Madison Meeks
Editor-in-chief
mvm7037@psu.edu
Do you want to read a novel from your childhood? Then read “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson. This book is about fifth grader Jesse Aarons and his friendship with his new neighbor, Leslie Burke.
The two characters come from different backgrounds and have different personalities. Jesse, who is from a poorer family, is angry and fearful at the beginning of the novel. Leslie is from a wealthy family and is brave. Jesse thinks highly of Leslie throughout the novel after he becomes friends with her after losing a footrace to her at school.
The two children create a hidden world together where they rule the kingdom as king and queen, called Terabithia. The kingdom can only be entered by swinging over the creek bed on an old robe. When the two are at Terabithia, they create a fake love letter to Janice Avery after she stole Jesse’s sister May Belle’s Twinkies that she brought to school for lunch.
Leslie later goes to church with Jesse’s family, where she states that she doubts the story of Jesus. May Bell then tells Leslie that she will go to hell when she dies because she does not believe. Later that week, rain causes the creek to turn into a river, which causes Jesse to be scared to swing over the river. Jesse then gets invited to go to Washington, D.C., to visit the Smithsonian, and when he returns, he is devastated to find out that Leslie has died. He is told that she tied because the robe broke when she swung over the river to get to Terabithia, and she drowned. At the end of the novel, Jess uses the scrap lumber that was left by the Burkes to create a bridge over the dried-up creek and crosses the bridge with his sister so that she can be the new queen of Terabithia.
Overall, this is a nostalgic novel for any reader who wants to take a piece of their childhood. It is an adorable story of friendship while also talking about grief, bravery, and anger. It should be put on a reading list for middle school students and even early elementary school students to read.
