The Broken Bridge

by Philip Pullman

At 16, Ginny finds that her love of painting connects her to the artistic Haitian mother she never knew and eases the isolation she feels as the only mixed-race teen in her Welsh village. When she learns she has a half-brother by her father's first marriage, her world is shattered. Ginny embarks on a quest for the truth that will allow her to claim her artistic heritage—and face her father.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Novels, Magical Realism, Teen, Childrens

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, The Times named Pullman one of the "50 greatest British writers since 1945". In a 2004 BBC poll, he was named the eleventh most influential person in British culture. He was knighted in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to literature.
Northern Lights, the first volume in His Dark Materials, won the 1995 Carnegie Medal of the Library Association as the year's outstanding English-language children's book. For the Carnegie's 70th anniversary, it was named in the top ten by a panel tasked with compiling a shortlist for a public vote for an all-time favourite. It won that public vote and was named all-time "Carnegie of Carnegies" in June 2007. It was filmed under the book's US title, The Golden Compass. In 2003, His Dark Materials trilogy ranked third in the BBC's The Big Read, a poll of 200 top novels voted by the British public.

Reviews

[The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Authors Who Still Refuse to Write a Main Character of Color for Whatever Lame Reason du Jour: In case you've been living under a rock, this is the year 2011. The demographics of the world are changing. You might want to change with it. You also might want to pick up The Broken Bridge by Philip Pullman (the author of The Golden Compass and other brilliant works of YA literature) to see how easy it is to do without turning said character into a stereotype. He wrote about a character he obviously is not and no one has sent him fail mail because of it. The Broken Bridge was written way back in 1998 and look, obviously there was no cover-fail happening in the UK either (totally unlike what tends to happen here in the U.S.). Moreover, said heroine named Ginny lives in Wales, is biracial and like all teenagers regardless of color, is looking for her place in the big, wide world. She is aware that she's unlike most of her friends, and yes, sometimes it bothers her, sometimes it doesn't. Ginny's story is a universal one, and I'm certain you authors can come up with a theme all readers can share, right? So please, stop b.s.'ing us with that tired old excuse about not being able to relate to a character whose ethnicity you don't share. After all, a lot of you write about vampires, werewolves and faeries and I know damn well you are none of the above. So, let's join the 21st century and diversify. It won't kill you. Sincerely, Vixenne Lady Victorienne.

The Broken Bridge is less about issues of race and more about the often painful secrets people keep that always come out in the end. Sixteen year old Ginny has lived her life with her white father in a seaside town in Wales. As far as she knows, her mother, a Haitian artist, is dead. Little by little, everything that she has held true begins to come unraveled, starting with the appearance of a white half-brother named Robert. Ginny embarks upon a quest to find out everything about her life that it seems so many other people knew about. There's actually quite a few Welsh phrases thrown in, which required a dictionary but added flavor to the story. The descriptions of the places were so vivid, I could see them in my mind and they make me want to visit. Ginny was a wonderful character, and I loved reading about her passion for art. Pullman did a marvelous job in crafting a well-rounded and thoughful character who is both confused at the sudden changes in her life but also willing to deal with them head-on.

[Maciek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Philip Pullman is the author of the famous trilogy of fantasy novels, His Dark Materials - Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - as well as numerous books for younger readers - including The Scarecrow and His Servant, a very whimsical and amusing little book. He also wrote The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, an original, interesting and thought-provoking take on the story of Jesus Christ, and most recently Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm, a selection of fairy tales told again - which worked surprisingly well. As you can see, his range is wide and his work is rightly popular and appreciated.

Published in 1990, The Broken Bridge is one of his earlier novels, written before Dark Materials fame. The story is a mystery of sorts, concerned with the character of Ginny Howard: a 16 year old teenager who lives with her dad in a small village in Wales. Ginny is different than most of the people in her village - her mother was Haitian, and her black skin stands out among the sea of lily whites. Only one of her friends, Andy, is black. Even though her mom has died when she was little and she had to go through ups and downs with her father on their own, he has been taking care of her very well and been very good to her: she considers the area that she lives in to be her "little kingdom", enjoys the beach and the ocean. Although she experienced occasional slurs from her fellow kids, her life isn't that different from theirs. Everything changes one day, when Ginny's dad is unexpectedly visited by a social worker - this visit opens up a previously closed door to her past, and Ginny begins to uncover all sorts of hidden and forgotten secrets.

