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Sky Bridge
A young woman who offers to raise her teenage sister’s baby gets more than she bargained for in “a moving story about love, duty, and family” ( Publishers Weekly ). A supermarket clerk in a small dusty Colorado town, twenty-two-year-old Libby is full of dreams but lacks the means to pursue them. When her younger sister Tess becomes pregnant, Libby convinces her not to have an abortion by promising to raise the child herself. But then Tess takes off after the baby is born and Libby finds that her new role puts her dreams that much further away. Her already haphazard life becomes ever more chaotic. The baby’s father, a Christian rodeo rider, suddenly demands custody. Libby loses her job, her boyfriend abandons her, and her own mother harps on how stupid she was to make that promise to Tess. Worse, her sister’s reckless new life could put Libby herself in danger. Not just a story of a single mother overcoming obstacles, Sky Bridge is a complex novel from a PEN Award winner that leaves readers with a fresh understanding of what it means to inhabit a world in which dreams die, and are sometimes reborn. “In this spare yet haunting portrait of the American West, Pritchett’s powerful, poetic voice speaks with clarity, wisdom, and passion about country, family, and one young woman’s majestic spirit.” — Booklist “A superb writer.” — Library Journal
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
14 people are currently reading
165 people want to read
About the author
Laura Pritchett
21 books224 followersLaura Pritchett's seventh novel THREE KEYS is now available. Booklist has this to say: “A dedicated environmentalist and acclaimed nature writer, Pritchett’s keen observations of the world…are wondrous and lyrical, grounding her heroine’s journey in beauty and grace.”
Kirkus has this to say: “Engaging…thought-provoking and insightful. A satisfying examination of one woman’s journey of self-discovery.”
Pritchett is also the author of PLAYING WITH {WILD}FIRE (Torrey House, 2024), THE BLUE HOUR (Counterpoint, 2017), RED LIGHTNING (Counterpoint, 2015) STARS GO BLUE (Counterpoint, 2014), SKY BRIDGE (Milkweed Editions, 2009), and HELL'S BOTTOM, COLORADO (Milkweed Editions, 2001).
Known for championing the complex and contemporary West, giving voice to the working class, and re-writing the “Western,” her books have garnered the PEN USA Award, the Milkweed National Fiction Prize, the WILLA, the High Plains Book Award, several Colorado Book Awards, and others.
She’s also the author of one play, two nonfiction books, and editor of three environmental-based anthologies.
She developed and directs the MFA in Nature Writing at Western Colorado University, one of the few in the nation with a focus on environmental and place-based writing.
She earned her Ph.D. from Purdue University.
Her work has appeared in The New York Times, O Magazine, Salon, High Country News, The Millions, Publisher’s Weekly, The Sun, Brain, Child, and many others.
She is also known for her environmental stewardship, particularly in regard to land preservation and river health. You can find out more at her website www.laurapritchett.com or www.makingfriendswithdeath.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 23, 2016
3.75★
Off the back jacket: “A vivid modern tale of believable goodness, despite the odds against that…Laura Pritchett writes with considerable skill and a fine sensitivity.” Kent Haruf
Indeed she does. I had another of the author’s books on my list but this was the one available at our library. The subject matter and age of of the main protagonist are not my preference in reading these days but I challenged myself to give it a try.
It flows like a diary at times as Libby struggles with her very challenging circumstances and poorly made decisions, the most major of which might be deciding to try and raise her newborn niece after the mother leaves town. She is still living with a bitter mother whom she addresses by first name, and suffers from a lack of self-worth and self-esteem. She keenly feels the loss of her younger sister Tess, and best friend Shawny. She yearns for something or someone to make a difference, to fill her up.
What kept me going with this character driven story was the honesty and lack of sentimentality as Libby resolutely kindles the small flame of hope for a meaningful life, one where she can be seen and acknowledged. Her observations about her very small world and the people in it are often spot on, sometimes achingly so, the mistakes made in moments of human weakness that can so easily lead to tragic outcomes, all too common.
The prose was fine enough that I hope to follow through with my original intention to read Stars Go Blue . This one speaks to a more youthful reader than myself yet is filled with relevant poignancy in regards to the roads we choose to take as we begin to claim our inner selves and embrace adulthood.
Off the back jacket: “A vivid modern tale of believable goodness, despite the odds against that…Laura Pritchett writes with considerable skill and a fine sensitivity.” Kent Haruf
Indeed she does. I had another of the author’s books on my list but this was the one available at our library. The subject matter and age of of the main protagonist are not my preference in reading these days but I challenged myself to give it a try.
