Title: The Bridge Home
Author: Padma Venkatraman
Publication: February 5th 2019
Synopsis:
When Viji and her sister, Rukku, whose developmental disability makes her overly trusting and vulnerable to the perils of the world, run away to live on their own, the situation could not be more grim. Life on the streets of the teeming city of Chennai is harsh for girls considered outcasts, but the sisters manage to find shelter on an abandoned bridge. There they befriend Muthi and Arul, two boys in a similar predicament, and the four children bond together and form a family of sorts. Viji starts working with the boys scavenging in trash heaps while Rukku makes bead necklaces, and they buy food with what little money they earn. They are often hungry and scared but they have each other–and Kutti, the best dog ever. When the kids are forced from their safe haven on the bridge, they take shelter in a graveyard. But it is now the rainy season and they are plagued by mosquitos, and Rukku and Muthu fall ill. As their symptoms worsen, Viji and Arul must decide whether to risk going for help–when most adults in their lives have proven themselves untrustworthy–or to continue holding on to their fragile, hard-fought freedom.
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MY RATING: 5/5 STARS
I received an ARC from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for a honest review.
Honestly, guys. Honestly, this book hands down converted me into a middle grade novel reader. Like I thought I would be too mature for the style of writing but THE BRIDGE HOME was written simply for a young reader but it didn’t annoy me nor did the characters feel too childish for me to relate. This book has made me feel so many e m o t i o n s and has made me cry from many chapters.
The Bridge Home follows two sisters. One sister, Viji, is the older one and it’s told from her first person perspective but her younger sister, Rukku, is told in second person perspective. I know. Weird. But really cool that you are part of the story. Padma did a fantastic way of describing Rukku’s feelings and actions that you totally felt like you were doing them and feeling all the things she felt. I loved it. Viji and Rukku are just these two young girls who has an abusive father and a mother who is too weak to physically fight back and financially incapable of walking away from the marriage. One night when the fight gets too bad, Viji takes Rukku from her bed and enters the big city to find a new way of living. However, when you have no money and no family, you find yourself with very limited options. They both meet two other boys, one similar age to Viji, named Arul, and a not that much younger boy named Muthi. For a second here, I thought they would fight like cats and dogs, absolutely hating each other but Arul is an angel.
Instead of feeling threatened by Viji and her younger sister, he’s accepting of them and offers tips and advice to live on the streets. They even share a common home–the bridge. Although this is a middle grade novel, this book is raw and so unbearably real. The circumstances these four young children face each day is heard of through charity commercials. They struggle to find food, shelter, and clothes. The dangers of the environment play a heavy role in this story, making it so realistic that you’re worried about how these children could possibly survive. Towards he end, something does happen that makes you burst into tears. These children that you fall in love with are not in a fantastical world but in the real world we see today and they’re not invincible.
I just want to say that I love Arul. He’s sooooooooooooo mature for his age. He’s so wise for his age that I envy him. I’m twenty three years old and this boy is a better person than me hands down. If we could all take lessons from him to be as kind and sweet then this world would be less rough of a place.
MY RECOMMENDATION
DEFINITELY PICK THIS ONE UP. And then cry with me.
Remarkablylisa 