The Broken Bridge tackles many subjects: the sense of isolation while growing up (in Ginny's case doubly so, because of her race). Ginny is a likable and relatable character, and the author has to be commended for her creation, and doubly so: he has created an original and believable female teenager of mixed racial background without resorting to stereotypes. Ginny's inner thoughts and daily tribulations ring true and are easy to relate to and sympathize with, and her story is engaging throughout most of the book; however, near the end, the previously interesting plot turns into a massive infodump, in which most of the things which Ginny was trying to uncover and understand are explained via conversations. This basically kills the pacing of the book, and makes the ending much less impactful than it could otherwise have been.

To sum up, The Broken Bridge is an interesting and engaging book, which is appropriate for younger readers as it contains no violent and graphic scenes, and could potentially provide a good choice for a class discussion on the subjects it touches upon.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley. Open Road is doing the kindle edition of this previously released work.

Ginny has a problem. It’s a huge problem. She doesn’t know a great many things. She lives with her father in a town in Wales, and she is one of the few people of color in the village. She has never met her Haitian mother from who she inherits artistic skill, talent, and interest.

In many ways, while not perfect, Ginny’s life is good. But then, as is always the case in such books, something happens and things change. In this case, change is brought the visit of a woman, who sparks a desire or allows Ginny to give voice to questions.

While race is not a huge factor in the novel, it does make an appearance, or several. And yet this is not a novel about race. It’s true that Ginny does deal with racism in both a family setting and a societal setting. It is also true that she is not the only person of color to do so, yet the focus of the book is the mystery that Ginny must solve – the mystery of her past.

That mystery concerns her much loved father, and that mystery is one that is not dependent on race.

It sounds strange, perhaps. But think about, how many mass market teen and pre-teen books with a poc as hero/heroine have a race as a central theme and/or driving plot point? This book doesn’t ignore race; Ginny is called slurs, she wonders about her sense of self as a poc being raised only by a white father in a white community, and she wonders about art and race. Yet removal those conversations or change them to reflect a different minority group, and the story is about any teenager and the search for identity. It’s refreshing really.

It’s true at some points one feels that Ginny’s mother as passionate outsider is a bit of an over played trope (poc is passionate, white family is passionless), yet Pullman does not go down that tired old road.

In terms of the mystery that Ginny solves, too say too much about it would give away major spoilers. Much of the mystery plot does work, and there are one or two places where disbelief does need to be suspended a little.

And yes, this book does pass the Bechdel test. Ginny’s best friend is Rhiannon and why they do at times talk about boys, they talk about more. The two girls have a great and real friendship. It is one of the charms of the book. Ginny is not the only good woman/girl in a world of men. She has female friends and they act female as opposed to men with boobs.

There are wonderful touches in the book – in particular with Ginny’s interest in art and how it manifests in a variety of ways. There are some wonderful passages about the scenery and places, in particular Ginny’s kingdom – a passage that details a very real connection to places.

Highly recommended.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘You’re interested in painting?’
‘It’s the only thing—’
‘It’s not the only thing. It’s not even the most important thing.’
‘What . . .’ Ginny still couldn’t speak properly. ‘What is the most important thing?’
There was a long, long silence.
— Chapter 14

Ginny Howard’s mother was from Haiti, and it’s from her that Ginny apparently inherits her artistic talents. She now lives with her widowed father in a Welsh village near the sea, and for a sixteen-year-old of mixed descent that isn’t easy.

Come the summer holidays after her exams and some of the mysteries concerning her mother and family start to emerge, upsetting the sensitive but determined teenager at that crucial period when she is making the difficult transition from childhood to adulthood.

Pont Doredig, ‘broken bridge’ in English, is both a fictional place that Ginny sees as significant and a metaphor for the disjunct that can happen when an adolescent starts to question all she believes about her origins and about her place both within her family and the community she’s part of. She lives with her father Tony Howard in a settlement not unlike Llanbedr, Pullman’s former childhood home close to a river estuary and sand dunes harbouring a church, and believes her mother died when Ginny was born. But her father has been economical with the truth, and as revelations start emerging with the visit of a social worker she recalls disjointed memories of when she was young and starts wondering at their significance.

“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, south of Harlech, with its uneasy mix of Welsh 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 express, somehow, in an unspoken language that not everyone may understand. As Pullman himself confirms, “In this book I was really writing about my own teenage years in that part of the world, and my discovery of the visual arts, and my love of that landscape.”

