The Broken Bridge

Sixteen-year-old Ginny has been raised by her father, following her mother's death. She is the only mixed-race teen in a small Welsh village (her mother was Haitian), and she herself has inherited her mother's artistic talent. Despite that, she has friends and a good life. Then she learns that her

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father had been married before, and has a son, who will now come to live with them, his mother having died.

Though they have the losses of their mothers in common, Ginny and her half-brother, Robert, take an instant dislike to one another. And Ginny, in trying to find out why her father had never told her about her brother before, discovers even more secrets.

Pullman is, as usual, excellent in his description of the adolescent female, and the relationships among the characters are quite realistic. Definitely recommended.

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"Coming-of-age", "teenage-angst", "identity-crisis" -- yes, these are all appropriate labels to pin on this novel but they only convey part of what Pullman is about. This is also about a sense of place: the northern coast of Cardigan Bay, somewhere around Harlech perhaps, with its mix of Welsh

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speakers and incomers set in a picturesque but haunting landscape. This too is about what it is to be an artist, with your peculiar personal viewpoint to somehow express in an unspoken language that not everyone may understand. Pullman's narrative skill is evident throughout, drawing this reader onwards, and there is much vivid characterisation. For fans of His Dark Materials and the Sally Lockhart series there is even a little bit of the supernatural suggested, curious perhaps for an avowed atheist writer but convincingly worked in.

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An early young adult novel by Philip Pullman, it is similar in character to his The White Mercedes. Although no where nearly as good as that one, it is still worth reading.

The novel is about a sixteen year old girl Ginny who grows up with a single father father in a coastal village in Wales. Her

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mother, she is told, is a Haitian artist. Over the course of the novel she learns that a number of her most deeply held truths are anything but. A half brother she never knew about moves in with her and she eventually uncovers more and more about her past and the past of her father.

Throughout the "broken bridge" functions as both a central piece of the story (a literal broken bridge that was damaged in an accident around when she was born) and also a metaphor for her various relationships all in various states of repair.

The book does not have one central revelation or plot twist that puts everything in perspective, instead it is an unfolding of Ginny's awareness of herself and the friends and relatives that surround her.

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An early young adult novel by Philip Pullman, it is similar in character to his The White Mercedes. Although no where nearly as good as that one, it is still worth reading.

The novel is about a sixteen year old girl Ginny who grows up with a single father father in a coastal village in Wales. Her

Show More

mother, she is told, is a Haitian artist. Over the course of the novel she learns that a number of her most deeply held truths are anything but. A half brother she never knew about moves in with her and she eventually uncovers more and more about her past and the past of her father.

Throughout the "broken bridge" functions as both a central piece of the story (a literal broken bridge that was damaged in an accident around when she was born) and also a metaphor for her various relationships all in various states of repair.

The book does not have one central revelation or plot twist that puts everything in perspective, instead it is an unfolding of Ginny's awareness of herself and the friends and relatives that surround her.

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A teen-angst novel centred on the heroine's crisis of personal identity and trust in her father when she discovers that much of what she knows of her family and origin is an invention. Enjoyable, with some memorable scenes, though one or two characters are over-caricatured to make a point. MB

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9-iv-2008

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This man really has a knack for writing dynamic female characters, it's quite impressive. This book could almost be in the Sally Lockheart Trilogy (The Ruby in the Smoke). It's basically a Victorian thriller for a younger audience, set in Wales. Interesting. Pullman makes it work though. It's just

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dark and mysterious and slightly insane enough to be intriguing, but it's not overwhelming.

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A story of Ginny, a girl out of place in her small village. When events from the past come crashing into the present she discovers secrets about herself and her father.
As always an enjoyable, well writen book by a great author

A sweet coming-of-age kind of story for the young adult. Unfortunately, I couldn't connect emotionally to this book, but this is completely individual.

I enjoyed it being set in Wales - and enjoyed the story and the characters.

Narrated by Miriam Margolyes. It’s just been Ginny and her Dad as long as she can remember since her mother died shortly after Ginny’s birth. But now at age 16, Ginny begins to question who she is and what is her background, especially as a biracial child growing up in a white community. The

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secrets about her family history begin to unravel when Dad reveals he has a 16-year-old son. Margoyle's narration is quite expressive especially during scenes of strong emotion and even during quietly thoughtful moments.

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I enjoyed it being set in Wales - and enjoyed the story and the characters.