It flows like a diary at times as Libby struggles with her very challenging circumstances and poorly made decisions, the most major of which might be deciding to try and raise her newborn niece after the mother leaves town. She is still living with a bitter mother whom she addresses by first name, and suffers from a lack of self-worth and self-esteem. She keenly feels the loss of her younger sister Tess, and best friend Shawny. She yearns for something or someone to make a difference, to fill her up.
What kept me going with this character driven story was the honesty and lack of sentimentality as Libby resolutely kindles the small flame of hope for a meaningful life, one where she can be seen and acknowledged. Her observations about her very small world and the people in it are often spot on, sometimes achingly so, the mistakes made in moments of human weakness that can so easily lead to tragic outcomes, all too common.
The prose was fine enough that I hope to follow through with my original intention to read Stars Go Blue . This one speaks to a more youthful reader than myself yet is filled with relevant poignancy in regards to the roads we choose to take as we begin to claim our inner selves and embrace adulthood.
May 29, 2009
This is a book about LOVE: what it is - and what it isn't. It's about sex: how it can make you laugh - or cry; can fill you up with joy - or pain. And then the consequences of all of that: babies, children, human beings, citizenship ....
Sky Bridge is also about the consequences of abuse and oppression: just how hard living is for some people, in this case persons on the plains of Eastern Colorado in modern times, be you legal or illegal, American or Mexican.
Sky Bridge is about all those things told through the ruminations and conversations of a twenty-something female, Libby, who believes she is "stupid and ugly." Libby thinks this is so because her mother, Kay, has drilled that into her. Quite obviously, though, she isn't. Libby is remarkably aware, sentient, and intelligent. She is also loved by many: her boyfriend (who she rejects); her boss (who she betrays); her activist neighbor; her co-worker; her mother's boss, and her humanitarian friend. Seemingly, this doesn't make sense, but that is author Laura Pritchett's brilliance - she portrays the human condition as it is: irrational and confused.
As loved and admired as Libby is she feels isolated and alone, because those closest to her: mother, sister, best friend, all abandon her in different ways.
Pritchett writes beautifully, some scenes are simply gripping. And now, with this "illegal immigration" issue being put forth by politicians - this book is especially timely and a must read!
Sky Bridge is also about the consequences of abuse and oppression: just how hard living is for some people, in this case persons on the plains of Eastern Colorado in modern times, be you legal or illegal, American or Mexican.
Sky Bridge is about all those things told through the ruminations and conversations of a twenty-something female, Libby, who believes she is "stupid and ugly." Libby thinks this is so because her mother, Kay, has drilled that into her. Quite obviously, though, she isn't. Libby is remarkably aware, sentient, and intelligent. She is also loved by many: her boyfriend (who she rejects); her boss (who she betrays); her activist neighbor; her co-worker; her mother's boss, and her humanitarian friend. Seemingly, this doesn't make sense, but that is author Laura Pritchett's brilliance - she portrays the human condition as it is: irrational and confused.
As loved and admired as Libby is she feels isolated and alone, because those closest to her: mother, sister, best friend, all abandon her in different ways.
Pritchett writes beautifully, some scenes are simply gripping. And now, with this "illegal immigration" issue being put forth by politicians - this book is especially timely and a must read!
September 5, 2011
This was an amazing book with some of the best characterization I've seen in years.
John Gorka sings, "Life is full of disappointment, yes and I am full of life." This could be Libby's life he sings about.
Sky Bridge is set in Eastern Colorado, and I bought it because I like to support local authors. This book is literally an award-winner, though, and I have to say that having read it, I can see why. Gritty, romantic without being sentimental, well-characterized, and gripping. Laura Pritchett has a facility with words - she uses just enough and wastes none. She has met my rough-around-the-edges neighbor and made her Libby's mom. She has met the heartbroken man, the lonely hippie, the good-hearted rancher, and she's brought them all to life in this book. No one is a stereotype, and we like all of them. Well, most of them. Loved it!
John Gorka sings, "Life is full of disappointment, yes and I am full of life." This could be Libby's life he sings about.
Sky Bridge is set in Eastern Colorado, and I bought it because I like to support local authors. This book is literally an award-winner, though, and I have to say that having read it, I can see why. Gritty, romantic without being sentimental, well-characterized, and gripping. Laura Pritchett has a facility with words - she uses just enough and wastes none. She has met my rough-around-the-edges neighbor and made her Libby's mom. She has met the heartbroken man, the lonely hippie, the good-hearted rancher, and she's brought them all to life in this book. No one is a stereotype, and we like all of them. Well, most of them. Loved it!
