Res's Reviews > Bridge to Terabithia
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
by Katherine Paterson
** spoiler alert **
Of course I read this as a kid, but the only thing that stayed with me was Terabithia; the entire mundane plot (that is, 95% of the book) entirely vanished from my memory.
The class elements went right over my head as a kid, which is strange because they're so important to the book. Also, I often find now that when I read children's books, things seem unrealistically harsh to me -- but they didn't seem that way to me when I was the target age. Apparently I've forgotten a lot about being a kid.
One thing I haven't forgotten is how much strategy is required to be a kid, and this book captures that wonderfully. Jess is forever managing people -- to avoid getting beaten up by other kids, to avoid being punished by parents and teachers, to carve out a little time and privacy.
My chief problem with this book is that Jess actually is indirectly responsible for Leslie's death, and that's too heavy a responsibility to put on a kid. It's like writing a story in which the monster under the bed is a real monster.
The class elements went right over my head as a kid, which is strange because they're so important to the book. Also, I often find now that when I read children's books, things seem unrealistically harsh to me -- but they didn't seem that way to me when I was the target age. Apparently I've forgotten a lot about being a kid.
One thing I haven't forgotten is how much strategy is required to be a kid, and this book captures that wonderfully. Jess is forever managing people -- to avoid getting beaten up by other kids, to avoid being punished by parents and teachers, to carve out a little time and privacy.
My chief problem with this book is that Jess actually is indirectly responsible for Leslie's death, and that's too heavy a responsibility to put on a kid. It's like writing a story in which the monster under the bed is a real monster.
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Grace
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Jun 29, 2009 09:34pm
I'm just curious why you think that Jess is indirectly responsible? I'm not trying to be a brat I'm just really curious because I didn't get that at all.
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Because he and Leslie have plans to go to Terabithia (he even agonizes all night long because she'll expect him to go even though the creek is high with the rain and he's scared), and when he goes off with the art teacher, it never occurs to him to tell Leslie that he won't be there. If he'd told her he wasn't going, she wouldn't have gone either.I mean, it's not like he does anything on purpose or out of malice, but if he hadn't forgotten, the tragedy wouldn't have happened.

