A story that stays
with you.
Fiction – Juvenile - Classics
Age range: 9 - 11 Years
143 pages
Publication Date: 1977
Literary awards: Newbery Medal (1978), Zilveren Griffel
(1983)
Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer to become the fastest runner
in school, but when the new girl, Leslie, races and wins all of his dreams of
triumph are dashed. Jess wants to ignore
her, but Leslie won’t be ignored and from there they become friends, each
making life more bearable for the other.
Leslie's arrival challenges everything Jess has always taken for granted in his claustrophobic world. She opens him up to new ways of thinking and being and together they
create a magical kingdom called Terabithia. A place where they are free to imagine.
I first read this book when I was about ten-years-old and just cried
buckets. It was the first book I read as
a child dealing with a child’s death. I
remember feeling such a kinship with Jess and desperately wishing I had a
friend like Leslie and my heart just breaking at the end. This is one of the
books that has always just stuck with me over the years. Reading Bridge
to Terabithia as an adult I wasn’t quite as pulled into the story and
definitely more inclined toward critical thinking as I read it instead of just
enjoying the story, but I also understood the family dynamics and world Jess
lived in a lot better. The difference in
prospective, however, didn’t lessen the emotional impact of this story on me,
even though at times I did detect less than perfect writing. It is a beautiful story about the best kind
of friendship you can have and a book I have every intention of adding to my
personal library to share with my girls.
ISBN 0439366771 (ISBN13: 9780439366779)
No comments:
Post a Comment
While I appreciate person's right to their own opinion - even when they disagree with me - please remember this blog is a place of respect for all. Keep it clean and temper your comments with kindness. Thank you!