His narrative skill is evident throughout, drawing the reader onwards, and there is much vivid characterisation and convincing dialogue. For fans of Pullman’s His Dark Materials and his Sally Lockhart series there is even a hint of the supernatural suggested, curious perhaps for an avowed atheist but fairly convincingly worked in.

He is unafraid of addressing issues around racial prejudice and sexual orientation, and of touching on domestic abuse, but he never forgets that this is a thriller and that narrative comes first. In this tortured and claustrophobic novel teenage feelings of alienation and isolation are captured well but, true to life, not every matter is resolved; yet there is more than a glimmer of hope beckoning at the end of the tunnel.

And Ginny is perhaps beginning to have an inkling of what that “most important thing” might be.

* * * * *

Following a recent reread this is an adapted and expanded review (originally of a different edition, Macmillan Children’s Books, 1998) first published here 7th July 2013.
http://wp.me/s2oNj1-bridge

[charlotte, · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf @ 45%

[Psicologorroico · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌜 Recensione su Psicologorroico 🌛

Romanzo stand-alone di Philip Pullman, autore famoso per queste oscure materie. Una storia molto delicata che ha come protagonista Ginny, una ragazza di discendenza gallese e haitiana che a poco a poco disvela i segreti del suo passato. Molto carino!

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[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Broken Bridge by: Phillip Pullman is an enjoyable read that will stay in your heart forever. It tells of Ginny's experiences when a foreign foot steps into the picture. Her first reaction is that her half-brother is intruding on her life. She doesn't understand the situation. Her life turns upside-down. No longer is she her father's only child, but now she has to share the attention with her "brother." The boy just lost his mother, and was plunged into a family he never even heard of; Ginny thought sympathy would gain his respect, but it wasn't enough. He felt torn and confused. He knew not of his fate. He was an outsider. Ginny reveals the truth about her mother and can no longer believe the constant lies her father had told her in the past. Yet, there are still secrets to be revealed.

While reading this extraordinary story, I made a text-to-world connection. In many cases, children realize that they are not the only child. This sudden realization can lead to many different reactions. Some will be excited and look forward to meeting their sibling, but others, much like Ginny, will be angry and grow jeleous. I, on the other hand, would be shocked but thrilled. Being a sibling is easy, but a friend at the same time is an immense responsibilitity and challenge.

I would generously give this book 4 stars. It was a meaningful and comforting read, however, at some points it slowed down. However, do not doubt that it was a very good book and deserves to be read by all. Broken Bridge provoked tears and while Ginny overcame obstacles, she became a stronger person. I recommend this book for anybody who would enjoy a light read with tangles of friendship combined!

[Sara Kamjou · Rating 3 out of 5]

پل شکسته یه رمان تینیجری هست که فقط به واسطه تحلیل شخصیتی اواخر کتاب باعث شد خوندنش کاملا خوشایندم باشه و ارزشش رو داشته باشه.
پل شکسته، شما رو وادار می‌کنه بدون قضاوت از دریچه نگاه یک دختر نوجوان، با تمام ویژگی‌های خاص خودش، صفحات رو ورق بزنین و درگیر قصه بشین.
دوستش داشتم.

[Hanieh Sadat Shobeiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

حقیقتاً تا اواسط کتاب داشتم به زور می‌خوندم و قصد داشتم دراپش کنم. خوشحالم که این‌ کار رو نکردم. همون‌طور که از فیلیپ پولمن انتظار داشتم، داستان یک پیچش ناگهانی و شدیداً جذاب پیدا کرد که تا فرداش که کتابو تموم کردم، نتونستم بذارمش زمین.
پل شکسته، بهترین اثر فیلیپ پولمن نیست. اون دنیای جذاب و جادویی‌ای که پولمن توی خلق کردنش استاده، در این اثر دیده نمی‌شد؛ اما شخصیت‌پردازی نقص نداشت و داستان، غیرقابل پیش‌بینی بود.
به اندازه‌ی ۵ ستاره از خوندنش لذت بردم؛ اما چهار ستاره می‌دم چون دلم راضی نمی‌شه همون ۵ ستاره‌ای که به "نیروی اهریمنی‌اش" دادم رو به این اثر هم بدم ⁦(⁠T⁠T⁠)⁩

[Romy Nehme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the book becuase it is very realistic and I personly love realistic stories. It talks about racism. There was a girl that was black like her mother who died when she was still a bay, her father is white. She discovers that a her father has aanother white kid and most importantly she discovers that her mother is still alive!

