Here Lies Bridget

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!

For a similar tale which has been widely hailed as a superb debut novel, check out Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.

Just send us an email and we'll put the best up on the site. Retrieved from " http: Fairly predictable, boring, and very of its time. Harbison does show promise as a writer, but her talents are not well-utilised in such a story. Was Bridget will, setzt sie durch. Bis eine Neue auf die Winchester Prep kommt: Anna Judge - Judge wie Richterin. Als eines Tages sich auch noch ihr Freund Liam abwendet, baut Bridget, total irritiert, einen katastrophalen Unfall! Sie ist nicht tot - aber auch n Was Bridget will, setzt sie durch. Sie ist nicht tot - aber auch nicht lebendig. Und genauso zweigeteilt wie das Buch ist auch meine Meinung dazu.

In der Beschreibung steht es schon: Bridget ist eine absolute Zicke, die jeden in ihrer Umgebung tyrannisiert. Meinetwegen, das habe ich erwartet.

Denn dadurch, dass sie wusste, dass sie den Menschen unrecht tut und es trotzdem tut, erschien sie mir viel unsympathischer. Ich sage nur soviel: Ich finde es sehr gelungen. Das Buch regt zum Nachdenken an. Auch wenn ich keine solche Machtposition innehabe wie unsere Protagonistin, nehmen auch wir Einfluss auf die Leute, mit denen wir zu tun haben, das wird einem dabei umso bewusster. Aber von der Idee her ist es eigentlich nichts neues. Seit schreibt sie, mittlerweile ist ihr dritter Roman bei Harlequin Teen erschienen.

Paige Harbison lebt im sonnigen Florida. Bridget Duke is the girl everyone loves to hate. She might think everyone worships her and wants to be her, but deep down they're all afraid of her. Even her best friends, Jillian and Michelle. But Bridget has a secret: That's why she lies, manipulates, and causes trouble wherever she goes.

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Bridget's status as the Queen Bee is jeopardized when new girl in school Anna Judge wins over her classmates--just by being nice to Bridget Duke is the girl everyone loves to hate. Bridget's status as the Queen Bee is jeopardized when new girl in school Anna Judge wins over her classmates--just by being nice to them! Unable to deal with the competition let's be fair to Anna; Bridget is the only one competing , Bridget gets in an accident that leaves her in limbo. Now for the first time ever, Bridget will literally get to step into the shoes of those she has hurt the most.

Has Bridget learned her lesson far too late? Will she even get the chance to go back and try to make things right? Paige Harbison is a genius at creating the ultimate "mean girl". Bridget isn't just one-dimensional, though; she has many layers, and depending on which snippet of her life we're viewing, she's also relateable and gasp! Bridget's father is basically absent, and she resents her stepmother Meredith, who is anything but the evil stepmother.

Bridget idolizes her birth mother, even though there is more to the story than she even knows. She's built up a wall around herself meant to keep out anything that could possibly hurt her. In the process, she's pushed away those who are able to see through her flaws and who love her despite them--especially her childhood best friend and now ex-boyfriend, Liam. At times, this book can be really difficult to get through because Bridget is just so awful. I literally gasped out loud in several places, hardly able to believe that Bridget had just said or done that evil, evil, thing.

At pages, this is a really quick read, but I needed distance and space from Bridget. Harbison started to lose my interest once Bridget entered limbo, however. Scenes that I'd already read were retold from the perspective of the other people involved: Meredith, her stepmother who she has never truly appreciated; Brett, the boy whose future Bridget nearly ruined; Mr. Ezhno, the teacher who lost his job because of a vicious rumor; Michelle, the friend whose self-esteem Bridget destroyed; and Liam, the boy who missed his best friend.

I didn't find it all that necessary to repeat the same dialogue while interjecting the thoughts and feelings of others involved. I think this section of the novel would have been more powerful if Harbison had come at it from a different approach. Though I really didn't want to, I started to want the best outcome for Bridget. I wanted her to reconnect with Liam who is totally amazing! Bridget's issue with Michelle was resolved exactly as I hoped it would be, and I'm totally on Michelle's side here with what was decided. Now if only all of the "mean girls" out there could really go through what Bridget went through--not only to find themselves, but to also get an idea of how truly terrible they are to others.

