A re-read from my childhood, because I wanted to read it again before seeing the movie. I am still curious to see what these huge fantastical creatures I see in the previews are like, because the way I read the book, the friends are simply pretending, not living in a fantasy world. To me, it's different. But we shall see. I still think this is the only book that has ever made me cry while reading it.

ETA: I can't believe I reviewed this without mentioning that my best friend and I created our own Terabithia in elementary school, in the woods surrounding my house. We played for hours, days, years. The moss had magical properties and the different lands had different languages. This book was part of the fuel.

My favorite quotes:
"We need a place... just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole world about it. ... It might be a whole secret country."
"This is not an ordinary place... Even the rulers of Terabithia come into it only at times of greatest sorrow or of greatest joy. We must strive to keep it sacred. It would not do to disturb the Spirits."

If Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) is about a bridge that fell down and killed 5 people, Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia (1977) is about a bridge that is put up because of a person's death.

In this children's book, American novelist Katherine Paterson (born 1932) created a make believe world of Terabithia whose name she unconsciously coined from C. S. Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader where Lewis has an island called Terebinthia. However she added that Lewis probably based his island's name from Terebinth tree in the Holy Bible so they both pinched from somewhere else, probably unconsciously.

Anyways, enough about the name. It's just that I was asked twice already about the meaning of the title of the book that I reviewed so it is becoming part of my psyche to always ask myself the meaning of the title after reading the book especially if the reason is not clear or obvious.

The story, set in a small town in the US, is about two lonely 10 year olds, Jesse Aarons and Leslie Burke who find each other's company enjoyable because they are different from the rest of the grade schoolers. Jesse is fond of drawing and he feels unappreciated. Leslie comes from the city, reads a lot of children's fantasy books (her parents are writers) and does not have TV set at home. Before Leslie transfers to Jesse's school, he (Jesse) is the fastest runner. So, their friendship starts with jealousy (because Leslie runs faster than Jesse) and hate but they end up as king and queen of Leslie's make believe world of Terabithia.

Sweet story. I am not surprised that even young adults in their teens, 20's and even 30's find this book amazing and rate it with 5 stars. It brings back memories of make-believe worlds when we were young. Especially for those who are in their early 20's and starting their careers, welcome to the real world, dudes!. No more allowances from parents and you have to scrimp yourselves with what you earn. Since you are starting, your salary is ,eager but you are ashamed to ask mom or dad anymore. You want to prove your independence. For those who are starting their families, more budgeting skills are needed. These hardships in real world are sometimes reasons enough for you to think of retreating back to your former secured happy worlds of make-believes. So now, even for few hours, you want to go back there: when you were young and not worrying about money or relationships. Like being in Terabithia and you can do whatever you want because you are the King like Aaron or the Queen like Leslie. Sometimes, you even want to cry oh, I hated the book for making me cry especially when Leslie died because of the pain of realization. You are no longer a child. You are now too old for make-believes. But hey, that's life. You will grow old too. We will all die.

Am I not right?

When I read this in fourth grade, I loved it because it was enchanting, and reminded me very much of 'secret hideouts' I made with friends at the same age. When I read it again later in life, aloud to my younger brother and sister ages 10 and 12, I was choking back tears to keep reading aloud, and they were crying. If you've never read it (or, I suppose now, seen the movie) beware, this review is a spoiler! What I have learned from this book is that our assumptions about children and what is "appropriate" for them are seriously flawed. We assume they need color, fantasy, and bling, and that they can't deal with "hard" topics like death and, oh, speaking of that, life. Kids are people too. And they do understand and can deal with hard topics in many ways better than us adults, who have learned to choke back the tears instead of actually crying. When I was a kid going to my secret hideouts, I wasn't just playing, I was escaping. If kids don't understand real life, then why do they run from it, then, as in this book (and in real life) gain life-altering skills while "away" and come back stronger? I may choke back tears now, but when I was 10, I went to my secret hideouts to cry and deal with things in my own way, in my own world, just like Leslie and Jesse do in Terabithia.

I just re-read the book before watching the movie. I'm sure I read it as a kid, but I'm reviewing this as an adult.

This book is sad. It's like My Girl. The characters are innocent and fun, and the world they create with their minds is playful. However, tragedies of this kind are not my thing. It seems that the point of the book is the tragedy, to have a boy's friend die. I'd rather spend my time reading something a little more up-beat.

I've said this before, I don't at all mind characters dying, and I love certain tragedies. This one is just a little too simple to really fire me up, and it just succeeds in making me depressed.

For the record I am not an outwardly emotional person. Okay, let me get that right. I can be a bubbly energetic or excited individual from time to time. Of course, that isn't what I meant. I'm quite a content, optimistic kind of person so I am emotionally driven - very much so. What I mean to say is that I thrive in my life as a laconic, down to earth kind of person. I'm laid back and when it comes to outward expressions of emotion I tend to internalise. I would still consider myself an extroverted introvert it's just that it is very hard to visibly stun me, shock me or make me cry. I'm not insensitive. I just don't show my reactions most of the time.

So, why did I just spend countless sentences on my emotional personality? Mainly to try and convey the fact that this novel right here is one of the few to have rocked me emotionally. It made me raw at the end and it made me tear up. The film has a similar impact. In fact the film is a fairly strong adaptation of this sad, beautiful teardrop of a book.

Let me head off on another tangent. I love conclusions. Conclusions are almost my favourite part of any story, save for the fact that it means the book is over and you're left back in reality. However, for this book the conclusion was terrible, shocking, unacceptable. It was too emotionally moving. The happy ending I was expecting wasn't there. And that is why it is a brilliant book: trust me, read it and see if it doesn't touch you in some way. My one warning is that it is a children's novel of course.

