Bridge To Terabithia
Ratings338
Average rating4
My gosh this book is beautiful and sad. I know everyone knows the movie, but the book is better (yes, I'm one of those people). I've seriously yet to read a book that makes me cry as hard as this (and I cry at A LOT of books).
The idea of this book is beautiful - including childhood imagination in a fantastical sense while also including grief and loss and the realization of what the world was....and oh my gosh I'm tearing up as a write the review. I've come to understand that what makes a book 5 stars for me is when it, on the surface, has a cool fantastical plot, yet also comments on some really real and emotional themes that happen in every day life. And when it's done with the eloquence of Paterson's work...well that goes beyond 5 stars in my opinion.
I'm fine...I'm fine.
⭐⭐
Not a book for me and not one I would recommend. It didn't hold my interest, and probably felt more of a chore to get through. Not completely terrible, but I didn't have a good experience. This book was an enjoyable read, but there are several things I wish were done differently.
Rating: 5 leaves out of 5Characters: 5/5 Cover: 5/5Story: 5/5Writing: 5/5Genre: Children/Classic/ContemporaryChildren: 5/5Classic: 5/5Contemporary: 5/5Type: AudiobookWorth?: 1000% YES Hated Disliked It Was Okay Liked LovedWatched the movie AGES ago and cried. Read this book and also cried.
A quick easy read for a reading challenge I'm doing. I wasn't expecting the ending!
Like being able to breathe freely when one's calling calls it, gliding into a Terabithia is supposed to be everyone's prerogative.
It is the bridges that must be willed into shaping access, entitlement, and expressiveness.
Jesse and Leslie are like those characters who have never not met; their rendezvous are reassuring for the earnest reader beyond requisites or expectations.
Here's to a tiny hidden branch, a modest creek of a stream, an unassuming arch over which to instate even a mere pedestal, for that is reasonably enough.
This book and movie is so heartbreaking and shows how vivid our imaginations are as children and how they offer perfect escapes for the ones who need it the most.
This was a very sad story, very well written. The characters are so earnest, I felt like I knew them in my heart.
What a beautiful book about friendship and everything that matters. Completed this gem in one sitting. Just couldn't let go of Jess and Leslie.
I always like to open my reviews for classic works of children's literature by emphasizing that, unlike many readers, I didn't grow up reading these books. I was a reader, but my interests didn't go beyond Choose Your Own Adventure and “Strange, but true” books. As close as I came to literature was Judy Blume—and only the Fudge books. So when I'm reading a work such as Bridge to Terabithia, it's not with the nostalgia many of my contemporaries likely experience.
Largely, I enjoyed Bridge to Terabithia, but I was expecting more. I've heard so much about how brutal it was, and it really wasn't. I guess if I'd read this as a nine year old, raised on a diet of Saturday morning cartoons and The Hungry Caterpillar, I probably would've freaked out. Certainly, I would've been affected more. It's not that Bridge to Terabithia didn't work on me—it did—but nowhere near the level I'd hoped for. This is probably just a matter of being older than the intended audience.
Moving on, Bridge to Terabithia is a solid piece of children's fiction. Jess and Leslie are wonderful characters who do not strive to merely be the stereotypes expected of them. The relationship set up between them is entirely organic, fun and endearing with no fear of becoming cloying. The setting is gorgeously drawn and the imagery of the river and the bridge were well done. The story is wonderfully paced and interesting from beginning to end. On the subject of ends, I thought the final passage with May Belle was an expertly crafted conclusion and likely the very best part of the novel. Certainly, this is one of the all-around better children's novels I have read.
(After I finished this novel, I learned of the real life inspiration, and this increased my appreciation for this novel. Paterson's son, the inspiration for Jesse, also served as producer and screenwriter for the 2007 film.)
“It was up to him to pay back to the world in beauty and caring what Leslie had loaned him in vision and strength”
For such a short book, it deals and communicates the message of dealing with loss so well. The story in short is about a young man who finds a friend in an unlikely girl who moves in next door and how he copes with her loss when she is gone. Although it's done rather quickly I like the overall theme of remember those who have gone on before us and how we choose to carry on their memory. This book helped be cope with a loss the first time I read it and seems to do the same thing each time I pick it back up. It's a quick read that can actually be done in a day with very minimal interruptions.
I remember reading this for the first time in elementary school, probably in the 4th or 5th grade. I loved the book, but it also seriously bummed me out with the ending. But it's one of those books that is seared into my mind and heart.
I read it again in 2016 and I still enjoyed it. It stands the test of time. So if you haven't read it, you definitely should. But be prepared to cry.
Jess and Leslie are an unlikely pair to become friends, but they do, and around their friendship, they build a magical kingdom. Their kingdom is hidden from everyone, and only open to them. Jess struggles with his family. Leslie's family is running away from the rat-race that they were involved in.
This is a sweet story of friendships and how the most unlikely of people can become friends. This is a cute story that kids of all ages will love! It is sad, but it portrays the true meaning of friendship and love.
This book resonated a lot for me when I was a child. I didn't remember how sad it was. Very good, though.