Featured: THE BRIDGE HOME by Padma Venkatraman

Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences.

Today we are featuring THE BRIDGE HOME by Padma Venkatraman.

Eleven-year-old Viji and her younger sister Rukku quickly discover how vulnerable they are when they run away from their abusive father and try to make a home for themselves in the streets of Chennai, India. The sisters find friendship in two homeless boys, Muthi and Arul, and share an abandon bridge with them for shelter. Viji is a great storyteller, and though they must spend their days scavenging through discards for food and trash to turn into recycling treasure, they imagine themselves a very good life indeed, especially since they no longer have to rely on untrustworthy adults. But then illness strikes, and Rukku and Muthi are both dangerously sick. Viji must decide if she is willing to risk sacrificing their hard-fought independence by seeking help from adults.

THE BRIDGE HOME was like a magnet in my hand. I couldn’t put it down; I read with urgency, caring for the children and delighting in the fullness of their lives and their friendship. Though they were living in the most extreme of poverty, the richness of their close, deeply-loving companionship and ability to confront difficulties was what shone most brilliantly through the story. It’s nothing short of a miracle that the author described the caste system, child labor, and homelessness, yet the narration seems luminous and extravagant. The writing is beautiful, the storytelling is masterful, rich with characters that became friends, a deeply-satisfying plot that became an unforgettable experience, and a vivid and sensory-filled setting. This story devoured my heart whole.

THE BRIDGE HOME is Padma Venkatraman’s MG debut, and I hope she has many more stories like this to share with young readers. THE BRIDGE HOME releases on 2/5/19. Preorder it from your favorite bookstore or request it from your library today. The story makes for an excellent classroom read for those 10+. For sensitive readers, THE BRIDGE HOME would make a good read-together book so that the tough problems that are so stirring to the heart can be discussed with a sympathetic ear. I know the year is early, but I suspect this may be one of my favorite middle grade reads of 2019.

Thank you to #KidlitExchange and Penguin Kids for providing me with a review copy. All opinions are my own.

About Padma Venkatraman (from Indiebound):

Padma Venkatraman was born in Chennai, India, and became an American citizen after attaining a Ph.D. in oceanography from The College of William and Mary. She is also the author of A Time to Dance (IBBY selection, ALA Notable, CCBC Choice, Notable Books for a Global Society winner, and South Asia Book Award Honor Book), Island’s End (ALA Best Book of the Year, ALA/Amelia Bloomer List selection, and CCBC Best Book), and Climbing the Stairs (Julia Ward Howe Award, Bank Street Best Book, YALSA BBYA selection, Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People, and CCBC Choice).