A BRIDGE HOME

Jacqueline Bravo wants a life away from her barrio, but what is she willing to sacrifice to get out?

It’s 1972, in San Solano, California, and Jacqui wants to earn a scholarship to UCLA offered by her private school. The problem is, she’s dangerously close to getting kicked out of St. Bernadette’s, because her mom hasn’t paid her tuition in several months. After Jacqui’s dad died in Vietnam, it took her mom a while to find a new job, but they’re so far behind on bills that Jacqui needs to help out, too. El Lobo’s Bar and Café is hiring, but the 17-year-old Jacqui must pretend to be 21. After being hired, she’s exposed to a seedy underworld that threatens to ruin her chances of going to college and puts her family in danger. The story navigates the journey of a teen who’s forced to take on too much, as well as themes such as gender roles, social inequality, racism, and the rise of the Chicano movement. Frazier highlights elements of California history that are often overlooked, portraying the strength of a community in giving its people a bridge to a better life. With its honest teenage voice and a gritty realism that evokes what life would have been like for a Mexican American teenager in the California of the 1970s, this novel stands out.

An excellent example of historical fiction that teaches and also transports.