November 11, 2025
When Tess becomes pregnant, her sister Libby talks her out of an abortion, saying she will take the baby, hoping that will make Tess stay. But once she has had the baby, she leaves as she had already said she would. And Libby is stuck with the baby.
Red Lightning is a kind of sequel to Sky Bridge, but told from Tess’s point of view and takes place some years later. I read that one first, so there are certain threads in Sky Bridge that I knew how would turn out because I’d read Red Lightning before. This did take some of the suspense out of the reading and I should have read it in order.
Still Laura Pritchett is a good writer so even though I knew how some of the things would turn out, it was a good read. It’s partly about illegal migration, like Red Lightning, but not as much because it follows Libby rather than Tess. It is more about love, and connection, and loss. Libby losses Tess in the beginning, but that is not the only loss. Before that she had lost her friend Shawny. It’s also about motherhood and poverty.
When their where 30-40 pages left I was really starting to wonder how Pritchett was going to end this. The whole plot seemed to be in such a knot, but Pritchett manages to tie all the loose ends pretty well. The ending feels slightly rushed, but it works. Everything adds up in the end. It’s a good novel, and I’m going to read Red Lightning and Sky Bridge again someday, but then in the right order.
Red Lightning is a kind of sequel to Sky Bridge, but told from Tess’s point of view and takes place some years later. I read that one first, so there are certain threads in Sky Bridge that I knew how would turn out because I’d read Red Lightning before. This did take some of the suspense out of the reading and I should have read it in order.
Still Laura Pritchett is a good writer so even though I knew how some of the things would turn out, it was a good read. It’s partly about illegal migration, like Red Lightning, but not as much because it follows Libby rather than Tess. It is more about love, and connection, and loss. Libby losses Tess in the beginning, but that is not the only loss. Before that she had lost her friend Shawny. It’s also about motherhood and poverty.
When their where 30-40 pages left I was really starting to wonder how Pritchett was going to end this. The whole plot seemed to be in such a knot, but Pritchett manages to tie all the loose ends pretty well. The ending feels slightly rushed, but it works. Everything adds up in the end. It’s a good novel, and I’m going to read Red Lightning and Sky Bridge again someday, but then in the right order.
September 27, 2017
We often drive through Lamar, Colorado, the little eastern Colorado burg where this novel is set, and I wonder who lives there and what they do. In Sky Bridge, Laura Pritchett shows me, and it's a sad but rich living, full of unconventional love and real people. This is not the Colorado of the travel brochures; it's a place of dwindling opportunities and shrinking dreams. Pritchett, though, shows that there are no small lives and that a solid community can be the savior in the worst circumstances. Not all people are good, many don't even try, and those who come through for one another often do it is small meaningful, and life-saving and -affirming ways. Pritchett is my kind of writer—one who understands nuance and who trusts her audience.
February 24, 2018
I read this story after the sequel. I actually preferred Tess’s story to Libby’s story. I got frustrated with Libby’s indecision and frustration with herself. She seemed so vulnerable and lost. I guess that’s what the story is about. She finds herself, finally, close to the end. I guess it might be an interesting look into what life may be like for young people trying to find their way and they get “stuck” with life situations. An easy read. Set in eastern Colorado. The premise of the story is a good one and could turn into something, more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2019
Wasn’t as good as her Hell’s Bottom ,, Colorado and its follow up. This takes place in southeastern Colorado and addresses the lives of people living in what I call the margins. Also about migrant farm workers and illegal traffic into Colorado.
October 10, 2020
For me the book started slowly and had fits and starts. However by the middle I was caring about Libby and Ed and Miguel so was very easy to finish. The book is gritty and talks about hard topics and I think it is well worth reading.
July 31, 2022
This novel is built around an unusual scenario that intrigued me. It took a little while for me to appreciate all of the characters who crowd the opening pages of the book, but I was gradually drawn into Libby's world and the dilemmas both she and her family created.
January 26, 2023
A beautiful book about hard lives, difficult choices, and how different shades of love shape the world. With characters and a setting that jump off the page, Laura Pritchett pulls you along with writing that sings and sinks deep into your heart.
October 8, 2017
Moving story of dysfunctional people struggling to love, live and be happy. Sparse and to the point.
