Bridge to Terabithia

This is an interesting book, because, for once, I actually liked the movie better. I'm just warning anyone before they even continue reading this post. I enjoyed the literature of this book, HOWEVER, I didn't enjoy having to make my mind skip over swear words. The 'd' word is used four or five times. There is also another swear word. That is not really what I had a problem with, although I prefer not to have to read that kind of stuff. My problem was with the fact that the main character uses 'lord' when not praying or speaking about God. And that is all the way through the book. So now you are probably thinking, WHY did she read this book?? Well, I read this book because I wanted to see how it compared to the movie. Also because it is written well, which is testified by the fact that is won a Newbery Medal in 1978. And nowadays, it is hard to find any books to read without a few bad words in them. I still can't figure out why the author would have put bads words in her book, though. It was written in 1977. And, I did forget to mention the fact that no one seems to hold any specific beliefs in this book. I mean that it kind of seems like they author is saying that if you just "believe in something" your life will turn out perfect. Yeah, whatever.

So here is my summary:

Jess Aarons is a fifth grade boy living in rural Virginia. He lives on a farm, and his dad is always trying to find a job, so their family is short on money. Jess is a runner. His biggest goal is probably to outrun every boy in the school and become the fastest runner in his grade. His five year old sister May Belle adores him; sometimes his likes that other times he doesn't. Then a family moves into the farmhouse just down the road from him. Jess meets their only child Leslie. Apart from his four annoying sisters, his life seems to be going pretty well...until Leslie Burke outruns him in the boy's race on the first day of school. He ends up forgiving her and the become good friends. Jess and Leslie find an old rope hanging above the dried up creek bed in the woods behind their houses. Together they swing across it to the other side, where the build a "castle stronghold" and create the magical kingdom of Terabithia.

Katherine Paterson is the author of this book. Bridge to Terabithia was fist published in 1977, and won a Newbery Medal in 1978.

Bridge to Terabithia was made into a Disney movie in 2007, starring Josh Hutcherson as Jess Aarons and AnnaSophia Robb as Leslie Burke.