The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman

Young Llama Thoughts
  • Adventurous
  • Christian Friendly
  • Easy Reading
  • Humerous
  • Youth Appropriate
Overall
3.7 Llamas

Review

This is the 6th book on my Llama Summer Book List. And it is such a good book! It is sad… and I did cry a little, but it is just sooooooo sweet too!!!!!!

The book is about these two girls who run away from their abusive family. They become homeless and meet these two boys who help them find their way. (I know it sounds like a horribly sad book, but it is really good)

The book is not kid-friendly, there is abuse in it, homeless people and at one point in the story the kids have to runaway from their “home” because this guy came looking for the girls… Sooooo, that’s a no for 11 and under.

Over all, I would suggest this book to kids 12 and up. And yes it does talk about the gods and godness of the Indian culture, but it also talks about God and His love for us as well. So I think it’s a good book for Christians as well. (But always ask your parents first!) -The Young Llama Reader.

Pros

  • There is mention of God and the Bible!
  • A very heartwarming story that makes you want to cry!!!!!!

Cons

  • Mention of the Indian gods and godness
  • Homeless kids…

Four determined homeless children make a life for themselves in Padma Venkatraman’s stirring middle-grade debut.

Life is harsh in Chennai’s teeming streets, so when runaway sisters Viji and Rukku arrive, their prospects look grim. Very quickly, eleven-year-old Viji discovers how vulnerable they are in this uncaring, dangerous world. Fortunately, the girls find shelter–and friendship–on an abandoned bridge. With two homeless boys, Muthi and Arul, the group forms a family of sorts. And while making a living scavenging the city’s trash heaps is the pits, the kids find plenty to laugh about and take pride in too. After all, they are now the bosses of themselves and no longer dependent on untrustworthy adults. But when illness strikes, Viji must decide whether to risk seeking help from strangers or to keep holding on to their fragile, hard-fought freedom.

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