"Bridge to Terabithia"
Katherine Paterson
HarperTrophy, $6.99
I read "Bridge to Terabithia" in sixth grade, and I remembered crying to myself in the classroom, while pretending I wasn't so I wouldn't be embarrassed among my fellow 11-year-olds.
After the 2007 movie adaptation was released, I decided I would read it again before seeing the film, especially because it hadn't been too well-received, and I didn't want a poor theatrical version of the story to taint my memory of the novel, which had faded in the 11 years since.
Katherine Paterson's "Terabithia" tells the story of 10-year-old Jess Aarons Jr., the third of five children — and the only boy — in a poor family in rural Virginia. After initial hesitancy, he befriends Leslie Burke — a rich tomboy whose family (mostly inexplicably) moves to a neighboring farm. The two create the secret, magical kingdom of Terabithia, for which they are the king and queen, while developing a close friendship.
As in most novels, tragedy strikes, and the characters take with them the lessons they had been learning and teaching one another throughout the story so they can persevere.
But because that is a simple, overused plot technique doesn't mean that Paterson doesn't succeed in using it.
She also finds success in her character development by using general, exaggerated stereotypes, and in her foreshadowing by giving clues that might have been too far over my 11-year-old head but far too obvious for any adult.
"Terabithia" has landed itself on banned books lists for the subject of death, the use of the word "lord" and the promotion of secular humanism, according to Wikipedia. Added to that list could be the use of inappropriate language throughout the novel and the inclusion of topics like child abuse. What the banned book list makers seem to fail to grasp is the notion that 10-year-old children are exposed to death and swearing and abuse, and have imaginations that create worlds outside of the "safe" ones where the banned books list makers pretend death or swearing or abuse don't exist.
Paterson was able to step into the shoes of a fifth-grader when she wrote "Terabithia." She analyzes the important things of the world, like winning a foot race or making sure the seventh-grade bully doesn't take your lunch money. Paterson also is able to bridge the gap between how kids and adults deal with tragedy. She runs through the "what ifs" that all adults imagine after experiencing a terrible event and assuming they are somehow responsible for its occurrence, and she is able to see the event through the eyes of a 10-year-old who doesn't know how to respond without the full understanding of what has happened.
There is a reason this novel won the Newbery Medal. And if you haven't already — or if it's been a while since you've done so — you should pick up the book and discover why.
