Frequently challenged book Bridge to Terabithia proved to be a cathartic experience that captured the trials, joys, and sorrows of childhood with strong emotional clarity. The novel surprised me because I had heard many consider it a fantasy–in fact, during my children’s literature course for library science we read it during the fantasy unit–but it really belongs to realism. The fantastical elements occur strictly in the dialogue between the two main characters.
Jesse Oliver Aarons Jr. lives with his two spoiled older sisters and two younger sisters who worship him. His overworked mother and father constantly yell at him to do all the grueling chores on the farm, while his sisters are exempt to spend the family’s meager money on clothes they don’t need and can’t afford. Despite his families poverty and his lack of joy in life, he soon develops a friendship with the new girl next door, Leslie Burke, after she beats him and all the other boys in a race. Leslie is not like the other girls at school; she is smart, sophisticated, imaginative, courageous, athletic, and willing to take on any boy in school. She brings out the best in Jesse, a side he never knew he possessed.
After school each day they head into the woods and rule over the imaginary kingdom of Terabithia where giants and fairies, kings and queens, ghosts and spirits roam. Through their friendship Jesse discovers a newfound happiness previously missing from his life, until the day a terrible tragedy strikes and threatens to ruin it all.
This is a story I suspect that would best be appreciated by someone who has lost a friend. Leslie’s death at the end proves to be an extremely poignant moment in the story. What surprised me was how affected I was by her death; any book that can move me close to tears must be doing something right.
The creatures that inhabit the fantasy world of their imagination reflects the problems and issues they face at school and home. For example, Leslie tells stories of giants invading Terabithia as a way of handling a conflict Leslie and Jessie are having with a girl who bullies them. The story celebrates fantasy as a method of negotiating the real world and real problems. I have dealt with many literary snobs who question the merits and purpose of fantasy literature; this book provides the perfect reply to such naysayers. It defends the imagination itself as an important activity for children to use in making sense of the real world. Terabithia helps Jesse overcome his grief over Leslie’s death.
Throughout the narrative Leslie stokes Jesse’s literary appetite by recommending other young adult fantasy novels. We witness how children interpret fantasy literature like C.S. Lewis’ Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. Fantasy books feed the imagination. The allusions to these other works and the characters love of them also suggests that these books deal with deeper world issues of utmost importance. For the characters, Terabithia is just as real as Narnia and Middle-Earth; it plays just as important a role in their lives and their relationships with other people.
Despite its thematic defense of fantasy and imagination, the fantasy elements are limited in scope and not the focus of the story. In fact, if judge solely as a fantasy novel it would be a rather mediocre example of the genre. The fantasy elements lack originality, consisting of a hodgepodge of stereotypical creatures ripped from the pages of a thousand other fantasy books.
Most of the narrative is realistic rather than fantastical. There is no true fantasy in the novel; the story makes it clear that Terabithia happens entirely in their heads, inspired by other fantasy novels. The scenes in Terabithia are just two friends in a woods telling each other imaginative stories about their surroundings and then playing pretend. The story is less a fantasy, and more a novel that delves into what fantasy stories can teach us about real life. This is what makes Bridge of Terabithia a fairly original “fantasy novel.” It also this reason that I believe the novel would appeal equally to those who dislike fantasy.
This sounds great. I’ve heard about this one before (because it’s controversial? Maybe. Was this made into a movie? Maybe that’s how I know the title…), but I generally don’t go out of my way to read YA and children’s lit, but your review makes it sound great, and I definitely want to give it a shot!
But I wish you had put a spoiler-alert or something, regarding Leslie’s death! Now I’ll know that’s coming when I read!
Sorry for spoiling it Steph, but my “about” section covers my approach to spoilers. Since my approach to books is a cross between informal lit criticism and an actual review I felt not heeding spoilers was what made the most sense in order for me to talk more deeply about the book (I suppose I could add spoiler alerts, though.)
I believe they did make a movie. I haven’t seen it. Maybe I should put it on Netflix. Also, you should check out more YA/Children’s Lit. Some of it is surprisingly good stuff. You usually cannot go wrong with anything that has won the Newbury Award.
I totally understand you wanting to talk about aspects of books that affected you or that you just have something to say about; after all, it’s your blog and you should write what’s meaningful for you about each book. I guess it just felt like Leslie’s death seems like a non-trivial plot element, and so a little warning that you’ll be mentioning a huge narrative bombshell would have been nice because the review up to that point had sufficiently piqued my interest that I would have wanted to read the book without finishing the rest of your review (I would have come back after having read the book myself). Knowing your policy about spoilers, I’ll have to tread gently in the future when reading about a book I haven’t read yet!