[nAeEMak نعیمک]

عجیب! جالب! خاله‌زنکی! فیلم هندی! این‌ کلمه‌ها گزاره نیستند. کلمه‌هایی هستند که حین خواندن کتاب در ذهنم می‌چرخید و کتاب هیچ کدام از این‌ها نبود. کتاب یک شخصیت نوجوان داشت و خیلی نزدیک بود به کتاب‌ها و فیلم‌های تینیجری که این سال‌ها هم خیلی بیشتر مد می‌شود و پشت‌هم منتشر می‌شوند اما چه ویژگی داشت که برای من باحالش می‌کرد؟
اول از همه اینکه پریان چاپ کرده بود و فکر می‌کردم پریان نمی‌تواند اینقدر زرد و بازاری باشد اما مهم‌ترین دلیلش همان صفحانت اول کتاب بود. شخصیت کتاب یک دختر نوجوان سیاه‌پوست بود در دل آدم‌های سفید. دختری که پدری سفیدپوست دارد و مادری که مرده و این ترکیب برایم عجیب بود. لحظاتی که داشت خودش را در بین آدم‌های سفیدپوست می‌دید عجیب بود. آیا مستقیم داشت به سیاهان اشاره می‌کرد؟ نه، اما انگار این رنگ پوست روی همه‌چیز تاثیر داشت. از روابط با آدم‌ها (حتی پدرش) تا شهر و ایده‌هایی که از مادرش داشت. این نوجه زیرپوستی بدون شعار را دوست داشتم.
اما ویژگی دیگر کتاب پیچیدگی روایت در عین سادگی بود. یک جور حس فراواقعی به کتاب می‌داد. سوالاتی در کتاب هست و گره‌هایی ایجاد می‌شود. دانه‌دانه بدون تعلل این موارد حل می‌شود و مورد تازه‌ای ساخته می‌شود. ارتباط آدم‌ها، اضافه شدن شخصیت‌ها و قصه‌های فرعی که آدم‌ها تعریف می‌کردند فضایی می‌ساخت که خیلی باحال بود. هر بار که فکر می‌کردم چیزی شبیه فیلم از رویش بسازم انگار شبیه کتاب نمی‌شد. شبیه پازل نبود که همدیگر را تکمیل کنند. واقعاً شبیه یک مخلوط که «با هم» یک ترکیب را می‌ساختند. البته پایان کتاب خیلی توضیح و تفصیل داشت که برای دوران خودش طبیعی است و البته پولمن هم نویسندۀ پیچیده‌ای نیست که می‌خواست کتاب را عجیب‌وغریب تمام کند. ترجمۀ کتاب خیلی خوب بود و از طرفی مدام با خودم فکر می‌کردم چرا سانسور نشده. تجربۀ باحالی بود. مدت‌ها بود یک کتاب ساده که درگیرم کند و واقعاً خوش بگذرد نخوانده بودم.

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I've loved others by this author but I found this dull and could not get into it. It did get a bit more interesting around half way through but I still could not feel what the main character was feeling. I didn't understand why she was so obsessed with the story of the broken bridge.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

رمان خوبی بود،ولی به نظر من اگه این رمان جین آستر نوشته بود فوق العاده تر میشد.
داستان در مورد یک دختر رنگین پوست هست که پدری سفید پوست داره و مادری که وجود نداره، زندگی خوب که با ورد خانم وندی استیونس دچار تلاطم میشه و ادامه اتفاقات...

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three word review: Gripping, dramatic, touching.

When I chose this book, I had no idea what it was about. After the first few chapters, I was confused and nearly gave up. I’m so glad I stuck with it! It was such an interesting read and completely different from anything else I’ve read, while still being considered Young Adult.

The whole setting and plot was very down to earth and let’s just say, not particularly happy. This may have been increased because I was listening to the audiobook, but I really felt as though I was inside Ginny’s very confused and angsty mind. I really felt as though I was within the drama and wanted to find out the truth as much as Ginny did. Her voice was perfectly pitched, she felt like a normal teen and I really sympathised with her frustration of not being trusted as an adult.

Essentially, this was a coming of age story but it was done in a way that I’ve never seen before. Homosexuality, adoption, divorce, race and death were issues that were all covered but done so in a very interesting and different ways, all affecting Ginny’s life but not always in the way that you would expect.