Dec 20, Jamie Kline rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: I was sucked in by the first chapter and just could not put it down! Everyone needs to read this! Ok, so it starts out with Bridget Duke describing recklessly driving her car because she is so upset by the turn of events in her life. As she goes of the road, she goes back in her life story to explain how she got to that point. She was basically the mean girl of her high school a prep school. Everyone wanted to be her friend, either because they wanted My opinion: Everyone wanted to be her friend, either because they wanted to be part of the "in" crowd or because they were absolutely terrified of her.

She is constantly late to her classes, she tries to cheat her way through just about everything, and she treats her stepmom horribly. Her best friends seem to be Michelle and Jillian and she doesn't even show them one iota of respect either. Through the course of the first half of the book, she gets one of her teachers fired, gets a fellow student suspended, and manages to terrorize her "friends", family, and anyone else who comes into contact with her.

Her mom died in a car accident when she was younger, and it has been hard for her to adjust after that. She starts to spiral out of control; her ex-boyfriend, Liam, had broken up with her because she just wasn't herself anymore. She became someone that no one really liked, although it was hard for her to see that.

When everyone starts to turn on her, she decides to take a reckless drive that will reveal to her who she has truly become, whether she likes it or not. I'm trying so hard not to give away anything too important in my review. It's hard because it was such an excellent read. Bridget is definitely a character you love to hate, and hate to love. She's arrogant, snobby, and selfish; she never takes anybody's needs or feelings into account.

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But she's also very witty, she tries to care about her friends' problems sometimes even though her advice and comments usually come out wrong and hurt rather than help, and you can assume that not having her mother around has had a large effect on who she has become. The few interactions she has with Liam, you can tell her still cares for her, and wishes that they could be together, but you certainly can't blame him for not wanting to be around the new her.

When she literally gets to walk in the shoes of the people she hurt, it's nice to see her gradually realizing how much her actions and words hurt everyone around her and the horrible things she has done. She finally feels guilt, regret, and compassion.

Review: Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison

The revelation about her mom was definitely an "Aha! I definitely recommend this book to everyone, because I don't think there is anyone who couldn't relate to this book in some way or another. My favorite read in a long time, bravo! Bridget Duke has it all. A famous father, all the clothes and friends money can buy, and the entire school at her feet. But does she really have it all? Maybe all Bridget truly has is a distant dad, a deceased mother, and a broken heart. Minutes away from her death, Bridget is about to face the truths she's always be hidden from.

Take a journey down the roads of life in Paige Harbison's clever and harrowing novel that shows just how broken one girl can be. Here Lies Bridget was I have so much to say about this book, but I don't think I can really capture the true essence of this novel in one review. But I can try? Bridget seems like your average mean girl; spoiled and unrelenting. But she was so much more than that! She learned to love and she learned to mourn loss. She dealt with things that made her feel sad and lonely, and put her childhood had put her on the wrong track for her teenage years.

This doesn't excuse her behavior towards the people she like to terrorize, but I had real compassion for Bridget. I have to admit that I never hate the mean girls in books. I have read so many books starring these types of characters that I've learned not to judge too much and to try to see their sides of the story. Sometimes, this doesn't always work out and I DON'T see a reason to feel bad for a certain character, but Bridget just kind of struck my heart. I don't really have much else to say about the other characters, mainly because I either liked them or I didn't.

Bridget's friends had problems too, and I didn't try to dwell on that, because to be honest, most of them were no better than Bridget herself. Through Paige's fabulous writing, I was able to connect with Bridget, and I was so glad to be able to see her opinions and her thoughts. I understood her, and why she acted the way she did. At the end, she became a much-loved character, and for me, this is the sign of an amazing author. Here Lies Bridget had a very interesting storyline. It starts off with Bridget going through her days leading up to the car accident.

Then, in between moments of life and death, she has to relive the events of the past couple of days through other people's eyes. I found this really intriguing and original. Not only did Paige allow us insight into Bridget's mind, but also the minds of other people as well. This concept in itself is fascinating, and I wish other YA contemporary writers would write a story like this. I was so impressed with this book by Paige Harbison, who is definitely an author to watch. Like I said before, Here Lies Bridget is a clever and harrowing novel that will be on your mind for days to come. Jan 07, Jessica rated it really liked it.

