Review: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

2 stars for Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.

I have long heard of this book and how well-liked it is, so I thought to give it a go after reading Where the Red Fern Grows which makes me keen on children's fiction all over again. In the end, I didn't like this book as much as I thought I will.

This book was written by the author for her son after his best friend was struck and killed by lightning. As with real life, the story of Bridge to Terabithia deals with realistic themes such as friendship, loneliness, insecurity, courage and death. It tells of two lonely children who become the best of friends in the most unusual of circumstances and how they create their own land of make believe - Terabithia, the secret magical forest kingdom - to escape into.

This novel reminds me of how good it is to be young again, to have a trusted confidant with whom to share the fantasy and excitement of a magical land of make believe. The story in itself is fine. The themes it covers are very much real-life and are situations where children have to learn to grapple with. The only issue is I do not like the way some characters in the book are brought to life. I understand that the author needs to bring out the lonely feeling of the protagonist, Jesse Aarons, by painting a grim family life, but I think she overplays it by portraying his family members as uncaring and disagreeable. The mother strikes me as a difficult and profoundly unhappy person, the father while not as demanding is often not around when the son needs him, the two older sisters are exceptionally unpleasant and come across as ungrateful wretches and the two younger sisters are, well, too young - what kind of excuse is that? - to be sensible enough. Very often, how the parents and other family members are depicted in a story reflect the value system of that family unit. For a children's book, the lack of family cohesiveness is already a negative, yet I see more hostility with use of bad language, one example is "shut your mouth". For a children's fiction, one "shut your mouth" is one too many, and here I see it more than once, definitely too many for my liking.

At the end of the day, I find myself torn between giving this book a thumbs-up (3 stars) or down (2 stars). I do like the book given the theme but when I take into consideration this being a children's literature which in reality is more suited for adults, and not one I will like young children to read, I know where my answer lies.


Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 2 May 2017

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Jess Aarons' greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in his grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new girl boldly crosses over to the boys' side and outruns everyone.

That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. Together they create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

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