. Colby on the other hand is the down football darling, everyone is always stopping him to talk about football even though he actually doesn't see football as his future. His father pushes him, another aspect of the story I liked and wanted to see more of, but it's never really explored. Colby is obsessed with bridges and wants to go to college to study civil engineering, not play football, but he feels guilty squandering his talent and wonders how he will afford college without a football scholarship.
Writing this review has made me realize that the problem with the book is the fact that Schroeder starts to go places, but then never really finishes things. There were so many different aspects of the characters and their situations that could have been explored, but everything in the story pretty much just goes along on the surface. Even Lauren and Colby's love story never really goes very deep. I wouldn't call their feelings for each other "instalove" because I think they're both more pragmatic than that, but they really don't know each other that well, don't really spend much time together, and even though they're obviously interested in each other neither of them is getting carried away by their feelings which leads me to ask, what's really the point? As a big reader and an intelligent person I think I realize what Schroeder was trying to do and as I was reading I kept trying to fill in the blanks and forgive her mistakes because I did enjoy some of the ideas so much, but assumptions and telling my own version of a story aren't elements that make up a great book.
Bottom Line: The Bridge From Me to You is a great example of a nice idea for a story, but a not so nice execution of the story. I wanted to fall in love with the small town and the characters, but the story never gave me enough information or went deep enough for that to happen. Because much of the story is told in verse it's a very quick read, I read it in about two hours, but, even getting through it that quickly, I just don't think it's worth spending the time with it.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All options are (obviously) my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
The Bridge From Me to You isn't a bad book, it's just not a book for me and I honestly don't think it's a book that will appeal to many of my YA-reader friends or the people who read this blog (who I also like to think of as my friends). It's not poorly written or silly, but it felt very outdated and, this is really evil of me to say, but kind of like what people must be referring to when they talk about how YA books aren't "as good" as adult books.
I was pretty much immediately set up not to like The Bridge From Me to You when I started reading and realized that the chapters from Lauren's perspective are written in verse. Not like rhyming verse, but just in verses. They're also pretty short. As I read more I realized that Lauren's chapters are actually excerpts from her journal (at least I'm pretty sure that's what they were, it was never explicitly made clear) and while I actually was pleasantly surprised to find myself not loving the chapters in verse, but also not hating them, there was this dichotomy between Lauren's chapters and the chapters from Colby's perspective, which are written in traditional prose.
In both perspectives Lauren is no doubt suffering. Right before the start of her senior year of high school she's been kicked out by her mother and forced to move in with her uncle, aunt, and three young cousins. While Lauren has always had a difficult relationship with her irresponsible mother she blames herself for her mother kicking her out and just wants to go back to her mom and her baby half-brother. Lauren's verse chapters were sad and bittersweet and pretty tragic, but she was also never threw herself a pity party and that made me really respect her as a character. The Lauren we see in Colby's chapters is funny, pretty confident, and a little flirty. The fact that she was interested in Colby came through in her chapters, but I didn't see the self confidence or the humor in her chapters. While it does make sense that the confidence and humor were a front, the writing and the story in The Bridge From Me to You lacked the nuance for me to really accept those differences.
All that said I had a much bigger issue with Colby's chapters than I did with Lauren's. In no way, shape, or form do I believe a 17-year-old guy would think, talk, or act like Colby thinks, talks, or acts. It's almost like Lisa Schroeder knew she couldn't write in two distinct voices (bravo for self-awareness) so she made Lauren's chapters into verse and Colby's into prose to differentiate them. That might have worked if she could convincingly do a guy's voice, but Colby's way of thinking and interactions with his best friend Benny just didn't ring true, or read as very young guy, like 12-or-13-years-old, rather than an almost-adult.
Going into the book I knew I was interested in the actual idea of the story and even after reading it I don't think it was a terrible idea, I just didn't enjoy the execution. Basically Colby is new to town and she's not only trying to come to terms with what happened with her mom and find a way to get back to her family, she is also trying to make friends and fit into a new (small) town where people regard her with a level of suspicion. The idea of Lauren being an outsider really appealed to me and I was sorry that Schroeder didn't choose to explore it further. It's kind of mentioned and then goes away and mentioned again at the end. Colby on the other hand is the down football darling, everyone is always stopping him to talk about football even though he actually doesn't see football as his future. His father pushes him, another aspect of the story I liked and wanted to see more of, but it's never really explored. Colby is obsessed with bridges and wants to go to college to study civil engineering, not play football, but he feels guilty squandering his talent and wonders how he will afford college without a football scholarship.
Writing this review has made me realize that the problem with the book is the fact that Schroeder starts to go places, but then never really finishes things. There were so many different aspects of the characters and their situations that could have been explored, but everything in the story pretty much just goes along on the surface. Even Lauren and Colby's love story never really goes very deep. I wouldn't call their feelings for each other "instalove" because I think they're both more pragmatic than that, but they really don't know each other that well, don't really spend much time together, and even though they're obviously interested in each other neither of them is getting carried away by their feelings which leads me to ask, what's really the point? As a big reader and an intelligent person I think I realize what Schroeder was trying to do and as I was reading I kept trying to fill in the blanks and forgive her mistakes because I did enjoy some of the ideas so much, but assumptions and telling my own version of a story aren't elements that make up a great book.
