Broken Bridge

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book!!
Review: I love Broken Bridge. It was painful and sad, but I still love it. It was very original in the story line and also it's characters. There is no one main character, and you'll be folowing the trail of thoughts of someone, and then all of a sudden you'll be following the trail of some one else in the room. It was hard, sometimes, to be left hanging on the edge when a chapter ended, only to find out what happens many chapters later. I think this is a very good writing style; it keeps you interested. Broken Bridge also had a good ending, with controversy between two cultures and, at the end, salaam. Peace.

Rating:
Summary: I liked it a lot.
Review: I read the book One More River for a class book. I did vocabulary and quote worksheets on it. I got the sequel Broken Bridge and I think that it is better than One More River because it is more interesting. I liked Broken Bridge more because it had a better plot. It made you want to read it all the time. The character I liked best was Nili. The character I liked least was Nimrod. He was a selfcentered guy who didn't like his sister. I think this book and One More River should be made into a movie. It would be another movie based on a book by Lynne Reid Banks.I really recommend this book. -Madeline Ng, sixth grade American School In Japan

Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Book!
Review: I think that this is a very good book, although the main plot is about a kind of dark subject, the death a a 14-year-old boy. The book has a very strong plot, but I must recommend that you read the first book before reading this, because this book takes right off from the first one. Each character is described well, and the story picks you up into it very early on, although you don't quite know what is happening till later. One thing I did not like about the book was that at the end of each chapter there was a climax, but the folowing chapter would be about a different subject. Sometimes you would have to wait up to five chapters for the climax at the end of a chapter to be continued! But once you get used to that, this becomes a very strong story that you would NOT like to miss out on reading!

Rating:
Summary: A cool book!!
Review: I thought that this was a great book. If you want to read this book you need to read the prequel, One More River. It is all about an Israeli family that emigrated from Canada in the 1960's and their lives in Israel in 1992. They live in a kibbutz which is a communal farm in Israel. I think that it is a good book because it tells you all about how the Arabs were and are treated in Israel after the Six Day War. You should really read this book if you have been to Israel or any of it's surrounding Arab countries. I think that the title sort of describes the book. You must read this book no matter what!! -Thanos Matthai

Rating:
Summary: Booooooo!
Review: It's 1992, less than a year after the second Intifada, and there is an Israeli murdered in the streets of Israel. Focusing on the Middle East issues between the Israelis and Palestinians, Lynne Reid Bank's book, Broken Bridges, is about a murder and the troubles in a war-inflicted society.
Glen Shelby, from Canada, and his cousin Nili, an Israeli, are on their way to Nili's home, a kibbutz (a community that works together to create a profit), in Israel. However, with no transportation back to the kibbutz (due to miscommunication), Glen and Nili decide to walk because Nili knows the way. On the way to the kibbutz, while walking through a Palestinian village, Glen is brutally struck down by two Arab murderers. Nili, however, is spared for an unknown reason, and is given the challenging and demanding task of identifying the two murders that assassinated Glen. This tormenting loss splits friendships and causes much catastrophe throughout the family tree.
Meanwhile, the story extends to the two Arab murderers and their attempts to escape from Israel so that they will not be killed because of their crime. One of the murderers, the older one, Mustapha, is taken into captivity and is seen in the line-up by Nili. During the murder, the younger man, Fiesal, wants to kill both Nili and Glen- only Mustapha stands in his way, and stops him from killing Nili. Now at the line-up, Nili must choose whether to kill or save the man, who saved her life, or to kill or save the man, who killed her cousin.
While this book creates personalities for characters with three-dimensional characteristics, it soon becomes uninteresting and unexciting. Eventually the excitement fades, as the book slowly drags on. This is exactly why t he book was dull- it dragged on and on. Also, this book is biased towards the Palestinians, against the Jews, Americans, and other Israelites. Lynne Reid Banks describes the army as barbaric, and that they had no reason to commit these actions. These actions consisted of supposed beatings and attacks against the Palestinians. With this point she is wrong- she doesn't say what sparked the army's repercussion. What sparked the repercussion? The violent and killing Palestinians, who started to throw rocks and shoot at the Israeli Army, who were forced to take action and do something in return. So they did- but how many beatings there were like the ones in the following passages, is unknown. While talking about the second Intifada, Banks deliberately attempts to insult the Israeli Army when she has the "wise" Grandpa say, "... They caught them; they tied them up; they took rocks and clubs; they bashed their arms with them. It's very hard to break a man's arm that way. I'm quite sure that often they didn't, that it was just... heavy bruising. A beating. It was a punishment that fitted the crime. " (237) Then the grandpa is interrupted, but soon continued, saying, "Later his officer got his unit together, and asked who was having problems with the orders. Only Yoni put his hand up. His officer said if he didn't have the stomach to do his duty, he didn't deserve the benefits of security earned by other men. He ordered him out on patrol with other men who- who were willing to do it, who did it without feelings. He told me he saw things he wouldn't have believed, beatings that went on and on..." (238) In both of these times, Banks makes the Israeli Army look like barbaric animals, despite the fact that they're not. She tries to explain the army's ways, and then poorly does, only not fully explaining. Banks tries to tell the full army stories- but she fails miserably and therefore the book is biased against the Israelis.
This book is geared for grades 6 through 10; however, the book may not be entertaining enough for these children. Due to how impressionable these young children are, I suggest that this biased book is not read.

