Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia is a beautifully written story about friendship, imagination, and the deep impact people can have on one another. Jess and Leslie’s bond is genuine and heartfelt, and the imaginary world they create in Terabithia is a place of wonder and escape. The book takes an emotional turn that will leave you thinking long after you finish it. It’s a perfect blend of adventure, emotion, and life lessons. A timeless read for both kids and adults, and an unforgettable story about love and loss.

No book has ever transported me to another time and place like this one. For a few hours last night, I was Jesse Aarons. I lived a year in one sitting. I was ten years old again and feeling everything with perfect clarity. There is truth in these pages. Absolute must-read. Beautiful and painful.

I read this book as a 37 year old woman who watched the movie years and years ago without knowing. I read the book because I know how often movies just cannot touch on all of the emotions and unexplained pieces. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, it reminded me of my own childhood for various reasons and had me thinking of other "characters" in my life and what their internal dialogue might have been saying a times. I love the friendship and magic, and the obnoxious sibling banter. I ugly cried for obvious reasons but also for reasons that are specific to my own story. And I loved the ending, because my feelings were already out and raw, I cried more but sweetly.

Jess has spent all summer working to be “the very best” runner in the 5th grade, but when a mysterious girl named Leslie kills that dream, she opens up a whole new world for him (2). Leslie leads Jess into Terabithia, where they reign as king and queen and Leslie works to, “push back the walls of his mind” (160). Paterson is doing the same thing to her readers as Leslie does to Jess; she is expanding the walls of our minds. Leslie makes allusions to many literary works which in turn teaches new vocabulary. For instance, she uses the word “regicide” and then gives context by mentioning Hamlet (67). Not only does this section teach readers a new word, but it also introduces them to Shakespeare. The Newbery Medal is given based on the text of the book, and when reading The Bridge To Terabithia, one can see why it won the honor. The story not only teaches through literary allusions, but also uses colloquial speech to show the poverty stricken region that Jess lives in. While Jess’ uses of “Lord” is controversial and one of the reasons the book is placed on banned lists, it gives the feel of life in the Appalachians. The book would not be as powerful if it were not true to life, and the language creates this truthfulness. Paterson is working to give her readers a larger world view (again, pushing back the walls of our minds). Through Jess teaching Leslie and Bill how to fix their house, they learn about rural living. Both children teach each other about their respective ways of life, and subsequently the reader learns as well. It shows how friendships between people from different backgrounds can push each other beyond themselves. Leslie taught Jess about the academic world, and Jess taught Leslie to be kind to others who don’t deserve it (such is the case with Janice Avery). Paterson shows how special people can make you become better. Many children (and adults) in today’s society gravitate towards those who are like themselves. The popular kids hang out with each other, the band nerds stick together, the honor students spend time together, etc. Paterson is showing children how diversity can be a highly rewarding factor in a friendship. Controversies aside, this book is an excellent tool for teaching children an array of lessons and is a joy to read.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is a heart-wrenching and beautifully written story about friendship, imagination, and loss. The emotional journey this book takes you on is unforgettable, but let me be clear: it wasn’t Leslie’s death that hit me the hardest. It was the ending—the culmination of Jess’s growth, the way he cherishes the memory of Terabithia, and the gentle, painful reminder of how life keeps moving even when we want to stay in our perfect, fictional world forever. And, honestly, forget this book for making me care so deeply about a world created by a couple of kids. I didn't expect to get so emotionally tangled up in a fictional kingdom that was literally the product of their imaginations. But here I am, with feelings, crying over a place that doesn’t even exist. Katherine Paterson has a gift for making the most personal, emotional moments feel universal, which makes this book sting in a way you don’t expect from a middle-grade novel. Overall, this book was powerful, emotional, and completely wrecked me in the best (but painful) way. I’m still salty about it, but that’s a sign of how much it affected me. I highly recommend it, but be warned—you’ll need tissues and maybe a good outlet to process all the emotions afterward.

I think that everyone should read Bridge to Terabithia. This book is an excellent book for all ages to read, and it will only benefit everyone to read it. This book contains a young boy named Jess, and his best friend Leslie. Leslie moved down the hill just before school started, and became fast friends as the school year progressed. These two friends eventually start exploring the woods behind Leslie’s house and make a magical land and become King and Queen of the palace named Terabithia. Tragedy soon strikes these two friends then Jess must try and figure out what he needs to do to save himself, and the palace. This book won multiple awards such as Newbery Medal just one year after it was published. Something that must be considered when awarded this medal, is the fact that the book must be seen as contribution to American literature. This connects to a larger theme or issue because this book can be seen as the literal embodiment of what an “American” family looks like. Something that we have been discussing in class is about deconstructing language and other stuff to find out the true meaning. The Family that we see in these books are completely different families, but the point of that is to see the two-different kind of scenarios that are present in this world. We see the hard-working father working to feed his very big family, and we see a much smaller family who actually have it well of. This books tackles something that people have to face but no one ever wants to make the first move and speak about it. Death is something that is faced daily by someone around the world, and unfortunely sometimes we all have to deal with it at one point or another. I think that this book is so popular is because of the issue of death is presented in it. People are more than likely aware of this book before reading it, yet they still read is because they want to be able to experience it themselves. Although this book is hard to cope with, it is still popular because it addresses and solves problems that people have to face but they do not know where to go to get the answers they need.

Purchased for granddaughter who had to read it for school. She really enjoyed the story. It arrived quickly and not wrinkled in any way

Excellent