The Day the Bridge Fell

The Day the Bridge Fell by Coral Vass (Rhiza Edge – Wombat Books) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN: 9781761112799

Reviewed by Kellie Nissen

Fifteen-year-old Ray Johnston is at that awkward age – old enough to have certain privileges that his younger brother doesn’t have (like staying up late) but also old enough to be expected to behave in certain ways and put up with ‘unfair’ things when they happen … like his brother stomping all over the model bridge which took Ray six months to build.

Ray is also too young to be allowed onto the construction site of Melbourne’s new West Gate Bridge … but also too young to have his fears acknowledged when he overhears two workers express their concerns about the viability of the bridge and its safety as they question whether shortcuts have been made in the name of saving money.

This snippet of information would be concerning enough but Ray’s father is one of construction workers on that very bridge and suddenly warning people about it becomes very important,  but nobody will listen.

Set in 1970, The Day the Bridge Fell centres around the actual collapse of the West Gate Bridge. Australia’s worst-ever industrial accident took the lives of 35 workers and injured a further 18 when the nearly completed bridge collapsed while many of the men were on their lunch break.

Author, Coral Vass, sets the tension up right from the start in the naming of her chapters ‘Five days before the bridge fell …’ and perfectly renders the quiet dread and sense of foreboding felt by Ray as he struggles to make the adults around him listen.

While The Day the Bridge Fell is a standalone book, it is part of a growing series of ‘minimal words, maximum impact’ teen fiction (or young adult) stories for readers aged from 10 years old who are not necessarily ‘reluctant readers’ but are time-poor but still want to read a great story. Known as ‘Rhiza Shorts’, this initiative from Rhiza Edge (Wombat Books) sees exceptional storytelling, with a single storyline of no more than 20,000 words.

Rhiza Shorts are stories with ‘oomph’ and heart, that speak to the interests and experiences of our youth (and beyond). Coral Vass has certainly met the brief with this historical fiction, coming-of-age story with a strong main character who readers will be able to resonate and connect with.

If you like historical fiction where the main character’s story is front and centre, The Day the Bridge Fell will not disappoint. Targeted at readers aged 13+ years, this story is a must-read not only for its inside knowledge of a key piece of Australian history but for its exploration of the in-between years – between child and adult.