I have finished my first reading of Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. While my son was reading this book for school, his enthusiasm prompted me to read it as well with the plan that we would watch the film adaptation together afterwards. How could I resist???? Bridge to Terabithia is just a great book, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it offers some very important lessons to it's young readers. It addresses gender stereotypes/roles, spirituality, bullying, friendship, individuality, family stressors, loss, and both the crises and happiness that so often accompany childhood. I thoroughly enjoyed both the book and film experiences. The film is a bit different though (when is it not?), with some altered scenes here and there and a visual focus on fantasy while in the Terabithia setting. I would recommend both experiences for children and adults alike. Let go of the heavy responsibilities of the "real world" for a few hours and play!

My favorite quote:
“Shh," he said. "Look." "Where?" "Can't you see'um?" he whispered. "All the Terabithians standing on tiptoe to see you." "Me?" "Shh, yes. There's a rumor going around that the beautiful girl arriving today might be the queen they've been waiting for.”

I remember watching the movie for this book when I was a kid and finding it the most wondrous thing. This story has influenced my life far more than I can express. Reading the book brought all those memories and dreams back, right when I needed them most. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever been a kid before, and dreamed, and wished, and had friends, and lost them, and desired beyond belief to have them back.

Maudlin, predictable, and full of fat jokes. There are few things that make me want to windmill-pitch a book at a wall, but that's one of them. Even the character who's supposed to be this light of compassion in the universe imagines her "cow" of a teacher at fat camp, and the disconnect of my head from this book at that point was so jarring my brain rattled.

The summer of becoming familiar with Katherine Paterson is off to a terrible start.

I read this book during my Children's Literature class in college. It's an excellent book.

Quick update from 2/19/22: We finally watched the movie (2007) they made of this classic. We enjoyed it immensely, and I love the visual magic they brought to the world of Terabithia. I'm happy to report, though, that it was not the sob fest for us that the book was. I found the movie a lot easier to bear than the written story.

Original review:
I'm heading out into the backyard now, in the dark, with a flashlight, a shovel, and my paperback copy of Bridge to Terabithia. I'm going to be careful not to dig a hole in the same place where I've buried Old Yeller, but to give this book its very own sacred burial space.

When I come back inside, I will inform my 11-year-old daughter that we are never going to talk about this book again.

“Never,” she will say.

We will look at each other and nod in agreement. We will never talk about this book again.

Sometimes it seemed to him that his life was delicate as a dandelion. One little puff from any direction, and it was blown to bits.

I do know and realise that Katherine Paterson won the 1978 Newbery Award for her 1977 middle grade novel Bridge to Terabithia, that it is considered both a classic of American children's literature and is for many seemingly also a cherished childhood favourite (and yes, also a novel which nicely demonstrates that friendship between boys and girls is not only possible but can also be textually rendered and achieved without hints of sexuality).

However, and that being said, when I had to read Bridge to Terabithia in 1978 (for grade six English), while I did find Katherine Paterson's depictions of Jesse and Leslie's developing friendship sweet and satisfying, I also still today very vividly do recall absolutely despising and often really wanting to scream about much of Paterson's presented text and many of the themes and contents encountered in Bridge to Terabithia and this primarily and especially because of the frequent instances of pretty horrible emotional abuse, such as for example the constant fat shaming comments and jokes, and which unfortunately my sixth grade teacher also tried to repeatedly use on me (according to her philosophy of toughening me up and to supposedly inspire me to try to go on a strict diet when she realised how much this all was textually bothering me, since I had major body weight issues as a tween and a teenager and that of course I textually noticed these while we were reading Bridge to Terabithia in class), something for which I of course will not and cannot actually blame blame at Katherine Paterson. But certainly, the fat shaming scenarios and comments present in Bridge to Terabithia and that my teacher was rather using these passages as a verbal attacking tool towards and against me and my own body weight, this naturally did not at all endear me to Bridge to Terabithia and to make me in any way enjoy Katherine Paterson's narrative all that much (and sorry, while reading Bridge to Terabithia in 2022 has in fact calmed down some of the reading outrage I felt in 1978, I still really do find the fat jokes a major source of discomfort and one that also will not go away and which I also do not want to go away either).

And furthermore, when we read Bridge to Terabithia in 1978, for me personally, Leslie Burke's death was not only a totally traumatic reading experience that felt almost ridiculously senseless and gratuitous to and for my twelve year old self but that Bridge to Terbithia also left me with recurring nightmares and the fear of drowning (and which no one really took seriously), and that yes, revisiting Bridge to Terabithia in 2022 has brought back those same feelings and fears and equally my frustrated childhood anger at how my teacher used the fat shaming aspects of Bridge to Terabithia against me. And while as an adult, I absolutely understand and appreciate why and how Katherine Paterson won the Newbery Award for Bridge to Terabithia, my inner child (and my memories), they still really do rather despise too much of Bridge to Terabithia for me to conssider more than a two star rating.

This children’s book is one that I read many years ago and liked it. But after chatting with my Goodreads friend, Sarah, I decided that I would read it again. Like Sarah, I liked it just as much the second time around!

It’s a wonderful coming of age story that revolves around family, friendship and dealing with grief. It’s easy to see why this book won the Newberry Medal. In this second time around, I was able to read the 40th anniversary edition in which author Katherine Paterson’s Afterword explains the “story behind the story” which was very moving.

This book is written for middle school aged children but would also appeal to adults.