Every few chapters there was a new plot twist or revelation, taking Ginny’s story in a new direction. This made it very exciting to read as I had no idea what would be coming next. I think this is testament to what a wonderful writer Philip Pullman is. The subtleties of his writing are amazing and his character construction was wonderfully done, as ever. While it was as clever and imaginative as the His Dark Materials trilogy, it was distinctly different both in style as well as genre. I don’t even think I can say whether it was better or worse, it was just so different.

While overall I really enjoyed this book, there were a few elements in it that I found really odd and didn’t quite fit. Ginny had a strange voodoo experience at one point that I found a bit disturbing (the narration was really creepy at this point) and even more annoyingly, it was never really explained as to what actually happened. As an already very good book, I felt as though it could have done without this.

At the climax of The Broken Bridge I was filled with excitement and was really enjoying it. But then the dénouement came and everything became very obvious. Ginny’s dad just sat down (well, stopped in a car park) and said “here’s everything I know” which lasted for the entire penultimate chapter. When the book before it had been so clever, Pullman seemed to be letting himself down with this very simplistic and ineffective technique. It was good to finally have clarity but I felt there were so many better ways this could have been done, especially following such a stellar climax.

I’m going to give it 74%. Without the dénouement issues, it would have scored more but I don’t think I would have given it above 80%. While I really liked it, I never felt as though I loved it. Despite this, I’d still highly recommend it as an emotional coming of age story of a believable yet dramatic girl’s life.

This review was originally posted on my blog: http://anabundanceofkathryn.blogspot....

Kathryn x

[Nemo ☠️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked this book, but i didn't love it, and to be honest that's probably entirely my fault and not pullman's.

first of all, i didn't really look too much into what this book was about; i just saw philip pullman and was like hell yeah i'll read this because 'his dark materials' is one of my favourite book series of all time, and i was convinced if pullman had written something then it must be amazing.

this was a coming-of-age contemporary, and although ginny was 16, the novel felt more like a middle-grade book to me than a young adult. maybe it was because of the simplicity of everything, and the fact that the storyline reminded me of a jacqueline wilson book (maybe because of the focus on family? idk).

contemporary family dramas just aren't really my sort of thing. i feel like i have walked into an episode of eastenders, and i just... don't really see the point in them. there wasn't anything particularly gripping about the plot, and it was only pullman's glorious writing that made me like it even a little bit.

there was a hint of fantasy, which really irritated me because it seemed extremely out of place, especially as it wasn't picked up again later and was just kind of, left alone. the reader isn't even sure if it was something fantastical or just ginny's imagination, which may have been the point i don't know, but i didn't like it. if you're going to put an aspect of fantasy or magical realism in a book, don't do it in one throwaway passage and have the reader going "wait, what the hell was that?!?!?!" for the rest of the book.

one thing i did like, though, was the exploration of the mixed-race psyche. i'm biracial and honestly, if i hadn't known pullman was white, i would have thought he was mixed-race himself because of the way he described the protagonist's feeling of both belonging and not belonging; of not being able to truly connect with the non-white part of your ethnicity due to growing up in a white country like britain. so yeah, that was good; pullman has a gift for writing characters and their psychology.

i think i might have liked this more if i was younger, maybe about thirteen or so. as i said, it reminds me a bit of a jacqueline wilson book, so i think it would appeal to the middle-grade demographic. i guess i'm just too much of an old fogey to like this sort of thing anymore?

conclusion: you'll probably like it if you like middle-grade contemporaries, but it just didn't do that much for me personally.

[Sharon Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.jerasjamboree.co.uk/2017/0...

When Ginny comes home from school one day near the end of the summer term there’s a stranger talking to her dad. With recent media about a single dad abusing his daughter she’s anxious that the stranger thinks this is happening to her because she lives alone with her dad. This is exactly how a teen would think (in my experience). It’s not until her best friend’s sister shares something that Ginny can confront her dad for the truth and what she finds out turns her world upside down.

I loved Ginny’s character. She appears self-assured although underneath she’s seething with questions about love and kissing and where she belongs. Looking at the world through her artist’s eye was inspiring. Ginny’s ability to live in the moment, the sights and sounds I found quite uplifting (and a reminder to slow down and take notice myself!). I loved her determination and spirit. She is callous at times but for me fits perfectly with her age and the independence she’s experienced growing up.

