The Bridge From Me to You

May 26, 2014
When 17-year-old Lauren moves to small-town Willow, Ore., from Seattle to live with her aunt, uncle, and cousins, she feels grateful but out of place. Lauren and her mother have had an unspecified falling out—one that Lauren would rather not talk about—and she is having nightmares about her younger brother. Colby is a local celebrity as a football player, but while he loves his team, he dreams of escaping the pressure of his father’s plans for him—after graduating, Colby would like to quit sports for good and study civil engineering, specifically bridges. Lauren and Colby hit it off immediately, but a relationship proves difficult. Writing in alternating viewpoints, with Lauren’s chapters unfolding in free verse and Colby’s in prose, Schroeder (Falling for You) offers a thoughtful, straightforward, and fairly chaste romance between two kind, generous teens—one burdened by her past, one burdened by his future. Romance fans will find a familiar mix of tragedies, obstacles, and misunderstandings to surmount as Lauren and Colby try to do right by themselves and each other. Ages 12–up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger.

June 1, 2014
Colby, star of the Willow High School football team, and Lauren, the new girl with a dark secret, both yearn to be seen for who they really are.Colby's best friend, Benny, has always been his greatest supporter, both on and off the field, but when a tragic motorcycle accident changes Benny's life, Colby needs someone he can rely on. Lauren, struggling with her own personal tragedy, is the only one who seems to understand. Colby is obsessed with bridges. He sees them as a way to escape. Lauren, with dreams of becoming an ornithologist, envies a bird's ability to fly away and be free. But as their friendship grows, each of their obsessions begins to change. For Colby, bridges become ways to connect; Lauren begins to appreciate a bird's ability to nest. The narrative unspools through chapters told in the alternating voices of the two main characters. Colby's chapters focus on a straightforward telling of the events, while Lauren's chapters, a mix of poetry and prose, resonate with emotion. Familiar characters and a quiet plot are elevated by poetry that is as beautiful as it is varied.Lovely in its details. (Fiction. 13-18)

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June 1, 2014

Gr 7-10-Lauren's unstable mother has sent her to a tiny Oregon town to live with her aunt, uncle, and three young cousins. Sensitive Colby is the local football hero, who secretly longs to confront his overbearing dad and give up the game all together. When these two high school seniors meet, they feel an undeniable connection. Getting to know each other by sharing their fascinations with birds and bridges, snack foods, and second chances, they begin to navigate a new relationship by supporting each other while tackling their own struggles and secrets. This romantic story, set in a modern-day football-obsessed town, starts out feeling very familiar, especially when Colby's best friend Benny is critically injured and the team must get to the state playoffs. However, the alternating chapters of Lauren's poetry and Colby's conversational prose are well written and help reveal the characters refreshingly unique perspectives, as well as their growth in positive ways. The secondary characters are also thoughtfully developed and cleverly incorporated. Although the general plotline is nothing new and the drama at the end is shifted and then tidied up a bit too quickly, this light, fast-paced story will delight romance fans looking for a fun, hopeful read.-Whitney LeBlanc, Staten Island Academy, NY

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