Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

As a child, I read and read and read. But, my memories of reading rarely include a specific book title or author. Bridge to Terabithia is one book I do remember though. As I got ready to reread it, I couldn't remember much detail except that someone dies. Knowing that about the story really changed the way I read it. I found myself looking for foreshadows and trying to figure out which character it was going to be. Long before I found any evidence in the text, I suspected it was Leslie. Jess and Leslie so obviously had a close bond and Jess was definitely the main character. But, I loved the "ah-ha" moment when I read and recognized the foreshadowing comment by May Belle-- "'But Leslie,' she insisted. 'What if you die? What's going to happen to you if you die?'" I find that I often overlook literary elements like foreshadowing, allusion, etc so it gave me a sense of accomplishment to feel like I "got it." As I write this, I'm thinking, "wow, this is only a kid's book." But, I was proud of myself nonetheless.

Paterson's language fascinated me throughout. I have sticky notes all over my copy with examples of phrases that got my attention. In the very first pages, I was able to visualize Jess and his family. I knew immediately, in the first paragraph, that the setting was in the rural South, just from the way she phrased her sentences. For instance, "...once he began running he would be hot as popping grease." or "Momma would be mad as flies in a fruit jar..." I could go on and on. Okay, one more powerful quote. At the end when Jess is moving beyond Terabithia, he thinks, "It was up to him to pay back to the world in beauty and caring what Leslie had loaned him in vision and strength." That sentence spoke to me because I could see that Jess had learned from Leslie and their friendship had changed him for the better. He recognized in this part of the book that Leslie had been a gift and that a part of her would stay with him forever.

Throughout Terabithia, Paterson dealt with loneliness. Early on, Jess was identified as a loner who wanted to make an impression on someone-- he wanted to be the fastest runner. Even after Leslie's death he thought that he would be the only kid whose best friend had died. He was looking to stand out in some way. Most of his family took him for granted and he did not feel a connection with any of them. Similarly, Leslie was lonely in her new home. Their friendship seems destined because they fulfilled such a need for one another. Jess' mother and father also seemed like lonely characters. They dealt with their loneliness differently. Jess' mother didn't want to be bothered. She retreated into herself as a result of her loneliness. She slept a lot. While Jess' father was not a well developed character, he seemed alone because he traveled far distances each day and was distant with Jess.

Of course, no response to Bridge would be complete without reflecting on Leslie's death. Early in the story, Jess drew a picture of a hippopotamus going over a cliff and then in the Smithsonian, he sees the buffalo going over the cliff. I know it must relate to Leslie's death, but I haven't figured it out completely. I think the animals going over the cliff may represent how the world Jess knows is about to fall away beneath him and he will be torn to bits (figuratively of course) by Leslie's death.

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about seeing the movie. I'm afraid it might ruin my memory of the book.