I'm still slightly reeling from the bevy of emotions that this book made me go through. I only hope that this review turns out to be coherent enough for you to read. If for some reason it's not, let me start out with saying this: Bridget is NOT easy to love. Let's put it this way Bridget is a witch.

Let's just start out with that. When I first opened the pages of Here Lies Bridget I couldn't get over I'm still slightly reeling from the bevy of emotions that this book made me go through. When I first opened the pages of Here Lies Bridget I couldn't get over how perfectly Paige Harbison has crafted the ultimate "mean girl". See Bridget isn't just mean, she isn't just conniving, she's the popular girl who needs to be popular no matter what the consequences for others.

I don't use this word often, but I literally hated her from page one. The things that she does and says in this story are just so downright evil that I wondered how one person could have so much anger pent up inside of them. Then, I read on. As I read I saw a whole other side of this character. Although a mean girl on the surface, and trust me she's good at it, there is a lot beneath that as well.

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Paige Harbison has created a character that has so much depth, it's hard to explain. Without giving anything away I can tell you that Bridget's past has some skeletons in the closet, and that her father just doesn't know how to have a girl. Her stepmother does her best, but really who can replace a girl's real mother?

Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison - www.newyorkethnicfood.com book review

Especially when there are such fond memories at the surface of her mind? Here Lies Bridget is the perfect example of the "bad girl" who doesn't finish first. If you're wondering what I mean, you'll have to read the book. This plot is so perfectly written that it will suck you in and not let go. First you will despise Bridget, then you learn about her life and her insecurities, and then The ending took my breath away. I haven't sobbed this hard during the ending of a book in a long time. It fits the story fantastically, and I couldn't stop thinking about this book even after I put it down to move on to something else.

I'd love to say more. I'd love to tell you about sweet Liam, awkward Michelle and all the other characters, but I really think this is a book you need to go into without any spoilers. Truth be told I didn't even read the synopsis before I opened this book and I'm glad I didn't. The less you know before you start Bridget's journey with her, the more you'll really feel every aspect of it. Please don't be put off by her attitude, I promise you that Paige Harbison is only crafting that mean girl to show you how much people can learn about themselves.

You'll fall in love. Nov 22, Melissa i swim for oceans rated it liked it Shelves: Here Lies Bridget is the story of teenage Bridget who rules her small town high school by fear. She's manipulative, catty, superior, and is used to getting what she wants, when she wants it, and from whom she wants it. She never thought anyone would dare to argue back. When a series of her lies and manipulations spirals out of control and she begins to lose her grip as queen bee, Bridget makes a rash decision landing her in a limbo with a jury of her peers.

Can she redeem herself in time, or wil Here Lies Bridget is the story of teenage Bridget who rules her small town high school by fear. Can she redeem herself in time, or will she pay the ultimate price for her actions? The story of teenage bullying is, by no means, a new story, but Here Lies Bridget takes a different approach and tackles the question of whether or not there is redemption for these bullies.

Written by Paige Harbison, this story takes a new approach with an engaging voice and completely unique insight into a bullying teenager's mind. I've got to be honest. I'm on the fence about Here Lies Bridget. In theory, it's a great story. That said, I absolutely hated Bridget. I rarely, if ever, actually hate the MC. This story presented a unique challenge for me though. Written in first person, I had to somehow get inside the head of a character I loathed. Then, as I watched her make these calculating decisions, never giving a crap thought to what her actions might cost her, suddenly when the situation turns on her, she recants.

Her sudden change in demeanor I just couldn't reconcile myself with it in such a short period of time, and I only saw it as self-preservation. Bridget is the schools most popular and mean girl. One day a new girl, Anna, comes to school and she is the kind of girl everyone just loves. Bridget hates it, especially when Anna hangs out with Bridget's ex-boyfriend, whom she still loves.

Things start to go down hill for Bridget and one day she drives away from school blinded by hurt and anger. Well Bridget gets to find that out sooner than she thought possible and she gets stuck in limbo where she has to walk in the shoes of some the people she hurt. Bridget is granted one day to make it right with the people she has hurt. Here Lies Bridget is a type of, well almost at least, a fairytale about a mean girl.

It reminded me a bit of Cinderella and it had some elements from A Christmas Carol. That being said it was possible, to some extent, to understand part of the reasons why that made Bridget that way. Author Paige Harbison also did a good job reminding the reader that even small remarks can sting more than we sometimes think.