Under the Bridge

I ordered this eight weeks ago and never got it. Now you’re asking for a review for something you’ve never sent me? This is unacceptable.

This really was such a good book. As others have said, I really never wanted to put it down. I find there is a lack of information on what happened to Reena Virk, and any searching results mainly with focus on the trials of Kelly Ellard. This book provided not only details on the sad crime itself, but insight into Reena, her family, and all of the other teenagers who either participated in or witnessed her death. I was most surprised in the kind and strangely forgiving nature of the Virk family. I really enjoyed Godfrey's writing style; the book did read like a novel, and you can definitely tell she has done her research and created a very detailed and realistic outline of what happened. From small details, like one girl's use of Nivea cream and Reena's eagerness to share her favourite songs with a member of her family, to the prosecutors and defense lawyers as well as frustrated police trying to deal with scared and angry young teenagers, every character and situation was "brought to life", as cheesy as it sounds. Again, it is difficult to find much information on the Reena Virk case, and this book is perfect for anyone wishing to know the story and the people, as confused and confusing as they seem to be. It's one of the best "true-crime" books I've read, and it contains vivid insights into the awkward, gossipy and, in this case, often cruel world created by these young teenagers. Being bullied, wanting to fit in, wanting your peers to view you in a certain way are all things that people of this age feel and experience, and Godfrey effectively captures that atmosphere in this book. The only hollow part is the question that even those convicted of the crime can't answer: why this horrendous crime happened, committed by people so young. Beautifully done, in my opinion.

I am also a reader who couldn't put this book down, which hasn't happened to me in a long time. I credit Rebecca's writing for pulling the reader right into the case, so much so that I was left feeling deeply emotional about the whole thing. I am grateful that this book exists, it adds an extra dimension to the sound bites we've seen in the media-- but most importantly, it honours Reena's memory.

This book was incredible. To use an accurate cliche, I couldn't put it down. As I read, I felt as though I came to know each "character", and while I definitely didn't like each one, I felt as though the author was presenting me with an understanding of their separate motivations. Godfrey managed to weave together a complex subject involving more than two dozen people, a confusing night, a morass of lies and gossip and denial, somehow bringing it all into the light. I kept wondering how long she'd had to research, and how many people she must have interviewed during the course of the writing. Godfrey writes of jealousy, love, vanity, fear, violence, and tragedy in an understandable way. She also keeps the reader in suspense, revealing each bit of this real-life plot slowly so the reader experiences the tension, uncertainity, and need to know that many of the (unfortunate) real-life particpants must also have felt.