Scan barcode
chluless's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Fatphobia, and Homophobia
Minor: Child abuse
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I've seen this movie many times, but I've never actually read the book until now! Read it for banned book club, though of course it's not banned for the reasons you might think. I appreciated the way that this book deals with complex emotions for kids, both with grief and with just general friendship. And the movie is a pretty good adaptation of the book! Not a bad read all around.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Fatphobia
Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
gayelfboi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Revisited it now as an adult and though it’s a moving story with beautiful writing at times, I was thrown off by the amount of fathobia. It’s much in the context of kids being cruel to each other but it was unexpected and went unchallenged. Other than that I really enjoyed it now and as a child even though it punched me in the gut when I first read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Transphobia, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Sexism, Car accident, and Death of parent
meaghanelizabook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse and Fatphobia
Minor: Homophobia
ratcousin's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I was sobbing for the last three chapters. I read this in 5th grade I have no clue how I did it then.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Fatphobia
Minor: Homophobia
lennatheunicorncat's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Grief
quasinaut's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I knew nothing about this book going in except that something sad happens towards the end. I loved the writing, the way Katherine Paterson captured Jess's emotions and inner self -- but I wasn't pulled in by the story as much as I had hoped to be.
Perhaps I'd have liked it more had I read it when I was younger, but I can't quite pinpoint what didn't work for me. There are especially some aspects -- the portrayal of Jesse's sisters as frivolous and spoiled; the lack of description of Terabithia as an imaginary escape; the casual mentions of child abuse and homophobia -- that either didn't hold up or made the book feel less than fully realized. Though, I was pleasantly surprised at Jesse's father in the final chapters of the book!
Perhaps I'd have liked it more had I read it when I was younger, but I can't quite pinpoint what didn't work for me. There are especially some aspects -- the portrayal of Jesse's sisters as frivolous and spoiled; the lack of description of Terabithia as an imaginary escape; the casual mentions of child abuse and homophobia -- that either didn't hold up or made the book feel less than fully realized. Though, I was pleasantly surprised at Jesse's father in the final chapters of the book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse and Homophobia
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA is about friendship, loneliness, sexism, bullying, rural isolation, and grief. Jesse is a lonely boy with too many sisters who meets a kid named Leslie, together they make invisible castles in the trees, finding out that even their bullies have bullies and nothing lasts forever.
Reading this as an adult, I'm struck by how Jesse thought that Leslie was making up from scratch stories like Moby Dick and Hamlet, it's just one small moment that exemplifies how good this book is at relaying through Jesse things that he doesn't actually understand but just tells like he sees them, allowing a younger reader to follow his thoughts as a fellow kid, or for an older one to understand the bits he missed. Leslie and Jesse bump into sexism and gendered constraints, often pushing through them and sometimes having to keep their heads down and fit in a bit longer. The kids feel like kids, not always saying or doing the right thing but trying their best. I like the way Jesse's relationship with his younger sister changes throughout the book, especially at the end when he's actively working to be a better brother to her and prompting her to be a better sibling to their even younger sister who's still a toddler.
I probably wouldn't give this particular book to people who are kids now, mainly due to ableist language which is unchallenged in the text, but it meant a lot to me when I first read it. It's the kind of book that haunts long after you put it down.
This book is famous for a shocking event that occurs near the end and transforms the tone of the book. This review contains spoilers from here on out.
-----
BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA is not free of trauma before the death. One could argue that it hints at the possibility by having the kids discuss the idea of death several chapters before it becomes suddenly relevant. Part of the point is that it's sudden. That it's sudden, and unfair, and it rocks Jesse's sense of how the world is, how it ought to be. Jesse's numb grief and conflicted emotions reactions to being unable to see Leslie again, along with his bursts of anger when his younger sister pesters him about it, make it feel very real. I'm glad that we're (hopefully) past the point that this book where the gender non-conforming atheist character dies might be the only queer representation one someone's shelf.
Reading this as an adult, I'm struck by how Jesse thought that Leslie was making up from scratch stories like Moby Dick and Hamlet, it's just one small moment that exemplifies how good this book is at relaying through Jesse things that he doesn't actually understand but just tells like he sees them, allowing a younger reader to follow his thoughts as a fellow kid, or for an older one to understand the bits he missed. Leslie and Jesse bump into sexism and gendered constraints, often pushing through them and sometimes having to keep their heads down and fit in a bit longer. The kids feel like kids, not always saying or doing the right thing but trying their best. I like the way Jesse's relationship with his younger sister changes throughout the book, especially at the end when he's actively working to be a better brother to her and prompting her to be a better sibling to their even younger sister who's still a toddler.
I probably wouldn't give this particular book to people who are kids now, mainly due to ableist language which is unchallenged in the text, but it meant a lot to me when I first read it. It's the kind of book that haunts long after you put it down.
This book is famous for a shocking event that occurs near the end and transforms the tone of the book. This review contains spoilers from here on out.
-----
BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA is not free of trauma before the death. One could argue that it hints at the possibility by having the kids discuss the idea of death several chapters before it becomes suddenly relevant. Part of the point is that it's sudden. That it's sudden, and unfair, and it rocks Jesse's sense of how the world is, how it ought to be. Jesse's numb grief and conflicted emotions reactions to being unable to see Leslie again, along with his bursts of anger when his younger sister pesters him about it, make it feel very real. I'm glad that we're (hopefully) past the point that this book where the gender non-conforming atheist character dies might be the only queer representation one someone's shelf.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Sexism, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Child abuse and Homophobia
CW for ableist language, major character death.juttaleupe's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Fatphobia
Minor: Domestic abuse and Homophobia
lilacsophie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Fatphobia
Minor: Child abuse and Homophobia