Reviews

The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman (2019) is a story written from the view of an 11 year old girl, Viji who runs away from her abusive household with her sister Rukku who has an intellectual disability. The story is fast paced and highly emotional for a childrens book which is unusual. I would say it could be implemented as a challenging read for 4th and 5th graders. I believe I would implement it in my classroom because though it is dark, it has great lessons about courage and people with disabilities.

gurnoor's review

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dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

sde's review

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4.0

Great story about a life you don't often see portrayed in adult literature, never mind children's - kids living on the street in India. Obviously, this is a difficult and dangerous life. But what I loved most about the book is that it didn't depict it as one big downer after another. The characters were three-dimensional. They faced hard times just trying to get enough to eat or find a dry place to sleep in monsoon season, but they also played, joked, supported one another, and helped each other grow. They were all real people, and not just some dismal problem that is far removed from our world. A good introduction for middle grade readers to lives that are quite different from theirs.