Friday, January 21, 2011

Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison

Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison


Released: January 2011
Publisher: Harlequin
Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary
Pages: 208
Source: Around the World Tours


Rating: ♥♥♥

Bridget Duke is the uncontested ruler of her school. The meanest girl with the biggest secret insecurities. And when new girl Anna Judge arrives, things start to fall apart for Bridget: friends don't worship as attentively, teachers don't fall for her wide-eyed "who me?" look, expulsion looms ahead and the one boy she's always loved—Liam Ward—can barely even look at her anymore.
When a desperate Bridget drives too fast and crashes her car, she ends up in limbo, facing everyone she's wronged and walking a few uncomfortable miles in their shoes. Now she has only one chance to make a last impression. Though she might end up dead, she has one last shot at redemption and the chance to right the wrongs she's inflicted on the people who mean the most to her.

And Bridget's about to learn that, sometimes, saying you're sorry just isn't enough...


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I have no problem ever reading about a character who is not likable. To be honest, I LOOK for those type of characters. Bridget definitely falls under that categorary. Nothing about this girl is nice. She's rude, obnoxious, and a spoiled brat. When a new girl named Anna shows up at school, threating her popularity and catching the eye of her ex-boyfriend who she is not over, she gets pissed. Instead of pulling a prank or trying to spread a rumor, Bridget decides to take her anger out on the road where she spins her car out of control.

Did she mean to do it even though she kept thinking 'what would happen if I died right now?' Well, no. Right when she thinks she's dead, she's all about taking it back. Tough for her though, she's got to face five people who she has burned which basically includes everyone in her life.

Going into this book, I kind of thought it might be a little more dramatic and even maybe somewhat funny at points. I just got that kind of vibe from the synopsis and the cover, but instead it was more of a quick read that didn't have a lot of substance.

The first half of the book shows Bridget and her wicked ways, and the second part of the book kind of takes Bridget back to the parts you've already read and get her new outlook on it. I wished the author would have maybe brought up new memories. I liked seeing Bridget's eyes opening to how big of a snatch she was, but I found it repetitive to read the same scenes over again.

What made really made this just an 'okay' read for me was the quick transformation Bridget had. I would have liked to seen the book with more character growth rather than the 'snap of the finger's type of deal.

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♥amber

5 comments:

brandileigh2003 said...

Thanks for honest review. I've been curious about this one.
Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog

Shooting Stars Mag said...

hmm...I don't know if this is for me or not. Thanks for the review though.

-lauren

Anonymous said...

I to have no problem reading about an unlikable character. They're really quite interesting for the most part and it's nice to see them grow.

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews on this one. Loving the concept a lot.

Thanks for your review! :)

Andrea Coulter said...

My protag in my WIP goes through a bit of this type of face-your-past-wickedness stuff, but I'm making an effort to have her transformation and character growth take time. Thanks for the review!

And if you'd like to win a free book, I'm hosting a giveaway on my blog :)

Diana said...

i've heard both good and bad things about this book that I think I'm just going to go out and buy it, read it, and make up my own opinion about it. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts :) like you, i also enjoy "character transformations".... they make the plot that more interesting!

Diana