Bottom Line: The Bridge From Me to You is a great example of a nice idea for a story, but a not so nice execution of the story. I wanted to fall in love with the small town and the characters, but the story never gave me enough information or went deep enough for that to happen. Because much of the story is told in verse it's a very quick read, I read it in about two hours, but, even getting through it that quickly, I just don't think it's worth spending the time with it.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All options are (obviously) my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
madhatter360's review
4.0
I've never been overly fond of high school sport novels but this book had a nice balance. It was a good mix of genres. Very sweet.
khairun_atika's review
3.0
The Bridge From Me to You is a sweet, heartwarming story of a small town and its united love for football. The Eagles are practically worshipped by every person in the small town of Willow, with Colby feeling the pressure of winning state. Yet Colby has a different form of interest - to build bridges, and not play college football. Enter Lauren, the new girl in town who was kicked out by her own mother to settle into the small town with her relatives. What Lauren does is to show Colby how there is more to him than football. What ensues is a sweet love story of knowing what you want for yourself, and being accepted for who you really are.
thecozyreaderwbo's review
5.0
This was a super cute book about two teens struggling through some tough times.
It's difficult to review this without getting into the details. Let's just say that if you enjoy sports references as well as strong willed girl characters you'll probably like this book.
I especially love the title. I can't help but swoon when the title plays such a heavy relevance to the story.
It's difficult to review this without getting into the details. Let's just say that if you enjoy sports references as well as strong willed girl characters you'll probably like this book.
I especially love the title. I can't help but swoon when the title plays such a heavy relevance to the story.
sc104906's review
3.0
Lauren has had a rough life and Colby is dealing with the emotions that he has related to a friend's tragic accident. Maybe they will be able to build a bridge between the two of them and have a successful relationship.
readingwithemmett's review
4.0
"I believe!"
This was a really cute book that had a very powerful message. I hardly ever cry when I am reading a book. The last book I cried when I read was about three years ago, so I was surprised by how much I teared up in this book. I did not cry, but I defiantly came close a couple of times.
The story was told in alternating points of view between Lauren and Colby. Lauren's mom had kicked her out of the house, so she had just moved in with her aunt, uncle, and little cousins to a small town near Portland, Oregon. There, she meets Colby, the star football players. While Colby enjoys playing football with his teammates, and wants to win State, he also doesn't want to play in college, however, his dad, along with everyone else, expects him to do so. So, when he meets Lauren, how doesn't care that much about football, he really enjoys spending time with her.
The book alters between verse and prose, which I thought was interesting. While I did enjoy the story, I think this is the reason why I decided to give it four stars instead of five. Essentially, I felt as though the story was mostly being told by Colby because his point of view was told in prose. I did not feel like I learned that much about how Lauren's character, or how she felt because her point of view was told in verse.
I have really enjoyed other books by [a:Lisa Schroeder|588558|Lisa Schroeder|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1378418358p2/588558.jpg], however, I think I would have enjoyed this one more if it did not alternate between verse and prose. She did a beautiful job of telling the story, and it really captured my attention. But overall, I would have liked to read it in either completely prose, or completely verse.
I would definitely recommend this book to others. Especially if you have enjoyed other books by this author, or you enjoy reading books in verse. It might actually be a good book if you are looking to get into reading books written in verse. Overall, this book had a very good message about believing in others and believing in yourself.
This was a really cute book that had a very powerful message. I hardly ever cry when I am reading a book. The last book I cried when I read was about three years ago, so I was surprised by how much I teared up in this book. I did not cry, but I defiantly came close a couple of times.
The story was told in alternating points of view between Lauren and Colby. Lauren's mom had kicked her out of the house, so she had just moved in with her aunt, uncle, and little cousins to a small town near Portland, Oregon. There, she meets Colby, the star football players. While Colby enjoys playing football with his teammates, and wants to win State, he also doesn't want to play in college, however, his dad, along with everyone else, expects him to do so. So, when he meets Lauren, how doesn't care that much about football, he really enjoys spending time with her.
The book alters between verse and prose, which I thought was interesting. While I did enjoy the story, I think this is the reason why I decided to give it four stars instead of five. Essentially, I felt as though the story was mostly being told by Colby because his point of view was told in prose. I did not feel like I learned that much about how Lauren's character, or how she felt because her point of view was told in verse.
I have really enjoyed other books by [a:Lisa Schroeder|588558|Lisa Schroeder|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1378418358p2/588558.jpg], however, I think I would have enjoyed this one more if it did not alternate between verse and prose. She did a beautiful job of telling the story, and it really captured my attention. But overall, I would have liked to read it in either completely prose, or completely verse.
I would definitely recommend this book to others. Especially if you have enjoyed other books by this author, or you enjoy reading books in verse. It might actually be a good book if you are looking to get into reading books written in verse. Overall, this book had a very good message about believing in others and believing in yourself.
charmaineac's review
2.0
Just because
it's written in
verse,
DOESN'T MEAN
IT'S DEEP.
That pretty much sums up this whole book. You can tell it's trying really hard to be profound/sad/resonant, but the plot, characters, and driving forces are all so shallow. If you track the developments from beginning to end, you would realize that not much wound up happening. So what was the point of this whole book?
I can't say
that I know what
to tell you
(or that I care).
it's written in
verse,
DOESN'T MEAN
IT'S DEEP.
That pretty much sums up this whole book. You can tell it's trying really hard to be profound/sad/resonant, but the plot, characters, and driving forces are all so shallow. If you track the developments from beginning to end, you would realize that not much wound up happening. So what was the point of this whole book?
I can't say
that I know what
to tell you
(or that I care).
flo_lilli's review
3.0
This was a very good book to read, back when I was in the 8th grade. And I wish I left it there. I don't like the same things I did back then. This book was too fluffy a read for me now. It's too much happy endings and puppy love rather than real world situations.Yes there was a few situations that were relatable and made me think but overall I just didn't enjoy rereading this book. I gave it 3 out of 5 because I enjoyed it the first time I read it, so I just averaged them out.