Rating:
Summary: A snazzy story of the Arab-Israeli conflict
Review: Knifing, Stabbing, Explosives, throwing of stones, all of this and more takes place in Broken Bridge. Broken Bridge, written by Lynne Reid Banks, is a historic novel and is based on the tragic event of the Intifada, (that takes place in Jerusalem, Israel). Nili, the main character, was nearly murdered by two Arabs on a street corner. Unfortunately, Nili's cousin, Glenn, is stabbed by one of the two men. The other man attempts to save Nili and succeeds. Nili refuses to turn her savior in, and is asked time and time again to give information about one of the men. She does not give in. Nili is determined to keep the man out of harm's way, as he did for her.

In the story of Broken Bridge, the plot was on the strong side. Although the book starts out quite dull, it gets more exciting the more you read. Everything weaves together nicely, which enables readers to stay hooked into the book. The book has a large number of characters, many of which who are constantly used, but, the book does not include many Arab characters, which shows that the book is biased towards the Israeli side. The author, also, does a so-so job of covering some of the situations that took place in the Middle East during the first Intifada. One criticism of this book is that it does not truly recreate scenes that possibly took place during the Intifada in Israel. She does, though, do a great job of using the type of language that was most likely used during that time. Many of the characters rarely speak perfect English, showing that English is not their native language. Lynne Reid Banks purpose in Broken bridge, was to educate those uneducated on the topic of the Intifada. If you have no idea of what the Intifada is before you read this story, you will leave with a basic understanding.

This is not your normal book, but is not a difficult, or an extremely easy story. It is intended more for readers of the Young Adult reading category. Broken Bridge is a story that is for strong readers, who can keep on track with a complicated plot. I recommend this story to all who are in for a tragic and exciting read.

Rating:
Summary: Yes for schoool!
Review: Murder investigations, family love and traditions, and ethnic battles make Broken Bridge, by Lynne Reid Banks, a story that covers all aspects of the Middle East. The book is the tale of a Jewish family living in Israel. When their Canadian cousins come to visit, an Arab extremist murders one. After his death their family tries to catch the murderer, survive with the Arab-Israeli conflict, and face moral struggles along the way. The characters are well-rounded people with individual views and personalities with whom readers can easily relate. Broken Bridge has a captivating plot. It shows the ups and downs of living in a kibbutz in Israel. The book jumps right into the story allowing the reader to learn about the characters as they read the book. There is no dull section in the beginning. This begins the book with a start of quick, don't-want-to-put-the-book-down, pacing. There aren't many sections where there is no action or excitement. Along with a captivating plot, you can easily relate with most of the characters. You can feel their joys and sorrows. The reader becomes elated when Dale, an eight-year-old girl from Canada is having a great time in Israel. Conversely, the reader is depressed when her fourteen-year-old brother is murdered. However, secondary characters more stilted, or too perfect, than the rest. For example, Lev, a Russian appears to be an ideal, faultless character. The book is written in third person that means that the reader can view several different characters individually. This helps character development, and provides a more elaborate plot.

The voices left out are those of the Arabs. The book is based around an Israeli family and describes all of their difficulties. It portrays that a cold-blooded Arab who murders the first Israeli that he saw. However, the story does not describe all of the discrimination that the Arabs face, and how the Israelis are prejudice against them. The book does express how Israeli soldiers break the arms of Arabs captives, but not much else. The author's bias is clearly pro-Israel. The author shows the sorrows of being Israeli and living in a kibbutz. Lynne Reid Banks does not describe the grief and difficulties of being Palestinian.

I would recommend Broken Bridge to young adults audiences. The story is extremely educational because it illustrates the historical importance of the Arab-Israeli clash. It is much more enjoyable to read when the reader is educated on the escalated conflict in the Middle East. The book is stronger as an in-school book rather than an outside reading novel.

Rating:
Summary: YES!!!!!!
Review: Murder, romance and dilemma! Lynne Reid Banks takes murder, romance, and dilemma and intertwines them with historical references. Broken Bridge, is a story of a teenage girl, Nili, and her family who get struck with a tragedy. Her cousin, Glen, has gotten stabbed in the open daylight, in Jerusalem. Her family now has to track down the murderers while coping with other family issues.

