The Bridge from Me to You

I'm not a huge football fan, but I love football. Does that make sense? Let me rephrase that. I don't really understand football, but I love to go to the games. I love Friday Night Lights. This book just did it for me. Love! Love! Love!

What I loved:

The quick pace. The book switched from Lauren to Colby's POV, and that doesn't mean each character had a chapter. Sometimes, the characters POV was just a few paragraphs long. I loved that! Not only did we get to read the same situations from both main characters, but the book moved quicker.

Colby. Oh my goodness. You have to love a boy who is strong on family, amazing at football, but yet has dreams of his own. I really connected with him. He felt a sense of duty to his father, but didn't know how to tell his dad that football isn't what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. I felt for him so deeply because he felt he had to hide part of himself away. I love how he felt about bridges. What an amazing character Ms. Schroeder created!

Lauren. At first we don't find out why Lauren is living with her aunt and uncle. The more I read about her, the more I adored her. She is loving, shy and it just hurt to read about how insecure she was. We learn why she's so insecure later, and then Lauren makes a lot more sense. I loved how Ms. Schroeder describes Lauren's feelings. I really felt like I was Lauren. She also feels a sense of duty to her mother and brother, but yet has dreams for herself. Reading about how these two characters realize that living their dreams is about them and not others was eye opening. I think that's something that teenagers, especially have a hard time with sometimes. Sometimes we feel so obligated to fulfill the role we think we're supposed to have that we lose sight of how to follow our own dreams.

I loved how each character finds the courage and strength to fight for themselves, and each other.

What left me wanting more:

Um...I would love a sequel!

Contemporary YA romances are hot right now. The Bridge From Me to You uses an unique approach by alternating between prose and poetry to deliver a heart felt story of two lost teens and the magic of believing in not only yourself but others.

What worked: I have to admit, at first I was a tad bit hesitant about how Schroeder would handle this story with alternating poetry and prose. I should have known better than to doubt her! Schroeder sprinkles her own magic in this story of two teens who find each other during hard times. I love Colby's point of view. His struggles on being a reluctant football player in a town where football is huge is shown in a very realistic way. Colby deals with very tough issues that include his best friend Benny, who would do anything to get a scout to notice him on the field, along with the conflict he has with his gung ho father who won't accept anything less than stellar out on the football field. Colby's emotions ring true throughout.

Lauren's story is shown in free verse poetry that at first gives glimpses of her pain of being rejected by her mother to the struggles she feels at her growing attraction to Colby. Wanting to kiss someone so badly is shown in such a way that you feel the awkwardness. Lauren's secret was believable as I was in a similar situation when I went away to college. It was hard and scary to report. I could feel the guilt Lauren felt along with the longing for her mother to accept her.

I'm a fan of Schroeder's other YA novels and this one won't disappoint!

This is not only a story of romance but how the power of love and believing can make a believer out of anyone.