Sky Bridge [Hardcover]

Laura Pritchett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2005

A supermarket clerk in a small dusty town, 22-year-old Libby is full of dreams but lacks the means to pursue them. When her younger sister Tess becomes pregnant, Libby convinces her not to have an abortion by promising to raise the child herself. When Tess takes off after the baby is born, Libby finds that her new role only increases the challenges she faces. Her already haphazard life becomes ever more fragmented. The baby's father, a Christian rodeo rider, suddenly demands custody, Libby loses her job, her boyfriend abandons her, and her own mother harps on how stupid she was to make that promise to Tess. More than a story of a single mother overcoming obstacles, Sky Bridge, with its painfully honest observations and complexity, leaves readers with a fresh feeling for what it means to inhabit a world in which dreams die, and are sometimes reborn.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"How do we people go around in regular life, anyway, when the truth is that we're wondering about love, and death, and things that are on the verge of smashing us to pieces?" Libby, the 22-year-old narrator of Pritchett's compassionate, finely observed first novel, finds herself asking the big questions sooner than she might have expected when her beloved younger sister, Tess, quits their one-horse Colorado town, leaving Libby to care for her newborn daughter. Tess had wanted an abortion, but Libby, a grocery store clerk, said she'd care for the baby; little did she expect that Tess would vanish the minute she got discharged from the hospital. Thoughtful, serious Libby muddles her way through mothering darling, colicky Amber, getting no-nonsense advice from her prickly ranch-hand mother, warm counsel from ranch owner Baxter and fumbling, halfhearted attempts at support from the boyfriend she isn't sure she really loves. The novel's graceful, leisurely pace and genial characters overlay darker, tenser narrative threads, which include Tess's involvement in smuggling drugs and illegal immigrants. Pritchett, who proved herself an astute observer of rural Colorado's hardy inhabitants in her award-winning story collection, Hell's Bottom, Colorado, offers an amiable, moving story of love, duty and family. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–This captivating first novel is the story of Libby, a 22-year-old checkout clerk who has been a mother figure to her younger sister. Now pregnant, 18-year-old Tess wants to have an abortion, but Libby convinces her to have the baby, saying that she herself will raise the infant. Within days of delivering, Tess indeed takes off to pursue her own dreams outside their small Colorado town, and Libby finds herself raising Amber while trying to deal with an alcoholic, abusive mother and make sense of her own life. Libby is a protagonist who is not afraid to confront her fears and loneliness; this very openness gives her a depth and strength that others draw on. At the same time that she is trying to make a life for herself and Amber, the baby's father reenters the picture, promising a custody battle, and Libby discovers that Tess has gotten involved in smuggling drugs and illegal immigrants. The primary and secondary plots captivate readers and ensure an ending that is anything but trite. Reminiscent of Billie Letts's Where the Heart Is (Warner, 1995), this book offers a gritty but redeeming picture of a family that never quite lets go of hope, and characters who are not soon forgotten.–Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 298 pages
• Publisher: Milkweed Editions; First Edition edition (May 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571310460
• ISBN-13: 978-1571310460
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,562,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars glorious, September 17, 2005

By 

lauren myracle "lauren" (colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sky Bridge (Hardcover)

What a beautiful, gorgeous, gritty book. Libby is faced with challenges that none of us would know how to handle--and she handles them with painful, awkward grace. She's the kind of character that makes us strive to be better humans.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than ever- A must read!, September 22, 2006

By 

mark jabbour (Westminster, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sky Bridge (Hardcover)

This is a book about LOVE: what it is - and what it isn't. It's about sex: how it can make you laugh - or cry; can fill you up with joy - or pain. And then the consequences of all of that: babies, children, human beings, citizenship ....
Sky Bridge is also about the consequences of abuse and oppression: just how hard living is for some people, in this case persons on the plains of Eastern Colorado in modern times, be you legal or illegal, American or Mexican.
Sky Bridge is about all those things told through the ruminations and conversations of a twenty-something female, Libby, who believes she is "stupid and ugly." Libby thinks this is so because her mother, Kay, has drilled that into her. Quite obviously, though, she isn't. Libby is remarkably aware, sentient, and intelligent. She is also loved by many: her boyfriend (who she rejects); her boss (who she betrays); her activist neighbor; her co-worker; her mother's boss, and her humanitarian friend. Seemingly, this doesn't make sense, but that is author Laura Pritchett's brilliance - she portrays the human condition as it is: irrational and confused.
As loved and admired as Libby is she feels isolated and alone, because those closest to her: mother, sister, best friend, all abandon her in different ways.
Pritchett writes beautifully, some scenes are simply gripping. And now, with this "illegal immigration" issue being put forth by politicians - this book is especially timely and a must read!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Passionate, Timely, and Extremely Beautiful, July 12, 2007

By 

Todd Mitchell "Author of The Traitor King" (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sky Bridge: A Novel (Paperback)

I taught this book in a 20th Century Fiction class, and the students loved it. I've also know book clubs who've enjoyed reading it. It's one of those rare books that does it all --appeals to young and old readers, provokes great discussion (about immigration, love, parenting, and morality), while being a compelling read. The characters are original, the story is intriguing, and the landscape is extremely well depicted --not just by description, but by how it shapes people. The most impressive thing about Ms. Pritchett's writing, though, is her ability to put into words thoughts and feelings that seemed ineffable. In reading this book, you'll discover a deep human connection, and realize we're not as alone or as far apart as we sometimes think.