The isolation of the setting and the small community of Llangynog is perfect for the social barriers to play out. It often felt like Ginny was on the edge, confusion between straddling her school friends lives and the adult lives. The myth of Pont Doredig (the broken bridge) becomes a fascination for her leading her to a confrontation. Linked with finding out more about her Haitian heritage, this scene raised the hairs on the back of my neck!

The secret that is revealed is only the beginning as more unfolds. Ginny remembers some experiences as a child and these flashbacks had me trying to fit everything together. Intrigue! I couldn’t help the tears when Ginny’s dad shared his own childhood experiences with her. Very emotive.

The Broken Bridge has a great pace and interesting characters. A reminder that not all is as it seems on the surface and how we do others a disservice with our preconceived notions. It’s a story about roots and family and how far we’re prepared to go to try and make things right and how that affects the future. It’s about finding out where we belong and who we are. I loved it!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ginny is half Haitian, half Welsh, and lives in a small, isolated village where the overwhelming majority of the population is white. She experiences a steady stream of racism and feels trapped in a grey area between black and white. As a mixed woman, I found myself relating to Ginny on a deeply personal level, having gone through the very same struggles in my youth.

The first half of the book is admittedly slow, it took a while for me to really get into it. The writing was good, exceptionally so, but the plot felt lost. I realized why this was once the story really got rolling: the plot seemed lost because Ginny herself feels lost as she searched for her place in the world. To cope Ginny creates her own world through art, but even in the world of painting she finds herself dealing with questions of race.

From my own experience being mixed race living in a predominantly white neighborhood, I felt a certain level of embarrassment about familial aspects that seemed eccentric to me. I grew out of it as I got older as I came to accept both sides of my heritage. Ginny is on that same journey, to overcome the microaggressions that she has internalized and to learn more about the part of her heritage that she didn’t get to grow up with. At times I do still feel lost, like I don’t truly belong to either my white half or my Asian half and it has been a pain point, so I appreciated seeing this reflected well in the novel.

The second most important aspect of the story deals with familial relationships. The struggles between husband and wife, the bond between parent and child, the companionship between siblings, and the blurry line between friends and lovers. The relationships in this small town are complicated, the people are complex and incredibly flawed. The characters are constantly challenged to face their mistakes, to learn to forgive themselves and to forgive others, and to begin rebuilding the broken bridges between family. This book is an absolute treasure.

[Jason Furman · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 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.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review.
The Broken Bridge is a sympathetic and beautifully articulated recount of sixteen year old Ginny's identity crisis. She has lived with her father in a small Welsh village for as long as she can remember and is the only mixed race person there. Believing her Haitian artist mother to be dead she feels strong leanings to become an artist herself but cannot understand why her father never kept any of her mother's work. Then when a social worker turns up at their house Ginny begins to wonder whether she has been living a lie all her life, a suspicion her father does little to allay when he finally admits that he has a son from his first marriage who is coming to live with them. Ginny no longer knows who to trust and sets out to uncover her past and confront her father in a moving and compelling unravelling of their traumatic lives. Highly recommended.

[Robyn Maire · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3,5

“Maybe art itself was a kind of voodoo, possessing you, giving you supernatural power, letting you see in the dark’’.

Ginny is a 16-year-old biracial girl whose life is turned upside down when she discovers she has a half brother. She is sent on a mission to find out everything that doesn’t add up from her past.
Even though this book was published in 1990 there were multiple mentions of climate change and I love the way race was handled in this book. Ginny knows she is different because she’s one of the only black people in her Welsh town. There are some interesting conversations about heritage like: ‘’All that ancestor stuff … I mean, I’ve got English ancestors too, haven’t I? It’s no good saying like my ancestors were African, so I’ve got to go back to my roots …. It was my English ancestors who sold my African ancestors into slavery. Where does that leave me? Am I innocent or guilty or what? ‘’‘You can’t go back’’ Stuart said. ‘’You can only go forward. You can’t forget either. You have to use everything you know.’’
I love the way Pullman writes conversations and it made the relationships even more enjoyable. I especially loved Ginny’s relationship with her best friend Rhiannon.
Ginny is sometimes kinda irrational, but in a way that is believable and suits her age. The people felt very real while I was reading it – way past my bedtime may I add.
It was maybe a bit too short to really stick with me but it was an enjoyable light read.

