Other editions of book The Broken Bridge

Over the course of a long summer in Wales, sixteen-year-old Ginny, the mixed-race, artist daughter of an English father and a Haitian mother, learns that she has a half-brother from her father's earlier marriage, and that her own mother may still be alive.Sixteen-year-old Ginny, the mixed-race, artist daughter of an English father and a Haitian mother, learns that she has a half-brother from her father's earlier marriage, and that her own mother may still be alive

“A clever and sympathetic teenage identity-crisis novel, full of solid characters” from the #1 bestselling author of La Belle Sauvage (The Guardian). Hailed by the New York Times as “a credit to the storytelling skill of Philip Pullman,” The Broken Bridge is the tale of Ginny, a sixteen-year-old half-Haitian girl living with her father in a small seaside village in Wales. She’s becoming a brilliant artist, just like her mother, who died when Ginny was a baby. Despite the isolation she sometimes feels, her life is turning out OK. Then her social worker cracks open her files and her world falls apart.   Ginny’s father has kept a devastating secret from her all her life. In fact, everything she thought she knew about her family and her identity is a lie. And now, to find out who she really is, Ginny must relive the dark tragedies in her past.  The Broken Bridge is an emotionally deft, deeply involving story from the New York Times–bestselling author of Carnegie Medal winner Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass.

The Broken Bridge is the story of Ginny Howard, who lives with her widowed father in a little village in North Wales. Her mother came from Haiti, and Ginny's half-African heritage marks her out from most of her friends; but equally important to her is the knowledge that her mother was an artist, and Ginny, too, has talents in that field. Over the course of one summer she makes some devastating discoveries about her family, which make her rethink everything she thought she was sure of.

Although she has been raised by her father, sixteen-year-old Ginny has always felt a bond with her mother, a Haitian painter whom she has never known. Like her mother, Ginny is a talented and passionate artist. As the only mixed-race teen in a small Welsh village, Ginny hasn't always had an easy life, but her love for art has always helped her get along. Then her world is turned upside down. First she learns that she has a white half brother, the child of her father's first marriage. Then she uncovers some startling news about her mother. Suddenly, her whole life seems like a lie. Desperate and confused, Ginny sets off on an urgent quest to find the truth about her past - and lay claim to her true identity.

Although she has been raised by her father, sixteen-year-old Ginny has always felt a bond with her mother, a Haitian painter whom she has never known. Like her mother, Ginny is a talented and passionate artist. As the only mixed-race teen in a small Welsh village, Ginny hasn't always had an easy life, but her love for art has always helped her get along. Then her world is turned upside down. First she learns that she has a white half brother, the child of her father's first marriage. Then she uncovers some startling news about her mother. Suddenly, her whole life seems like a lie. Desperate and confused, Ginny sets off on an urgent quest to find the truth about her past - and lay claim to her true identity.

At 16, Ginny finds that her love of painting connects her to the artistic Haitian mother she never knew and eases the isolation she feels as the only mixed-race teen in her Welsh village. When she learns she has a half-brother by her father's first marriage, her world is shattered. Ginny embarks on a quest for the truth that will allow her to claim her artistic heritage - and face her father.