Book description
The City is divided. The bridges gated. In Southside, the hostiles live in squalor and desperation, waiting for a chance to overrun the residents of Cityside.
Nik is still in high school but is destined for a great career with the Internal Security and Intelligence Services, the brains behind the…
Why read it?
3 authors picked The Bridge as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
The premise of The Bridge, a sci-fi/dystopian young adult novel, grabbed my attention off the hop.
The protagonist, Nik Stais, one of Tornmoor Academy’s top graduates, is shocked when Internal Security and Intelligence Services selects his peers as recruits but leaves him behind. Questioning his privileged Cityside upbringing, Nik is soon forced to venture over a bridge into the hostile Southside, where he finds answers—and also warring factions bent on destroying the City and each other.
Higgins’ complex world-building reminded me of Lois Lowry’s The Giver, John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids, and Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games. With…
I cried at the end of this brilliantly crafted novel about the futility of war.
It shows how an unnamed society might respond to ongoing conflict. Both sides have de-humanised the other; both are committed to revenge and retribution for the daily tragedies; and groups on both sides believe there can’t be peace without the total subjugation of the other.
I really appreciate how Nik’s worldview is shaken – and ultimately widened – when he crosses into enemy territory to find a captured friend. This story is a lesson in how peace can never come without justice, or empathy, told…
From Paula's list on YA set in Australia – but not quite as we know it.
This book had me hooked on the first line. We rode to war in a taxi cab.
Nik and his friends live in a divided city. They are in the wealthy Cityside which is guarded against incursions from poverty-stricken Southside. In Cityside, ISIS (Internal Security and Intelligence Services) select the best and brightest from Nik’s school to become elite agents. He is clever, he’s quick thinking and smart so why is he not chosen?
The world is in chaos, kids are forced to fight for survival. But who is the enemy and are things really as they’ve always been taught?…
From Fleur's list on young people trapped by draconian rules.
If you love The Bridge...
The High House
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
Want books like The Bridge?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Bridge.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,210
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Bridge, you might also like...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Living On Purpose
Many people from all walks of life, even after many accomplishments and experiences, are often plagued by dissatisfaction, pervasive longing, and deep questioning. These feelings may make them wonder if they are living the life they were meant to lead.
Living on Purpose is the guidebook these people have been…