[gufo_bufo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comprato per mia figlia, quando era una ragazzina. Non ricordavo di averlo letto - strano, perché mi piaceva leggere con le bimbe ed essere informata su quello che passava sotto i loro occhi - così l'ho ripreso in mano: superficiale accozzaglia di razzismo, vudù, omosessualità, oscura passione per l'arte, genitori plagiari e ricattatori, affidamento di minori a pagamento, con un lieto fine posticcio quanto incredibile. Se l'avevo letto, ecco perché l'avevo dimenticato. Altrettanto spero sia capitato a mia figlia, innocente destinataria di questa spazzatura.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read and not what I expected. It tells the tale of Ginny who finds herself questioning who she is, after finding things out about her father and her past she didn't know. It's a relatively quick read but the quality of Philip Pullman's story telling really shines through. It is totally different from all the other books of his I have read but it is nonetheless interesting and engaging. The reason for the four stars is mainly because I felt in the middle it lost its way a bit and I found the storyline becoming a bit erratic and disjointed. But, other than that is was a good read!

[Cornelia Larsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

En bok jag köpte för typ 15 år sedan och inte läst förrän nu. En mångbottnad berättelse om identitet som blir ännu mer intressant genom att den handlar om en ung svart tjej men är skriven av en vit medelålders man, ett faktum som inte går att bortse från när en läser boken. Jag tycker att Pullman är skicklig och att boken är bra, men det betyder inte att den är helt oproblematisk.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finalmente finito!
Difficile di linguaggio (consigliato per chi ha 12/12+)
Ci ho impiegato 3 mesi per finirlo

[Nele · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
just couldn't get into the story

[itchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

brief synopsis:
A black teen in a white world who realized she's been lied to starts to uncover the truth.

setting:
Porthafon, Wales
Gwynant, Wales
Chester, Wales
Llangynog, Wales
Liverpool, Wales

named personalities:
Virginia 'Ginny' Howard - a naive black teenager
Wendy Stevens - a friendly Social Services Department worker
Mr Price - the Howards' neighbor; a retired stationmaster
Mrs Price - Mr Price's disabled wife
the Laxtons - the Howards' neighbors that operate a bed and breakfast
Gene Kelly - an actor who starred in The Pirate
Holly - one of Ginny's dad's girlfriends who stayed for six months
Annie - one of Ginny's dad's girlfriends who loved to gorge herself on fried bread and bacon
Teresa - one of Ginny's dad's girlfriends who hardly ate anything
Mair - one of Ginny's dad's girlfriends who used to sing hymns in the shower
Andy Evans - another black teenager who was two years Ginny's senior
Carlos - chef in the Castle Hotel kitchen
Dafydd Lewis - a main road garage worker
Alston - richest man in the county
Joe Chicago - a soloist gangster from Porthafon
Angie Lime - the Yacht Club proprietress
Harry Williams aka Harry Lime - Angie's husband
Mozart - presumably Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Chopin - presumably Frédéric Chopin
Rubinstein - presumably Arthur Rubinstein
Rhiannon - Ginny's social secretary
Mr Calvert aka Old Picasso - Rhiannon's father; a bouncy eccentric man given to sudden enthusiasms
Mrs Calvert - Rhiannon's patient and sensible mother
Burne-Jones - presumably Edward Burne-Jones
Picasso - presumably Pablo Picasso
Van Gogh - presumably Vincent van Gogh
Helen Meredith - Rhiannon's estranged sister who works in an architect's office
Peter - Rhiannon's kind friend
Benny Meredith - Helen's creep husband who sells thermal windows
Gwen - the Yacht Club's kitchen help
Barry - Castle Hotel's bartender
Anielle Baptiste - Ginny's mother; a painter
Stuart Carruthers - an anthropologist
Jackie - Ginny's playmate
Mary - the Virgin
Paul Simon - a musician
Robert - Ginny's half-brother
Janet - Robert's mother
Bill Evans - the head of Ginny's school
Gertie - a smoked salmon
Freddy Kreuger - a fictional antagonist with iron fingernails
Maeve Sullivan - a short-term foster parent
Dawn - another of Ginny's playmates
Matisse - presumably Henri Matisse
Agwé - lord of the sea
Ogoun - fiery war god and politician
Damballah - serpent god
Erzulie - tragic goddess of love
Ghedi aka Baron Samedi - god of the underworld; a joker and a trickster
Hopey - a character from Love and Rockets
Carol Barnes - Dafydd's old girlfriend
Gwilym - a kid whose mum died
Glyn Williams - a strange, abrupt and quirky boy
Eryl - Glyn's friend
Stân - another of Glyn's friends
Kenneth Henry 'Ken' Howard - Ginny' paternal grandfather
Dorothy Howard - Ken's wife
Cynog - a saint
Watteau - presumably Jean-Antoine Watteau
Iesu Grist - Jesus Christ in Welsh
Long John Silver - a fictional character with a wooden leg
Kitty - Robert's maternal grandmother who lives in Spain
Arthur Weaver - Ken's friend; Kitty's husband
Tony - Ken and Dorothy's son; Ginny's father
Colonel Paul - an army officer who was poisoned with a plate of pumpkin soup
Paul Chalmers - owner of Llouverture Gallery
Botticelli - presumably Sandro Botticelli
Monet - presumably Claude Monet
Whistler - a painter who made a picture of his mother
Rembrandt - a Dutch painter
Lucy - Tony's cousin
Mary - Ken's sister
Teddy - Tony's only soft toy
Papa Doc Duvalier - a Haitian president
Salvador Dalí - a painter of dreamy beaches

