Bridget is dealing with the recent death of her mother, who she's always had a complicated relationship with. While cleaning out her house, she finds something that makes her think her childhood day-dreams and delusions may have actually been real, and that her mom might still be alive somewhere in the multiverse.

This is a really interesting Sci-Fi thriller about multiple realities. It took a different route than I've usually seen with these kinds of stories which made it really intriguing because I kept wanting to learn more about how it all worked. A small detail that I liked is that the reality our main characters existed in was slightly different than our own. I feel like usually in these kinds of books the main universe is the same as ours so that was different!

I'd definitely recommend this to SciFi readers but it could be a bit dense for people who aren't big readers of the genre!

Sometimes I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It’s an amazingly surprising mind-bending, eye-popping, makes-you-want-to-stay-up-all-night-to-read novel of searching for your family and what it means to be a daughter. The only issue for me was it started to get a bit long and wear its welcome. But with a great ending it makes up for it. Highly recommended.

Beukes is the master of alternate timelines. Bridge is a little more complex than Shining Girl science wise, but still had that same sense of wonder and what if.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I was so grossed out reading this book but I couldn't put it down. It's confusing AF but enthralling. I would recommend to fans of Blake Crouch or Jeff VanderMeer.

Thank you to Mulholland Books and Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

I DNF at 5%! The writing was so awful that it didn't matter the premise of the book. It was a combination of run on sentences and then short stunted sentences. Back and forth. The first part was her childhood and the writing felt like how a child speaks, so I chalked it up to that. Then I got to the adult part when her mother died and the writing was the exact same. I was really looking forward to this one but I couldn't get past the writing style.

I’ve loved every Lauren Beukes book I’ve read, and Bridge is no exception. It’s a sci-fi thriller about multiverses, friendship, and mothers and daughters. The titular Bridge is Bridget, whose troubled mother Jo recently died of a brain tumor. When Bridge and her friend Dom attempt to clean out her mother’s house, they discover the dreamworm, a psychedelic from Bridge’s childhood that allowed her and Jo to visit other worlds. In the years since and with a lot of therapy, Bridge had convinced herself that the dreamwork was an illusion. But now she isn’t so sure…

Bridge was a terrific read. I loved the complicated timelines and multiple POVs, both of which were some of my favorite parts of Beukes’ earlier novel The Shining Girls. Bridge was an adrenaline rush from start to finish, and went in delightfully unexpected directions from time to time.

MINOR SPOILER (The reveal that the main narrative world isn’t ours (President Harris! YouTube is fact checked and moderated!) was great and I loved the tiny differences between multiverses. END SPOILER

I also loved the overarching themes about mothers and daughters, responsibility, and the idea that sometimes family is who you choose, not genetics. Beukes never commits the cardinal worldbuilding sin of overexplaining and the novel leaves many mysteries intact. I’m such a fan of her imagination and she’s a must-read for fans of funny, intelligent sci-fi.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

“Consciousness is experience. Experiences are doors of their own - to other possibilities”

I knew I was going to love this book when I saw “multiverse serial killer” in the description. I was pleasantly surprised by the mother-daughter relationship and how it explored how much parents can shape their children’s experiences and even rewrite their past. How adults realize their parents were also human beings who made mistakes and had flaws.

I found the initial start of the book a little slow to get into, probably because I was so excited for the multiverse serial killer. Once everything gets going, it really took off. Full on mystery sci-fi thriller.

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read (if I qualify)

3.5 stars rounded down

i started out really loving this one, though i must admit it got a little messy/confusing for me which was off-putting at times. but i liked the voice, i liked the family dynamics explored, i liked the pov shifts (except for when they got too confusing), i liked the ending. i liked dom. i feel like this is a book i might want to re-read at a later date, which isn't particularly common for me -- i think that says something!!

thank you net galley and mulholland for the arc <3

Like everything else I've read by Lauren Beukes, I thought this was very good and also very disturbing. Our main character, Bridget "Bridge" Kittinger, has just lost her mother - neuroscientist Jo Kittinger - to brain cancer (her third round) and recruits her best friend Dom to help her clean up her mother's house. Early in the process, they discover a secret in Jo's freezer - a weird cocoon-like thing that Bridge recognizes as something her mother referred to as the "dreamworm," and which she has convinced herself over time and years of therapy was something she'd made up. But it isn't, and she, despite Dom's pretty serious concerns, begins taking the dreamworm again. What it actually is (bio-organic or not) is unclear to everyone, but it functions like a hallucinogen and, when combined with specific music and images, it allows the user to swap consciousness with a different version of themselves in another universe. Bridge realizes that her mother is alive in some of these other universes and sets off to find her with the help of a reluctant Dom and a musician named Caden who was working with Jo. Meanwhile, they're reading through Jo's journals and trying to figure out exactly what's going on, while a woman named Amber is hunting down the various versions of Bridget across the multiverse. This was very well-written and compelling, but super dark and intense. It took me a while to get through it as it's much heavier than my typical reading, but I did think it was worth the effort.

If you are super into the trend of multiverses right now, and craving a literary fiction take on the extremely confusing concept, look no further than BRIDGE by Lauren Beukes! I absolutely adore Beukes' novels, and this new one is no exception. Even though I barely knew what was happening most of the time. But about half way through, when it more or less clicked into place and I got a sense of what was going on, man oh man we were rocking and rolling!

Bridge has recently lost her mother to a brain tumor. As she goes to help pack up the house her mom leaves behind, she finds a mysterious drug that seems to be the key to finding her mother who may actually not really be dead. Or at least, a version of her might still be alive. It's trippy and dense, this book! Not a fun light read by any means. But if you put the time in, the rewards are worth it. The book is full of heart, but it's a thriller, and the romance is actually a story about a friendship that survives across dimensions. If you already like Beukes, you'll love this one. If you aren't familiar, try her older stuff first I think. The good news: she just keeps getting better and better.

"Bridge " is Bridget Kittinger an adult daughter of troubled parents who is dealing with the somewhat sudden death of her mother Jo. Jo was a mercurial neuroscientist who had little time for Bridge as she was utterly consumed with studying dreamworm - a mythic psychedelic that she felt was a doorway to other worlds.

Working with her wondrous friend Dom, Bridge begins to pack up Jo's house and find enough clues to begin to uncover the riddles of dreamworld. Based on the information in her journals, there is a possibility that Bridge's mom is still alive, just in another world. Dom and Bridge begin to methodically search the worlds. The problem is that dreamworm is not innocuous, it's dangerous and there are quite a few people who would do anything to get their hands on more.

This is a great thriller and lovely story of friendship. For me, sometimes futuristic stories or tales of time travel are a bit "cold" (still enjoyable). Bridge is very warm, very realistic and the actual science is seamlessly woven throughout.
If you like a brilliant thriller, loved Shining Girls and time travel or just want to enjoy a truly inspiring story of women searching for more, Bridge is for you! #Mullholland #Bridge #LaurenBeukes

Wild, confusing, pretty convoluted at times. I liked the story and the characters enough to push through the more tedious bits. Not my favorite read, but I can see other readers really liking it.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC!

Current DNF, will try again shortly... I can't seem to stick the landing on anything! Nothing is sticking to my brain right now.

jo is a mother who left her daughter after a psychotic break related to a brain tumor. as bridge tries to locate her mother and find out what went wrong, things go topsy turvy.

wow, this novel was confusing. i’d like to think I’m very knowledgeable and understanding in multiversal narratives (i.e. marvel comics/films, everything everywhere all at once, etc.) but this was difficult to follow. the changing point of view really leaves a lot to be desired. however, I did feel a sense of satisfaction at the conclusion.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.