The Bridge from Me to You by Lisa Schroeder

The Bridge from Me to You
By Lisa Schroeder
Published: July 29, 2014
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 336
Format: Ebook
4 stars

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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.

*Novel provided by Scholastic via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Opening Thoughts
This book is written in half-verse, with Lauren's chapters written in verse, and Colby's in normal, paragraph format.  I've never read a book that is written in verse before, but I think that that aspect was one of my favorite parts of it.  I wouldn't say that this is a particularly happy book, but I feel like one of the main undertones, and the overall feeling of the book was hopeful.  I found that it inspired me and also really made me want to see the movie, When the Game Stands Tall.  Is that weird?  Oh well, I don't care.

Characters

Lauren had a pretty bad experience a little bit before the start of the novel, so she's shipped off to live with her aunt and uncle for a little while.  She's kind of uncomfortable around them, she feels like she's intruding, and it takes her pretty much the entire book to get over it.  I was pretty frustrated with her for that, even though I understood why she was reluctant to let them in.  She thought that they were just taking her in out of pity or because they felt like they had to and as soon as she graduated, they were just going to dump her, even though it was obvious to the reader that they didn't actually feel that way.  Lauren is super stubborn, and she's also really kind of innocent, though I don't think that that's really the right word to describe her.  And from her situation, which isn't amazing, but I also don't think is as horrid as she makes it out to be, you wouldn't think that I could use the word innocent to describe her.  She reminded me of a baby deer, except, you know, human.

"Oh, to be a bird, I thought.  To fly away and be free."

"Heart.

Beating fast.

Boy and girl.

Standing in the meadow.

It's like time has stopped."

Colby is a football player who is feeling very pressured to continue playing football throughout college, even though he wants to study architecture, not continue playing football.  He lives in a tiny town where everyone knows everyone and everyone goes to every football game and bonds over it.  Colby is the star quarterback, so everyone knows who he is, and everyone expects him to continue playing football for as long as he possibly can.  In fact, they practically feed off of that hope, as if their whole life is dependent on whether or not Colby gets a football scholarship.  However, despite all the pressure to do what everyone else thinks is right, and to not let everyone down, Colby still manages to find the courage to do what he wants to do, even though everyone else thinks that he should be doing something different.

"It's not just a game.  It's life, played out on the field."

"Small town life is loving the wide roads one day and wanting to leave and never look back the next."

Plot

Colby and Lauren have an adorable romance.  When they first meet each other (in the gas station, of all places!  And then of course that becomes their "special place"), they feel an undeniable connection, and Colby asks Lauren out.  But, on the night of their date, Colby's dad decides that Colby has been slacking when it comes to football, and that they need to go practice that night.  Colby tells him that he has a date, but his dad says that he doesn't need a girl distracting him, and he shouldn't be going out with anyone.  Because of this Colby and Lauren decide that they are just going to be friends until football season was over.  Things happen and they end up getting together, unsurprisingly.  I did feel that this book was meant for a younger audience, perhaps 10 to 12 or so. 

Overall, I did very much enjoy this book.  I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys young YA contemporaries, and/or likes books written in verse.

Thanks for reading!

Amber