As an avid reader, I have read my fair share of books, but the book I will be discussing today might be my
favorite. The Bridge, by Bill Konigsberg, is a story about two teenagers, a bridge, and how suicide can
affect a community.

The two main characters, Arron, and Tillie, both arrive on the George Washington bridge at the same
time, on the same day after school, both with the intention to jump. The story is then split into four
different storylines, each following a different outcome from the bridge.

The first part is when Tillie jumps and Arron does not, leaving him behind. In the second part, Arron
jumps and Tillie does not. The third, both jump, and the fourth, neither jump.

As I read the story most of it was clear and easy to digest, except for the third part, where it is formatted
differently. In the other three parts, we were with the characters day by day, but in this one, years were
skipped over, the future introduced new characters with little to no thought, and all and all it was very
confusing. It was my least favorite part of the book (my favorite being the fourth part).

I really like this book, for many reasons. First, I feel like the story is very realistic, as someone who has
long struggled with my own mental health, I feel that Arron and Tillie are very relatable and realistic
characters. Secondly, the book shows many different treatment styles when it comes to mental health.
Lastly, this book made me believe there was hope, not just for the characters, but for myself.

Konigsberg, the author, has written six other books, most notably, Openly Straight, and The Porcupine of
Truth. There is also an award, The Konigsberg Award, it “is presented annually to an individual who
has acted in selfless advocacy of marginalized youth through the creation, teaching, funding or
other form of promotion of young adult literature (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of
NCTE).”