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Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison (view source)
Revision as of 11:43, 18 May 2011
, 11:43, 18 May 2011Created page with ' {{infobox |title=Here Lies Bridget |author=Paige Harbison |reviewer=Robert James |genre=Teens |summary=Entertaining teenage novel with strong similarities to ''A Christmas Carol…'
{{infobox
|title=Here Lies Bridget
|author=Paige Harbison
|reviewer=Robert James
|genre=Teens
|summary=Entertaining teenage novel with strong similarities to ''A Christmas Carol'' in its tale of an obnoxious girl being shown the error of her ways. An impressive debut for Paige Harbison.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-0778304999
|paperback=077830499X
|hardback=
|audiobook=
|ebook=
|pages=464
|publisher=Mira Ink
|date=June 2011
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>077830499X</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>077830499X</amazonus>
|website=http://www.paigeharbison.com/
|video=
}}
Bridget Duke, daughter of a famous celebrity, is the undisputed queen
of her school. Popular, wanted by the boys and feared or adored by the
girls, she barely even notices the trail of destruction she leaves
behind her as friends, teachers and even her stepmother end up being
hurt by her actions. So when Bridget is in a car accident, and ends up
in limbo, she's sent into the shoes of those she's wronged to see the
effect she's had on them. Can she redeem herself?
Bridget is a horrific but entertaining character who, as expected from
the preview of the book, is taken aback when she sees her behaviour
through the eyes of the other people. The second half of the book,
especially, is an enjoyable, fast-paced and light read, if seriously
on the mawkish side for much of the time. The first half of the book,
as we're taken back to the events which led up to the car accident and
which saw Bridget upset so many people, could probably have been
shorter - it takes us nearly half of the book to end up in limbo,
perhaps too long. Conversely, Bridget's journey to forgiveness seemed
to be happening at warp speed, as she renounced her wicked former ways
incredibly quickly and I'd like the second part of the book to have
more depth to it. That's a fairly small criticism, though - this is
well worth reading and Harbison's characterisation is good considering
this is her first book. I thought the main adults in the story, her
teacher and her stepmother, were significantly more realistically
portrayed than many adults in teen fiction today, so a big thumbs up
there!
The overall tone of the book is very much that of a teen version of
''A Christmas Carol'' and it's got a strong moral message which makes
it one I hope a lot of teens will read. Particularly those who take
after the title character, anything that gets girls like her to think
about the consequences of their actions must be worth picking up!
My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.
For a similar tale which has been widely hailed as a superb debut novel, check out Before I Fall by Lauren
Oliver.
{{amazontext|amazon=077830499X}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=8453411}}
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