Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Book Review: The Bridge from Me to You + UPDATE

The Bridge from Me to YouTitle/ Author:  The Bridge from Me to You by Lisa Schroeder
Publisher/ Year:  Point, 2014.
How I Read It:  E-book, courtesy of NetGalley
Why I Read It:  I love contemporary and this sounded interesting.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Summary from Goodreads:  
Lauren has a secret. Colby has a problem. But when they find each other, everything falls into place. 

Lauren is the new girl in town with a dark secret. Colby is the football hero with a dream of something more. In alternating chapters, they come together, fall apart, and build something stronger than either of them thought possible--something to truly believe in.

QUICK UPDATE

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted anything in a while.  There's been so much going on like well, I just moved into college last week and I've been settling in and figuring out my schedule and when I can read/ blog/ do everything else.  I promise when I am more settled, I will post a lot more.  But, for now, this transition is a pretty big one.  

REVIEW TIME YAY

This book was only just okay for me.  It had its high moments, but there were parts where all I wanted to do was put this book down.  I couldn't just sit down and read it.  When I was getting near the end, it was a lot easier to get through the book, because I was looking forward to what would happen with Lauren and with Colby.  Let me just make this absolutely clear: The Bridge from Me to You is a very well written book.  Schroeder delivered very well in that area.  The plot, while interesting and entertaining, wasn't as complex as I wished it could be.  Sure, the characters had depth that made their characters relatable and believable, but for some reason, I wasn't as invested as I wish I was.

What I like a lot about this book is the fact that the romance was not the main concept of the book.  Of course, romance was a very prevalent part, but it was well balanced with Lauren's and Colby's issues.  Also, little things like Lauren's love of Bugles and Colby's love for bridges played out nicely throughout the novel and brought something to their characters.  Throughout the entire novel, since the moment they first met, you knew they wanted to be together, but the struggles of Lauren's difficult family life, the pressure of sports and Benny's accident came between them and attempted to pull their growing relationship apart.  It's the truth of reality.  Happily ever afters aren't gonna happen the way you want it to happen, but all you can do is keep hoping for the best, like Lauren and Colby.  Overall, their moments were cute, and they really did get each other's situation, so they knew how to comfort/ help each other through it...as friends, lovers, etc.  

The dual POV was interesting.  Lauren's POV was more poetic than Colby's.  It was confusing at first and honestly, I could have dealt without the dual POV.  Some books can pull it off, but frankly, I found it annoying.  Also, I thought it was weird how they both developed feelings for each other almost immediately.  Of course, they got to know each other, but just seeing both POVs alternating talking about how much they want to be with the other (and of course not even acting on it), it was pretty annoying at the beginning.  By the end, I was used to it.  But seriously, I did not like the dual POV.  Another thing I was sorta confused about was the fact that certain things are mentioned in the book but aren't brought up again until much later in the book, or not mentioned enough to a point where it felt unnecessary to have that aspect as a part of the book.

I was talking to my one friend about a quote I saw asking if it was accurate or just for her thoughts on it:
"Small-town life isloving the wide roads one day and wanting to leave and never look back the next.
But you accept that's how it is, because you're a part of something.  And because...it's home."
This part is from Lauren's POV, and I just think it's beautiful.  Moving to a new town, a small town, she had to learn how to accept it and live a life there.  My friend lives in a small town and she told me that this quote hit home for her.  And this quote is especially really beautiful because the setting is super important in the book.

Overall, it was a good, heartwarming story.  It's no Stephanie Perkins or Jenny Han novel, where all you get is butterflies and swooning, but it definitely makes you feel good at the end, whereas everything seems to be resolved in a way.


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