Broken Bridge

Rating:
Summary: fell short of its potential
Review: The book Broken Bridge by Lynne Reid Banks is a multi-faceted look at an Israeli family living in a kibbutz in Israel. The book follows the lives of the family after a teenage member of the family gets stabbed to death by an Arab militant in the streets on the way to his and his cousin Nili's grandmother's house. The child who is killed is named Glen; he is from Canada and he was just going to Israel to visit his family who all live there. After his death the family tries to find out if it was Nili or Glen that died. They hoped it wasn't Nili because they all love her so much. Most of them had never even seen Glen. But none-the-less they are outraged that he had been killed, especially since the killer was an Arab. Throughout the book the police and the family are trying to find the killer, which was more of a secondary plot than the primary, which was just showing the life of the family.
Overall the book did not come out as great as it could have been. Murder mystery books are always great and fun to read, or at very least they have the potential to be. In the family many of the members did not have the same viewpoint on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. This fact made the book more interesting but not as interesting as I would have wanted the book to be. Its many characters made it hard to follow. Another thing I did not like about the book was that there was not a first person view of the story. The entire book consisted of third person perspective on the story. I think also that the book would be far more fun to read if Nili had been used as the primary first person character. But overall the book just wasn't very interesting. Many of the chapters seemed more like they were just put in the book to fill up space. Also some of the relationships that the characters formed during the book seemed contrived and pointless, such as when Lev the Russian immigrant whose family moved to the kibbutz, fell in love with Nili. I don't think there was any point for them putting this into the book. In fact, once it is revealed that he loved her they don't really go into detail too much about it later on. Another problem I have with the book was that the pace drops off a lot after the early chapters. After Glen got stabbed, the book's pacing gets very slow. Of course the murder mystery is still in the spotlight of the book but the book started to show relationships more often than before.

Rating:
Summary: OK book
Review: The book Broken Bridge written by Lynne Reid Banks is an exciting but sad story of a fourteen-year-old Jewish Canadian boy named Glen who goes to Israel to be with his relatives. Glen travels to Israel with his cousin Neli, but when they arrive there is no one there to pick them up. When they are not picked up, they decide to go home themselves. An Arab stabs Glen on their way home but Neli, is mysteriously saved by another Arab. The rest of the book deals with Neli's sadness about the event and how it affects many people in the Israeli community. The book also deals with the Arab side of the country and deals with the search for the two Arab murderers that kill Glen and how their lives and community are affected by their crime. The story is political and it is well written because it makes you think about how both sides of the story feel about the issues, like the war and the wall. Also perhaps Glen is murdered because he is such and innocent victim, may be used to show that some of the Arabs don't care who they kill even if they have nothing to do with the issue. And Glen may have been chosen to show how everyone came together to mourn his death. The book is a good book because it helps you learn about both sides of the conflict, and how the Arabs and Israelis both do some things that are right and some things that are wrong.

Rating:
Summary: OK book
Review: The book Broken Bridge written by Lynne Reid Banks is an exciting but sad story of a fourteen-year-old Jewish Canadian boy named Glen who goes to Israel to be with his relatives. Glen travels to Israel with his cousin Neli, but when they arrive there is no one there to pick them up. When they are not picked up, they decide to go home themselves. An Arab stabs Glen on their way home but Neli, is mysteriously saved by another Arab. The rest of the book deals with Neli's sadness about the event and how it affects many people in the Israeli community. The book also deals with the Arab side of the country and deals with the search for the two Arab murderers that kill Glen and how their lives and community are affected by their crime. The story is political and it is well written because it makes you think about how both sides of the story feel about the issues, like the war and the wall. Also perhaps Glen is murdered because he is such and innocent victim, may be used to show that some of the Arabs don't care who they kill even if they have nothing to do with the issue. And Glen may have been chosen to show how everyone came together to mourn his death. The book is a good book because it helps you learn about both sides of the conflict, and how the Arabs and Israelis both do some things that are right and some things that are wrong.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: This book is a really wonderful book. It is the sequal to another great book called One More River. The story is really good and also it teaches you a lot about the Jewish Culture and Isreal. I have read both of them twice. I love them! I would definately reccomend them to anyone who is just looking for a great story or trying to learn!

Rating:
Summary: Depressing... But great
Review: This book is a ver depressing story. I still loved it. The characters were in depth and believable. Contrary to some other reviews advice, I believe you don't have to read the prequel at all. I haven't read it, and Broken Bridge is still my favoritee book. It is a great educational story, as well, with lots of information from both sides of the Arab Israeli conflict. Some parts make me cry, yet some are funny too. The book is on the whole the best one I have ever read.

Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: This bridge should have never been broken. Based on prejudice, Broken Bridge, is a compelling story of a murder case set in Jerusalem. A Jewish girl, Nili and her cousin Glen set out for her aunt's house after returning from England. In broad daylight two Arab men attack Glen and Nili near the market. Glen dies immediately from a knife and Nili gets hospitalized from going into shock. Days later Nili's family gets burdened by the police with lineups and demands for statements from Nili to identify the two men.
The characters in this book are all very believable. The Shelby family, the family with most of the main characters, is very well developed. It consists of Nili, the one that got away from the killer, Nimrod the troublemaker, Lesley the mom of Nili and Nimrod, and Ofer, the dad who's in the orchestra. There are other characters that are crucial such as the uncle who left the kibbutz, Noah, and the cousin who was in the army, Yonatan. The story of a hate crime in the middle of Jerusalem is very believable and even though it was written after the first Intifada, which was mainly just Palestinians throwing stones whereas the second Intifada was much more, it still relates to what's happening now in Israel. The suspense in this book killed me, but it just made a more enjoyable story and a page turner! The mixture of English and some Hebrew words really added more culture and helped me understand the different languages that are in Israel.
Surprisingly, this book doesn't have any strong bias. The book shows the point of view of the killer, the family he affected, and his uncle who saved Nili's life. Some of the family knows that not all of the Arabs are terrorists and Shalom, the cousin of Nili and Nimrod, has an Arab friend that he likes a lot and even helps him keep his job.
I would recommend this book to everyone who is interested in learning something. There is a little bit of romance, murder, and family problems in the book, but the murder is definitely the core of all of the other sub-topics. Everyone starting at age 12 should at one point in their lives read this book. Young audiences should probably read it in school to better understand what's happening and the history applies to what some middle school history classes are learning.

Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: This bridge should have never been broken. Based on prejudice, Broken Bridge, is a compelling story of a murder case set in Jerusalem. A Jewish girl, Nili and her cousin Glen set out for her aunt's house after returning from England. In broad daylight two Arab men attack Glen and Nili near the market. Glen dies immediately from a knife and Nili gets hospitalized from going into shock. Days later Nili's family gets burdened by the police with lineups and demands for statements from Nili to identify the two men.
The characters in this book are all very believable. The Shelby family, the family with most of the main characters, is very well developed. It consists of Nili, the one that got away from the killer, Nimrod the troublemaker, Lesley the mom of Nili and Nimrod, and Ofer, the dad who's in the orchestra. There are other characters that are crucial such as the uncle who left the kibbutz, Noah, and the cousin who was in the army, Yonatan. The story of a hate crime in the middle of Jerusalem is very believable and even though it was written after the first Intifada, which was mainly just Palestinians throwing stones whereas the second Intifada was much more, it still relates to what's happening now in Israel. The suspense in this book killed me, but it just made a more enjoyable story and a page turner! The mixture of English and some Hebrew words really added more culture and helped me understand the different languages that are in Israel.
Surprisingly, this book doesn't have any strong bias. The book shows the point of view of the killer, the family he affected, and his uncle who saved Nili's life. Some of the family knows that not all of the Arabs are terrorists and Shalom, the cousin of Nili and Nimrod, has an Arab friend that he likes a lot and even helps him keep his job.
I would recommend this book to everyone who is interested in learning something. There is a little bit of romance, murder, and family problems in the book, but the murder is definitely the core of all of the other sub-topics. Everyone starting at age 12 should at one point in their lives read this book. Young audiences should probably read it in school to better understand what's happening and the history applies to what some middle school history classes are learning.

Rating:
Summary: Broken Bridge was a good way to learn about the middle east.
Review: This murder mystery, taking place in the Middle East, is full of excitement and truth. Families unite, friendships are created, and relationships between enemies occur throughout Broken Bridge. It has a very stirring plot, and many mixed emotions. Broken Bridge, written by Lynne Reid Banks, is a fictional story, but captures reality of the Middle East. A murder of an Israeli boy gets the whole town on its feet. They are all trying to find out who the murderer was. Who could have known that the murder of one boy could change people's opinions? Nili, a young teenage girl in Israel, has to overcome her fears, and try and save the man who prevented her death.

The author did a good job with getting her story across. The book drags on at times, but has a very thoughtful meaning. The author has very good language throughout the book. She describes the scenes very well. You can almost picture being there! She also uses vocabulary from Israel, which makes the book more realistic. She uses the word kibbutz, which means a settlement in Israel, many times. Her language used in this book creates excitement. Because Broken Bridge is a mystery, she has to use leading and intriguing language, which she does very well. It is fit for eighth grade reading, but the situation is so deep, it is still very intriguing and sometimes hard to understand. This book takes a daring chance at trying to portray the Middle Eastern conflict as it is. Because this book takes place before the first Intifada, it is not completely up to date, although still deals with the hatred between Palestinians and Israelis. I would recommend this book for a class because although she develops a slight bias in her writing, the author also is able to show both sides of the Palestinian, Israeli conflict. I would also recommend this to adults who like mysteries and learning about the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The ending of this book is very touching and shows how ones perspective on things can change.

Rating:
Summary: Broken Bridge was a good way to learn about the middle east.
Review: This murder mystery, taking place in the Middle East, is full of excitement and truth. Families unite, friendships are created, and relationships between enemies occur throughout Broken Bridge. It has a very stirring plot, and many mixed emotions. Broken Bridge, written by Lynne Reid Banks, is a fictional story, but captures reality of the Middle East. A murder of an Israeli boy gets the whole town on its feet. They are all trying to find out who the murderer was. Who could have known that the murder of one boy could change people's opinions? Nili, a young teenage girl in Israel, has to overcome her fears, and try and save the man who prevented her death.

The author did a good job with getting her story across. The book drags on at times, but has a very thoughtful meaning. The author has very good language throughout the book. She describes the scenes very well. You can almost picture being there! She also uses vocabulary from Israel, which makes the book more realistic. She uses the word kibbutz, which means a settlement in Israel, many times. Her language used in this book creates excitement. Because Broken Bridge is a mystery, she has to use leading and intriguing language, which she does very well. It is fit for eighth grade reading, but the situation is so deep, it is still very intriguing and sometimes hard to understand. This book takes a daring chance at trying to portray the Middle Eastern conflict as it is. Because this book takes place before the first Intifada, it is not completely up to date, although still deals with the hatred between Palestinians and Israelis. I would recommend this book for a class because although she develops a slight bias in her writing, the author also is able to show both sides of the Palestinian, Israeli conflict. I would also recommend this to adults who like mysteries and learning about the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The ending of this book is very touching and shows how ones perspective on things can change.