Reviews

Bridge to Terabithia Movie Tie-In Edition by Katherine Paterson

dreadandsolace's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted sad medium-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

The Solace: My heart! I totally get why people love this book. This story is an amazing telling of a friendship going from painful change into beautiful growth and meaningful loss. I loved the characters, the relationship between them, and the dynamics at battle between them (gender, class, familial roles). The ending absolutely destroyed me. The realness and relatability with what our main character goes through is thick and palpable - it's just so well done. 

The Dread: My only criticism is a pacing concern, and that's really only because of the back cover. The book preview revealed that something happens, which we don't encounter until we're 100 pages in. Knowing somethings coming made me aware and catch more foreshadowing than I might have if I didn't know, though.

Overall, I am cry. I am in awe of the way this story captures friendships, and loss so accurately. This was just so heartbreakingly incredible.

tthe_cancerian's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad fast-paced

4.5

emotionally damaging but the friendship was so damn beautiful. 

milknbiscuits00's review against another edition

4.0

I've never watched the movie before, so I know nothing about the story. Since this is a child book, I thought it would be an adventure-fantasy type of book about a weak farm boy with problematic family and a brave boyish city girl, building an imaginary kingdom in the wood. But no, it's a beautiful and tragic story about friendship

inkwell_god's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad medium-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

5.0

bamou's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

how is this a kids book…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Bullying, Sexism, Child abuse, Child death, and Grief

jampsonn16's review against another edition

Here's the thing: I already knew this story, like I assume most of us do. The movie version of this book is both wonderful and heart-wrenching, for reasons you eventually find out. However, like with most adaptations, I always wondered if the movie took liberties with the story and changed things around, so I decided to read the actual novel to see for myself. But I should have done some research first because it turns out that the movie's screenplay was actually written by the author's son who made it his mission to stay true to the source material. After learning that and reading the book, I can honestly say the only differences I noticed were the richness of the characters and the actual world of Terabithia. The movie focuses more on the "fantasy" of Terabithia and tries to relate it to Jess's and Leslie's real-world issues, but in doing so, it kind of forsakes character depth. I felt like I understood the characters and their actions more in the book, despite it being so short. The book wasn't meant to be a fantasy novel, but the movie needed to be more visually appealing, and I get that. While I do think I still prefer the movie, I'm glad I read this and can easily say that both are great in their own way. The emotions, friendship, and rawness are present in both media, so I honestly think you can engage with either and come away with the same feelings and message.

bellanyx's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted sad fast-paced

5.0

tearsric0chet's review against another edition

5.0

no rengo lagrimas

miles_sommers's review against another edition

5.0

A perfect book. 

belkissmisa's review against another edition

2.0

well written but I'm baffled how this is considered a children book? No, it'd be depressing for children. It has some questionable and negative connotation tbh but I enjoyed some parts of it. Still, it's a very depressing book for young readers.