Banks does an excellent job of moving the story along. In some places the book can drag on but it is only in one or two places. The book can teach and does not linger on one particular historical issue for too long. The characters are well described in the story. For example when the characters are angry or depressed, the reader can really feel what the characters are feeling, because Banks uses a wide variety of descriptive words. Although, there are multiple characters that are in the book and at times it can get confusing. Banks gives a short story for each character, which gets confusing and is complex. Most of the words were not that challenging, but scattered throughout the book there are Yiddish, Hebrew and Arabic words. Banks put in a glossary at the end of the book to help the reader decipher the words. She does a good job of showing the reader that not all Israelis have hatred towards Palestinians and not all Palestinians have hatred towards Israelis. This book still has a bias though. Even though there are Palestinian viewpoints throughout the book, most of their viewpoints are still left out.

I would recommend this book to all young adults. It is a good read and can teach young adults at the same time. This would be a good book for teachers to help their students better understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Rating:
Summary: Not A Good School Book
Review: Over the past few weeks, my classmates and I have been reading books about the Middle East. The story I chose is called Broken Bridges, by Lynne Reid Banks. I found the story very dull and had no plot. Even though it was a mystery story, it still didn't grab my attention.
This mystery story involves a Canadian boy, Glen Shelby, and how he visits his family in a kibbutz in Israel. His cousin, Nili, already lives there and as Glen's vacation to Israel begins, the Shelby family finds itself in a dilemma. Glen is murdered and their family is overwhelmed and devastated. Nili was the only witness to Glen's murder. As a result, the police question her about the men who murdered Glen. Will Nili tell the police, or will she be haunted by her cousin's death?
In the middle of the story, the readers get to meet the two murders that killed Glen. The two murders are portrayed as "dogs." The question that I have for the story is: Is Lynne Reid Banks being biased? I think she is, because she says of one of the murders, " So he waited till the children were out and his cousin's wife went shopping and his cousins were at work, and then he crept up the stairs and crawled on hands and knees out through the doorway onto the roof, not raising his head above the low parapet that surrounded it" (Banks 222). Is she saying that all Arabs are like dogs or just ones that kill people? I found no strengths in this book due to the fact that the author is pro- Israeli.
Broken Bridges is the tale of an Israeli family going through tough times. It not only teaches the family to come together, but it taught me as well. I found the story dull because there was no plot. Everything happened at once and I didn't know what was going on. This book should be recommended to people who want to learn more about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Prejudice plays a big factor in Broken Bridge. I learned that family power and strength could never be broken.

Rating:
Summary: Broken Bridge review!
Review: The attack descended upon them quickly and silently. The two Arab men moved swiftly towards the two Israeli children, walking casually in the streets of Jerusalem. When it was over, the boy was dead, the girl somehow saved from the terrible attack. Broken Bridge by Lynne Reid Banks is a book of intrigue, power, and conflict. Nili, the main character, must face many problems with others and conflict within herself. She must overcome those problems while she still does not know whether to turn in the man who saved her from the fate her cousin Glen met, or to have him go free and include the rest of Israel in his terror. She lives in a small community with many of her family members.Nili's brother, the troublesome, problematic Nimrod, does not think she should let him go free. Nili's family wants to find out who did this to their relative, and why. Lynne Reid Banks presents a profound opinion about the Israeli/ Arab conflict and gives an interesting perspective about it. She does this by not only telling the story of the Israeli kibbutz where Nili lives, Kfar Ode, but it also showing the opinions of the Arabs who killed Glen. Broken Bridge is skillfully crafted, as the book creates images in your head, and it is also an interesting read, although there are many characters and sometimes is hard to follow. Because the characters in this book are many, the story can be confusing sometimes. To understand the opinions of the characters, you need to have a more advanced or understanding about the Middle East. Readers can relate to many characters and how they feel, and the characters have many sides to think about. Also, there are many strong opinions that make the book better, and the author's message is fairly clear. Her message is that even if something tragic happens to a person, even if they are in a war with those people, that they can overcome their sadness and hatred. Another message is to stop such hatred and dislike between people before it happens again. This book wants you to understand that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict could be resolved, and that this should never happen again between two peoples. The author wants the conflict to end, so that Arabs and Israelis can live with each other. This book would be good for any older young adult reader, because some things may be too advanced as you do need to know a little about the Middle Eastern conflict to understand the book as the author wants you to. The author also interchanges English and Hebrew sometimes, and for younger readers, this may be confusing. Although this book is a fairly fast read, it is an agreeable and likeable read. This is a good book for a middle school class because if they are studying about the conflict at the time, it is an interesting read to understand the conflict and how strong biases and opinions can be between each other.