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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.
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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, Grief, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Child abuse and Homophobia
CW for ableist language, major character death.reade's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A wonderful, heartbreaking story. Handles guilt, grief and wonder in such a beautiful way. I´d say I´d picked up at the climax of the story, closer to the end of the book. Before that was mostly descriptive and character-building.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Bullying and Child abuse
penofpossibilities's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Movie is definitely better. I appreciated the friendship between the main characters and Leslie was really amazing. But I couldn't get past the constant fatphobia, saying it's not big deal being abused, mc referring to another character as "it" and other aweful things. The description of grief seemed well enough but it should have been spread out over more time. You telling me this kid did the whole grief processing cycle in 2 days?? Whut.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Transphobia
lilacsophie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Fatphobia
Minor: Child abuse and Homophobia
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