{"product_id":"day-the-bridge-fell","title":"Day the Bridge Fell","description":"\u003cp\u003eRay Johnston and his best friend Tom, nearing the end of their first year in high school in Melbourne's \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003evibrant inner-western suburbs, develop a fascination with Melbourne's new West Gate Bridge. After \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eschool, they regularly go to the bustling construction site to talk to the workers and collect mementos \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efrom the debris. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo Ray and the community, the bridge symbolizes more than a mere transportation link from the \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewestern suburbs to Melbourne's central business district. It represents progress, superiority, and power, filling Ray with immense pride as his father, Doug Johnston, serves as the lead rigger, and his neighbor, George \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDemetriou, works as an ironworker.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne fateful day, Ray stumbles upon a conversation between a bridge engineer and a foreman. They \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eexpress serious concern about a buckle in the bridge and discuss plans to loosen the bridge’s bolts the \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efollowing day. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTormented by this secret, Ray confides in Tom and ultimately decides to share his fears with his \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efather. But his father tells him to keep quiet about it. Although Ray fears for his father’s and George’s \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esafety, he agrees.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe next day, shortly before noon, Ray is in his class at school when he hears piercing sirens wailing. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe sprints toward the bridge, only to find a scene of utter devastation and chaos. Driven by \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003edesperation, he joins the courageous team of workers, relentlessly searching for his father amidst the \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewreckage—fighting against time to save lives.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHours pass like an eternity as Ray, with his torn and dirt-streaked shirt, abandons his identity as a \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eschoolboy. And then, a glimmer of hope—the unimaginable happens—Ray finds his father alive and \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewell. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs months pass, Ray is haunted by the bridge as it hooks his fragmented heart, and he refuses to pass \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eit on his way to Tom’s house. Although he feels somewhat older since the accident, it’s not until Ray \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elearns the biggest lesson of all—to forgive himself—that he is finally free.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd just like the weathered, stressed and damaged pieces of glass he loves to collect, Ray begins to \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003enotice they too can be reshaped and strengthened into something new, ultimately reflecting a new \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eperspective and a new way of looking at the world.   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn the cusp of adulthood, the two young friends face their own individual rites of passage as they \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewrestle with tragedy, justice, and a loss of innocence, which will not only define them but change \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etheir lives forever. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n \n\n\u003cp\u003eReading age of 12+, Interest age 14+ Rhiza Shorts are teen novellas for reluctant readers. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wombat Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55283203866968,"sku":"9781761112799","price":16.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9781761112799.jpg?v=1765923322","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/day-the-bridge-fell","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}