A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove

Reader reviewed by Cheryl

I found it really hard to read Bridge to Wisemans cove. It wouldnt be my choice but I suppose it shows a great highlight to other critics. I found the ending great though.

Reader reviewed by stef :)

A Bridge to Wisemans Cove is a good book. It deals a lot with the issues of teenage life and family drama. I can tell that a lot of teens can relate to these issues especially self esteem. The reasons I like this book is that it can help a lot of teenagers get through their problems and can look at Carl as a sort of role model. I read this book for year 9 English and I believe that its suitable for our age group as we understand how Carl feels with some of these issues. In the book Carl goes through many changes with his feelings, self esteem and body images issues. He gains confidence and learns how it feels to have friends, love and lose family. The book makes you feel close to Carl and the other characters. It describes every feeling, issue and problem they go through which makes you understand whats happening even more. Overall I liked the book and I recommend that teens read it.

Reader reviewed by Lady gaga rox

The novel A Bridge to Wisemans Cove was in my opinion was a very touching, interesting and also very funny all at the same time. After reading the first 2 chapters I was hooked and ended up reading 3 times. The start of the book is very mysterious but has a very dramatic ending but also it also was a happy ending that satisfied all the characters.

James Moloney is one of the most talented authors that I know for writing such a magnificent and touching story. Also another reason why I think James is such a good author is that he included a whole lot of different themes in the story that helps the reader understand the concept of the story more.

One of the themes in the story is Family which is a huge part of this book. In the book Carl the main character has many troubles that deal with his family. The only thing that Carl wants is to have a happy and ordinary family. Some of the problems that Carl has with family are; his mother Kerry leaving him ho we find out is end all this time, Sarah his older sister leaves him and his younger brother, he has lots of trouble with his Aunt Beryl and there is much more.

The next most important theme is love which is also shown several times in the book. The big thing that has troubled Carl during the book is that he thinks his mother doesnt love him anymore but he soons finds out that she did love him but she died on the way back. Also some other examples that show love in the book include; Carl waiting at the bus stop near the Nugents store everyday to see if his mother has come, he always looks after Harley and also leaves school for him so they have a place to live, he also works very hard on Skips barge to pay his Aunt so she lets them stay.

Another important theme in the novel is Body Image. Body image is maybe one of the biggest things that keep Carl upset and scared to speak to others. Some examples of this are; when he goes to the beach he always wears a t-shirt so no one can see his big bulges of fat and also how he was too scared to talk to any of the kids in Wattle Beach because he thinks hey would tease him and laugh at him.

Overall this book was very interesting book that is something that I havent read before. So if you like drama and family themed books you will love this one

Reader reviewed by !shazza!

A bridge to Wisemans Cove: Book review

 

A bridge to Wisemans cove is a good read; I guess you could call it that. Though I think it is overrated. I think anyone who writes a mildly emotional book can get attention and can get year 9 students like us, to study it. The book has some good themes like Love, Family and Belonging. I think if you include any of themes you can make a relatively good novel.

 

Love is one of the predominant themes in the story. Love recurs throughout the course of the novel. The different times the books touch on love for example when Beryl says to Carl: Wholl love you if your own mother doesnt? And when Joy takes in Harley: Its not the cake. Its Joy. Shes the only person whos been good to him since we came here. So you can see how this theme recurs. I think any book that touches on the theme love, will make a relatively good book.

 

The most dominant theme in the book, Family. This book is basically based on family relationships. An example of this is: Carl floated in the sea of families where everyone, it seemed, walked spoke and laughed with at least one other a daughter, a father, a mate. This is an example of one of the themes. Yes, this theme is a good theme, but it can become utterly boring.

 

Belonging, the final dominant theme in the book. The book focuses on belonging, we see this when Carl starts to finally fit into an environment his comfortable with. We can see this from these quotes: Carl slumped against the hull, shivering in the evening breeze. He was exhausted but happier hed been since he arrived in Wattle Beach, happier than hed been since his mother disappeared. This is a pretty basic theme as well, but it does become utterly boring later in the book.

 

So its a relatively good book, but it becomes utterly boring if you analyse it.
My tip is to read it once, and only once.

I rate this book 6/10. 

Reader reviewed by Steanne

While reading a Bridge To Wiseman's Cove, I did not copmletely understand it, however when i got to the end it all matched up and made sense. THis was not my favourite book, but it allowed insight into the life of a hard-done-by teen and it was a fairly inspirational story, I would recommend this book to anybody between the ages 10-13.

Reader reviewed by Luke Skywalker

Comparison of the novels: Bridge to Terabithia and A Bridge to Wisemans Cove

The characters in a Bridge to Terabithia were more uplifting and showed the best side of human nature compared with the characters from A Bridge to Wisemans Cove.

The three important characters in a Bridge to Terabithia are Jesse Aarons, Leslie Burke and Mary Belle Aarons. Jesse Aarons is an artistic boy. He has anger problems, and is depressed at the start of the book. After he meets Leslie at school, Jesses personality is transformed into letting go of his anger and frustration. Leslie Burke is an intelligent, talented, and imaginative tomboy and story writer. She and Jesse create an imaginary kingdom called Terabithia. Lesley has a lot of imagination, and Jess Aarons thinks highly of her. She is not accepted by other student in her school. May Belle Aarons is one of Jesses younger sisters. She is the only sister with whom Jesse feels comfortable, however, because she is seven and Jesse is ten, he cannot confide in her. At the end of the novel and after Leslies death, Jesse makes her Queen of Terabithia.

The three important characters in A Bridge to Wisemans Cove were Carl Matt, Kerry Matt and Harley Matt. Carl Matt is an overweight, depressed, angry and frustrated teenager. His mother and then his sister abandon Carl and his younger brother, Harley. At the end of the novel, Carl finds out that his mother died in a bus crash. Carl appears to become resigned to his life in the small country town. Harley Matt, Carls younger ten year old brother becomes a juvenile delinquent to vent his anger and frustration. Harley is arrested by the police three or four times, and at the end of the book is adopted by another family. This is the closest this book gets to a happy ending.

In a Bridge to Terabithia, Jesses personality changed from the beginning of the novel when he was a fearful, angry and depressed teenager to a courageous character in the face of grief over losing his best friend, Leslie. As the story progresses he also finds the joys of life, and begins to become less angry at times of stress.

In A Bridge to Wisemans Cove, Carls personality changed from the beginning of the novel when he was a fearful, angry and depressed teenager to an individual more accepting of his family and of the small town in which they live. It was difficult to empathise with any of the characters, as they were all self-interested and represented the worst side of human nature. The book was thoroughly depressing, the characters very self-absorbed, and the small town very limiting. Harley was expressing his anger and frustration by behaving like a juvenile delinquent.

With support from his family and teacher, Jesses character in a Bridge to Terabithia learned to let go of his anger and frustration, and his short friendship with Leslie allowed him to become a stronger human being. Carl, on the other hand, has not the support of his family, and under these circumstances, it is difficult to imagine he has become stronger and more courageous in the face of his adversities. At the end of the book, Carl throws off some of his prejudice about his mother and then his sister abandoning him, but does not find inner peace.

Reader reviewed by Belle

A bridge to wisemans cove. Some people I have talked to about talk it up like it's the bible and everyone should read it. But I disagree. I didn't think it was a good book at all. I thought it was horrid. It had a boring plot which I thought to be rather predictable and the Author, James Moloney, paints too much of a picture. His words are way too descriptive for my liking. He has to leave at least something to the imagination be he doesn't. He describes everything. Nothing left to the imagination. I actually hated this book and wouldn't recommend it to anyone who actually has an imagination.

Reader reviewed by Martha

This book is so very very bad that i burnt it after reading it. (it made a good fire starter)

It didn't deal with any contemporary issues of today and was a complete waste of time. The problem was that it was too mundane and re-occuring themes kept coming up. I was also disappointed with the end of the book as it was so melancholic yet inevitable.

Not a good book. Recommend it for light readers.

Reader reviewed by ratman

i reali dnt lyk this book
maybe coz i had read it at skool but the story is a reali sob sob story
but it has a lot of good messages in it
so i support it skool kids being made to read it
it shows a lot of emotions
it got alot out of this book such as no matter who you are you can follow your dreams and always redeem your self
and if you have loser/lowlife parents you can still be a great person

Reader reviewed by RABA

JAMES MONONLEY WROTE ANTHOR GOOD BOOK.IT WAS EXELLENT BOOK. WRITE ANTHOR ONES LIKE THAT. IT WAS ABOUT THERE MOTHER WENT MISSING FO ABOUT 5 MONTHS AND THERE MOTHER NEVER CAME BACK. HARLEY WENT TO LIVE WITH HER MOTHER NAME KERRY. IT WAS A GOOD BOOK TO READ AS A CLASS. i LIKE SO MUCH. tHAT I CAN READ IT AGAIN.