January 25, 2018
Strangely touching.
August 26, 2021
What do you do when life seems hopeless and you want to be better and also help other people to be better too. Heartbreaking and heartwarming
February 23, 2017
Set outside Lamar, this Colorado author really captures the people and struggles of my hometown area. Not since Kent Haruf have a felt like someone so understood that area of the world. Her depiction of the lack of choices young people face in poverty of declining agricultural area and the white/Latino relationship and politics that are in many ways 50 years behind were spot on.
February 27, 2017
A kind of unusual coming of age or coming to adulthood novel. Lovely writing and sentiments. I did not love it as I have a couple of other Pritchett books but it has heart.
March 28, 2010
I'm a sucker for tense, tight writing with lots of atmosphere and a dash of self-reflection. Pritchett's sparse writing that delves right into the story line and yet makes you feel like you're standing there with the characters is beautiful and wrenching to read.
Pritchett's tale of two sisters in a small Southeastern Colorado town has so many threads and dark bits and shining moments woven into the story that not only is it beautiful, but it made me remember how complicated life usually is and how we really cannot make it without the help of our friends and family.
I loved Libby, the elder sister who pushes her pregnant younger sister into having the baby and then keeps the baby when her sister declares that she doesn't want it. Libby then has to deal with a healthy dose of reality when her boyfriend breaks off the relationship and her sister heads across state, and can't be found. Libby's support system comes from an unexpected group of characters that are a reminder that sometimes our neighbors are just waiting for a chance to help out.
I'd also consider recommending this book for older teens - 16 and up. The issues of teen pregnancy, dealing with relationships that are comfortable but not what you want, what to do after school, living in a "no where" town, and other themes would strike a cord with older teen readers.
Pritchett's tale of two sisters in a small Southeastern Colorado town has so many threads and dark bits and shining moments woven into the story that not only is it beautiful, but it made me remember how complicated life usually is and how we really cannot make it without the help of our friends and family.
I loved Libby, the elder sister who pushes her pregnant younger sister into having the baby and then keeps the baby when her sister declares that she doesn't want it. Libby then has to deal with a healthy dose of reality when her boyfriend breaks off the relationship and her sister heads across state, and can't be found. Libby's support system comes from an unexpected group of characters that are a reminder that sometimes our neighbors are just waiting for a chance to help out.
I'd also consider recommending this book for older teens - 16 and up. The issues of teen pregnancy, dealing with relationships that are comfortable but not what you want, what to do after school, living in a "no where" town, and other themes would strike a cord with older teen readers.
September 8, 2010
SLJ Reviews 2005 May
Website: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com
Adult/High School-This captivating first novel is the story of Libby, a 22-year-old checkout clerk who has been a mother figure to her younger sister. Now pregnant, 18-year-old Tess wants to have an abortion, but Libby convinces her to have the baby, saying that she herself will raise the infant. Within days of delivering, Tess indeed takes off to pursue her own dreams outside their small Colorado town, and Libby finds herself raising Amber while trying to deal with an alcoholic, abusive mother and make sense of her own life. Libby is a protagonist who is not afraid to confront her fears and loneliness; this very openness gives her a depth and strength that others draw on. At the same time that she is trying to make a life for herself and Amber, the baby's father reenters the picture, promising a custody battle, and Libby discovers that Tess has gotten involved in smuggling drugs and illegal immigrants. The primary and secondary plots captivate readers and ensure an ending that is anything but trite. Reminiscent of Billie Letts's Where the Heart Is (Warner, 1995), this book offers a gritty but redeeming picture of a family that never quite lets go of hope, and characters who are not soon forgotten.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Website: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com
Adult/High School-This captivating first novel is the story of Libby, a 22-year-old checkout clerk who has been a mother figure to her younger sister. Now pregnant, 18-year-old Tess wants to have an abortion, but Libby convinces her to have the baby, saying that she herself will raise the infant. Within days of delivering, Tess indeed takes off to pursue her own dreams outside their small Colorado town, and Libby finds herself raising Amber while trying to deal with an alcoholic, abusive mother and make sense of her own life. Libby is a protagonist who is not afraid to confront her fears and loneliness; this very openness gives her a depth and strength that others draw on. At the same time that she is trying to make a life for herself and Amber, the baby's father reenters the picture, promising a custody battle, and Libby discovers that Tess has gotten involved in smuggling drugs and illegal immigrants. The primary and secondary plots captivate readers and ensure an ending that is anything but trite. Reminiscent of Billie Letts's Where the Heart Is (Warner, 1995), this book offers a gritty but redeeming picture of a family that never quite lets go of hope, and characters who are not soon forgotten.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
August 1, 2009
Pritchett paints a heartwarming portrait of a young woman trying to do the right thing, but she doesn't gloss over the limitations and difficulties of living in a small, isolated High Plains town. The characters are imperfect and surprising in their idiosyncrasies, like real people. Libby, the young protagonist who has committed herself to raising her sister Tess's unwanted baby girl, has one of the dearest, most honest hearts in literature. Yet even she stoops to stealing a few beers once in a while. Her voice is genuine, humorous and full of both youthful vitality and youthful frustration. Every Great Plains or Midwestern English teacher ought to assign this book. Reading it would be a liberating experience for any young person who ever felt stuck in a rural life while also trying to parse the narrow from the worthwhile in rural values.
