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The Bridge
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Plot Summary of The Bridge
"

St. Martin's, Jun 2003, 23.95, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0312306156

In a run down Philadelphia project THE BRIDGE, nine-year-old Kenya Brown disappears. Assigned to the case is African-American detectives Kevin Lynch and Roxanne Wilson. Kevin comes from these projects and knows Kenya's guardian is his childhood friend crack dealer Aunt Judy.

The evidence points towards Judy's lover and business partner Sonny Williams who is an alleged child abuser and has conveniently vanished too. The cops feel if they find Sonny, they will find Kenya, hopefully alive and not violated. However, Sonny is a pro in evading the law something he learned as a drug dealer. The two police detectives know that each minute that passes most likely means bad things have happened to Kenya.

Though the investigation and subsequent police search is fun, this tale has a deeper message about an abundant society ignoring abject poverty and its consequences.   Readers will taste the despondency of the ghettos whose basic outputs are violence and other undesirable behavior. The heroes are those select few trying to make a better life outside the hood for their children. This is a strong condemnation of a “compassionate” America written within a solid police procedural.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Bridge
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
The crook is.... - on the run from the law
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets: - escape/rescue from kidnappers
Mostly a criminal POV story Yes
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - rapist

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - police/lawman
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - Black
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - revenge
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 0 (not a murder mystery)
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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