Review #4: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Title: Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia.

Genre: Fiction

Subjects: Death, Belonging, Best Friends, Grief, Hidden Talents, Family
Reading Level/Interest Level: 5.0/ Grades 5-8
Awards: Newbery Medal 1978, ALA Notable Children’s Books 1978
Similar Titles: Freak the Mighty by W.R. Philbrick

 

Ten  year old Jess is a hard worker, doing daily chores on his family’s poor, rural Virginia farm, the only boy in a family with five children. He milks the cows, collects the eggs, drives fence posts and tends to his baby sisters. Oh, but if only he could share with his family, especially his father, his secret passion for drawing and being the fastest kid in his class. But he knows they'll never understand.

 

Tormented by girls, whether the school bully or his older and younger sisters, Jess feels like he will never fit in, unless he can win the daily races in the schoolyard. That is, of course, until he is beaten …… by a girl. New to town, from the big city, Leslie too feels like an outcast, with her unconventional clothes, hair, attitudes and parents. Soon, all bitterness aside, these two misfits are thick as thieves, creating a magical world all their own in the forest near their houses, the mystical kingdom of Terabithia. Leading their subjects with bravery, courage and honor, they extended their hearts and imaginations to work through their problems together and truly learn what it means to belong and be loved unconditionally.

 

The closest he could ever conceive of being soulmates, Jess is devastated the day he finds that Leslie, secret in hand, has suffered a terrible accident trying to reach their kingdom alone. Lost and confused, Jess struggles to adapt, grow and go on, living his life outwardly and proudly, as Leslie would wish, though he must do so without her by his side, and unsure that he can ever step foot back in his beloved Terabithia or touch the beautiful paints she gave him again.

This book deals with grief, loss, fitting in, adolescence, bullies, inspiration, relationships, family dynamics and so much more. Any reader, whether young and old, will find themselves transported into the land of Terabithia through their own experiences with loss and feelings of not belonging, lonliness, fear, and not being able to express who they are fully. But if read during the tween years, where everything is changing so fast, the poigniancy is most powerful. Beautifully written and a fast read, Bridge to Terabithia will take you on a roller coaster of emotions and hope and is a must read. Just make sure you have a box of tissues handy for the end.