I love Ginny and Rhiannon's dyslexic jokes!
I make them often, myself, but very few people appreciate them.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Broken Bridge The main character Ginny is 15 and lives in a small seaside village in North Wales with her father. Her Haitian mother is dead, and despite her fathers many ‘breakfast ladies’ (women who appeared at breakfast, after spending the night). None of them stick around long enough to become family.
Ginny is a talented artist and excellent at French, which helps her feel closer to her Mother. She finds Welsh hard and as the only black girl in her school, often feels like an outsider. Her best friend Rhiannon is glamorous and funny and they, like all 15 year olds, are each others secret keepers. So when things start to fall apart Rhiannon is the first person she turns to.
The book interweaves the lives of Ginny and her family with those in the village, exploring themes of identity, family and how our upbringing can shape us as adults.
You can read an excerpt here on his website.
What did I think?
Like all of Pullman’s books the characters are exceptionally well written, not only do they feel realistic, they feel known to us, particularly as the story develops. There are twists and turns aplenty throughout the plot, which help deepen our understanding of how Ginny and her father’s lives have turned out they way they have.
Pullman perfectly captures what it is to be a teenager, the thoughts, desires, intense secrets and longings and I wish more writers wrote their characters like this.
I would highly recommend this book, and am so glad I found it. I’m going to donate it to our library at work and I’m sure whoever reads it next will love it.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a 16 year old girl named Ginny Howard. Ginny lives with her widowed dad in north wales. Ginny and her dad get along very well, it's almost like they have their own little private world just for them, but one day things change. Ginny finds out that her dad has another child, a son. Now she has a half brother, and she soon learns that her dad wasn't really married to her mom, but he was married to her half brother's mom. Ginny is confused, has no idea what is going on. Her dad has been keeping so many secrets from her and she wants to know the truth. Ginny decides if her dad won't tell her anything then she will find out the truth on her own.

I really, really enjoyed this book. I just didn't want to put it down because I wanted to find out what was going to happen next. Everything was pretty much normal at first, you think her dad is such a nice guy and then all these secrets start coming out, it kind of really makes you question him and just like Ginny I wanted to find out the truth too. It was also pretty emotional at parts, especially towards the end. This book was definitely a good read, well at least I think so.

[Bookgasms Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was just something so resonating about this work. I can't quite place my finger on it, maybe it wasn't just one thing but the combination of masterful story telling and captivating characters. Not only was there a family mystery to be uncovered, along with all the skeletons that brought forth, but also Ginny had so much to uncover about herself. Taking this journey with her was addictive, and I found myself reading this book straight through, into the wee hours.

Capturing the essence of that crucial time in life between innocence and knowledge, The Broken Bridge seemed to pull from my own childish insecurities as I desperately empathized​ with Ginny, despite our differences. This was a wonderful read, the kind that will stand up to the test of time as the emotions it compels are timeless and universal.
~George, 5 stars

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a fantasy. This is not science fiction. This is a story of a fish out of water.

Ginny is one of the two black people in her Welsh village. She lives with her white dad and loves art. Art is life. Her mother was an artist and she feels she is carrying on the tradition.

This book is a slow build to something that is off. A mystery to be solved. The dialogue is natural. There is the usual of adults not wanting to say what really is going on and the kids having to figure things out on their own.

There is a bit of social commentary of art being different depending on your background, as in do people of color draw differently.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.