January 8, 2016
SKY BRIDGE is the prequel to RED LIGHTNING, written ten years earlier than RED LIGHTNING and shows the main characters ten years earlier. Tess, the younger sister, has just had a baby, Amber, but flees her small town in the Great Plains of Colorado with her older sister, Libby to raise. RED LIGHTNING was told from Tess' point of view after having left for ten years as a runner of illegal aliens. This is Libby's story told as she tries to figure out how to raise Amber alone and not understanding fully why Tess felt the need to leave. The two books are empathetic portrayals of both sisters, but I liked the style of RED LIGHTNING a little better.
December 30, 2013
two (2) teenage sisters, one pregnant, the other acting as the child’s mother with emphasis on the sister raising the child; somewhat dreary but rather engaging story of the trials of ‘making it work’ in an otherwise dysfunctional family with the mother being a former/current drunk, alternating with being ‘the good mother’. Well told, somewhat depressing as one slogs through all the adventures of trying to rear a child not your own, work, love and figure out what you want to “really do” with your life. 2005 hardback via Berea Library 218 pgs.; read late Dec. ‘13/#66.
November 4, 2008
This book was pretty well written and interesting. However, of course, there were some problems that I saw with it. First off, it took a little bit of time to get the plot rolling. For awhile it was just sitting around, and waiting for something extreme to happen. Second, there were some extraneously "graphic" scenes that I felt didn't need to be in the book. They seemed very out of place. But in all, the book was a fun and fast read.
February 9, 2012
Written by the sister of the Brinks twins that my son Tommy hung out with in high school and camped out with on their ranch in Bellvue on Bingham Hill. She is a wonderful writer and her description of the setting made me feel that I was reading of home. I did not realize that I knew her family until finishing this book and reading her bio where she thanks her mother, Rose Brinks.I was delighted by the discovery of just who she was. Her other book,"Hell's Bottom Colorado" is also a great read.
September 8, 2014
A novel of two sisters and a promise that is kept by the elder one to raise the younger sisters child. Libby struggles to raise baby Amber amidst poverty, dysfunction and a lack of opportunity in Southwestern Colorado. Libby seeks love, permanence and a future for both her and the child as circumstances hit her like the dust from the land she loves. Lyrical, poetic in nature; with a cerebral message about love and grace.
March 30, 2014
I adored this novel. The writing is beautiful, the quiet story pulled me back to it each time I set it aside to sleep or work, and I found myself reading more and more slowly, wanting to stay. Such vivid characters; I feel like I spent a week in their world, invisible, listening to them and watching them. I feel like I could get in the car and go find them. I will read this author again.
March 26, 2012
Sky Bridge is now on my list of all-time favorites. Every few pages, I came across a passage I wanted to mark as "truth." Truth about family, relationships, emotion and the human spirit. I aspire to write like this!
August 26, 2008
Premise sounded good - like something that I could get into but I just couldn't. Got about 1/3 through and decided enough was enough. Let me know if anyone else gets through it.
January 31, 2011
Libby is a bagger in the supermarket. She has promised to care for her sister's baby so that the sister does not have an abortion. Set in the Plains east of the Rockies in Colorado
April 16, 2013
I enjoyed the character Libby-and the way she reflects on her life and the people around her-really takes time to see them as they really are-
May 4, 2013
Loved the Colorado setting and the Mexican imigrant bit of the story. Good depth of character. I am a new fan of Laura Pritchett.
February 17, 2015
Enjoyed this novel by a Colorado author. It brought back alot of interesting memories from the landscape of my childhood -- Southeastern Colorado. Its all about love and making it in life.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews