Here Lies Bridget

                                                
Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison

Publication Date: 1-18-2011

Young Adult, Ages 13+
ISBN-13: 978-1-373-21028-2 used for review.
Personal Ranking 3/3.5 out of 5

"What do you do when the five people you meet
in limbo all want you to go to hell?"

Bridget Duke has it all; a famous father, loyal followers and the rule of the school. Then the new girl threatens to destroy the balance of her power. The whole school seems caught in Anna’s spell, which seems to zap all of Bridget’s control. Now that everything seems to be going wrong for Bridget, and being expelled from school seems like an all too possible reality, in a desperate moment she ditches school and ends up crashing her car into a tree. But could this situation possible get any worse? If waking up dead wasn’t bad enough, Bridget wakes up to face the five people she has hurt that mean the most to her. But will her last chance at redemption be enough?

It has been a while since I’ve written a review of an already published book. But about halfway through reading here lies Bridget, I knew that I had to. As soon as I saw the title on the Richmond Public Schools High School summer reading list, I was curious. Then a few weeks later when I was creating the “What do I read?” chart, I knew that I would have to read it!

Bridget is the queen bee that every school has and everyone hates. Kinda like Regina George in Mean Girls, she is completely aware of her power and rules by fear of both the teachers and fellow students. As you get to know Bridget in the days leading up to her death, you realize that she has lost her true friends, her boyfriend and has caused untold amounts of trauma to those around her. While you don’t find yourself wishing she would die, you do want her to learn from her mistakes and make things right. In the end, I do believe that she got what she deserved. She learned a valuable lesson that many teenagers today would greatly benefit from. Your actions have consequences, even indirectly. All too often, this lesson is learned the hard way, just like how Bridget learned it in the end.

This is one of those books that you wish every bully and queen bee would read. I would love to use it as a teen book club selection. Over the past few years I have been lucky enough to participate in some really great book discussions at some of our neighborhood high schools. Based on all the themes in this book, I would love to hear what they would have to say about Bridget, her actions and the resulting punishment.  

An Afternoon with Nikki Giovanni



This afternoon we welcomed Nikki Giovanni to Richmond Public Library as part of our Teen Summer Reading Program. Natasha and I got to do the welcoming remarks and it was exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time. What an incredible experience.

Nikki was funny, honest and held nothing back. You could tell that the 200+ members of the audience really connected with her as they laughed with her. Even though there were mostly teens present, there were several adults of all ages, and even after putting out more chairs it was still standing room only at the end. She read four poems for us, the first two being I Am a Native Tennessean and Nikki-Rosa.

She spoke to the teen audience about the importance of education and of going to college. 'You can't afford to be stupid, and that no one can afford to go, but you have to make it happen. You have to make your dreams happen.' You are "not in school to make grades. You are there to change the world. That is your goal."

Like all authors, she also gave a little advice to those who were aspiring writers. "How many of you have seen an object on the street and come up with a story about how it got there?" You have to have something to say. "It is up to you to find the narrative of your own life."

As someone who just turned 30, I was especially pleased that she told the teens that even though you are told that these years are the best of your life, they aren't. That your 40s and 50s are. 42 is especially wonderful. Marian Anderson was 42 when she sang on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial. Rosa Parks was 42 when she refused to give up her seat on the bus. So, at least I can look forward to a magical year and a great decade!

My favorite piece of advice that she gave was this "if they don't like you, they don't get to hurt your feelings." If they are saying that, then the probably already didn't like you anyways. "You can't let people who don't love you, hurt you, or describe what you do."

Ending the program with her fourth reading of Ego Trippin, you would have thought we were at a rock concert. The crowd erupted like their favorite number one hit was being performed, and even recited some of the lines with her!

Helping to make an event like this happen, and getting to be a part of it is one of the many reasons why I love being a librarian. Thank you Nikki for such a wonderful and inspirational afternoon!

Natasha, me, Nikki and Sarah