Review of The Bridge
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Mary Bircher
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Review of The Bridge
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Bridge" by Andrew Palmer.]
Ben is not thrilled when he is paired with Esther to complete the final project of his senior year, and the feeling is mutual. As engineering students, their academic values couldn’t be different: Esther is a workaholic, whereas Ben would prefer to be at a party instead of the library. Their final project centers around the Quebec Bridge disaster of 1907. As the two work, they discover an old, handwritten diary kept by a man who worked on the bridge before the disaster, and they become entranced by the first-hand account. The journal’s text is profound, and they discover a newfound appreciation for each other and the responsibilities of their chosen career. Their influence on each other ultimately makes them better people and more dedicated engineers.
In The Bridge, Andrew Palmer introduces us to a little-known piece of history: the collapse of the Quebec Bridge and the resulting changes to the safety standards of engineers. Because this is a work of fiction, the author changes names and dates and takes creative liberties concerning background and setting. However, the fictional account is similar to the actual event. Therefore, the reader can appreciate this historical event without being an engineer.
Ben and Esther’s final project frames the book. However, most of the book tells the story of Alec, an engineer on the 1907 project, as Ben and Esther read Alec’s private journal. As someone who had never heard this bit of history, I appreciated learning something new! The topic was fresh and not something I’d had the chance to read before. The unique case makes this book stand out.
The only negative thing I felt about The Bridge was that I didn’t feel connected to the primary characters. I wasn’t invested in their journey to become engineers, and I think that's what the author wanted me to feel. But, conversely, I cared a lot about Alec and his family. Ben’s story was too convenient and sometimes felt cliche, but I was always ready to read Alec’s story. This may be because we read parts of Alec’s journal, which is in first-person language, but Ben’s story is always in third-person. As a result, Alec felt more real than Ben.
The Bridge is a historical novel best suited to young adults and teenagers. I say this because the story is framed as a frenemies-to-lovers story, which makes the writing sound young. However, the writing style makes the book more accessible to a variety of readers, which I appreciate.
I give The Bridge 5 out of 5 stars. Anything negative I felt was more than made up for by the intriguing historical details and the connection I felt to Alec.
******
The Bridge
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Ben is not thrilled when he is paired with Esther to complete the final project of his senior year, and the feeling is mutual. As engineering students, their academic values couldn’t be different: Esther is a workaholic, whereas Ben would prefer to be at a party instead of the library. Their final project centers around the Quebec Bridge disaster of 1907. As the two work, they discover an old, handwritten diary kept by a man who worked on the bridge before the disaster, and they become entranced by the first-hand account. The journal’s text is profound, and they discover a newfound appreciation for each other and the responsibilities of their chosen career. Their influence on each other ultimately makes them better people and more dedicated engineers.
In The Bridge, Andrew Palmer introduces us to a little-known piece of history: the collapse of the Quebec Bridge and the resulting changes to the safety standards of engineers. Because this is a work of fiction, the author changes names and dates and takes creative liberties concerning background and setting. However, the fictional account is similar to the actual event. Therefore, the reader can appreciate this historical event without being an engineer.
Ben and Esther’s final project frames the book. However, most of the book tells the story of Alec, an engineer on the 1907 project, as Ben and Esther read Alec’s private journal. As someone who had never heard this bit of history, I appreciated learning something new! The topic was fresh and not something I’d had the chance to read before. The unique case makes this book stand out.
The only negative thing I felt about The Bridge was that I didn’t feel connected to the primary characters. I wasn’t invested in their journey to become engineers, and I think that's what the author wanted me to feel. But, conversely, I cared a lot about Alec and his family. Ben’s story was too convenient and sometimes felt cliche, but I was always ready to read Alec’s story. This may be because we read parts of Alec’s journal, which is in first-person language, but Ben’s story is always in third-person. As a result, Alec felt more real than Ben.
The Bridge is a historical novel best suited to young adults and teenagers. I say this because the story is framed as a frenemies-to-lovers story, which makes the writing sound young. However, the writing style makes the book more accessible to a variety of readers, which I appreciate.
I give The Bridge 5 out of 5 stars. Anything negative I felt was more than made up for by the intriguing historical details and the connection I felt to Alec.
******
The Bridge
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Just Die by E Alan Fleischauer
