Bridge to Terabithia (pre-movie)

I never had the opportunity to read this book as a child. Although I had heard of it as a child, I dismissed it because I thought it was something that I wouldn’t like. To be honest, I had completely forgotten that it existed until I started seeing previews for the movie coming out. I was thrilled when I saw it on the syllabus for this class because it gave me a second chance to read it because I always try to read the book version before I see a movie. Before starting the book, the only thing I knew about it was that it was controversial; I guessed that it was probably because someone died.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I was able to finish reading it in two sittings, over that many days. Although the main characters were children, it seemed to be a very adult story. The book deals a lot with loneliness and other heavy topics. For example, my heart broke for Jess whenever the book mentioned how he wanted to hug his dad or have his dad say something encouraging to him. “It seemed to him that he had been thought too big for that since the day he was born” (16). Just because Jess is a boy, it does not seem right for him to “run after him and grab him and kiss him” (16). May Bell is a girl, and almost merely because of that fact, it is alright for her to do these things. Jess’ father does not encourage his drawing because he does not think it is an appropriate hobby for a boy. Because Leslie is a girl, Jess’ family and her classmates are put off by her appearance. She does not wear dresses, has short hair, and is athletic. Jess likes this about her; she is what helps Jess to realize that he does not have to be what society expects him to be. What is this book saying about what is appropriate for boys and girls to do?

One passage I found extremely powerful was the foreshadowing when May Bell repeatedly asks Leslie “What if you die? What’s going to happen to you if you die?” because Leslie questions May Bell’s insistence on reading and believing in the Bible. This is the point where I realized that the character who dies would probably be Leslie.

Friendship seems to be the central theme of this book. Through their friendship with each other, Jess and Leslie are able to escape the cruelties of their peers and the world. They find solace in each other and in Terabithia, which becomes a sort of Utopia for them. It is important that everyone have their own Terabithia, whether it’s cooking or exercising or reading a book.

I had not listened to the interview with Katherine Patterson before reading this book, nor had I read the article on why she wrote the book. I think if I had had some background knowledge before starting reading, Leslie’s death would have seemed less senseless to me. Although I knew, on some level at least, that there must have been some sense to it, I was dumbfounded after the part where Jess visits her family after she dies. I could not fathom why any author would have had a little girl die. After getting some background, it made more sense to me that Patterson was trying to make sense for herself of the death of her son’s friend. This just goes to show how important it is to make sure students have at least a modicum of background knowledge before beginning a book.