Bridge to Terabithia, One of the Saddest Books I've ever read (includes spoilers). Blog by James

 

    I've only read three inherently sad books in my past: Planet Earth is Blue, 13 Reasons Why, and Bridge to Terabithia. All three of these books shared the common theme of an important character dying, but Bridge to Terabithia felt much more personal than the other two.

    This review by Henry Palmquist puts it best: "This book was a punch in the gut as a fifth-grader nearly thirty years ago. As an adult, it's a beating with a padlock in a sock. Just non-stop blow after blow because now after college English classes you know about things like foreshadowing and symbolism and dramatic irony and YOU SEE IT COMING FROM MILES AWAY AND CAN DO NOTHING TO STOP IT....  Because you're an adult now and your adult fears are different than your fears as a kid. This only heightens the contrast between Jesse's juvenile fear of falling into the creek and the reader's more mature fear of losing a loved one and makes the characters' pain stand out in that much more stark contrast."

    I also read this book in 5th grade for a school project, and I never truly connected with the book until I reread it. Palmquist makes an incredible point of how adults and children have completely different fears; As kids we were mostly scared of the dark and monsters under the bed, but as we grow up and realize that those fears were irrational, we start to realize the genuinely scary and sad sides of life. One of the best examples is explored in this book: the death of a loved one. 

    Bridge to Terabithia follows Jesse "Jess" Aarons, an 11 year old boy who has the hope of being the fastest kid in his class. He does this in hope of getting some attention of his father, as well as garner some attention that he lacks, a consequence of having 4 sisters. However, when a new girl, Leslie moves into town, she ends up beating every boy in the class. Regardless, they become close friends and eventually build a secret fantasy land across a creek in a forest. They name it Terabithia. They spend a lot of time here together and are closely bonded by the place.

    One day though, Jess' music teacher, whom he has an innocent crush on, invites him on a road trip to tour some art galleries. This trip makes him feel special, and also gives him some attention which he lacked in the beginning. The feeling doesn't last long though, as when he gets back, he finds out that Leslie has drowned while she was trying to cross the creek to their fantasy land. Absolutely devastated, Jess does not know how to go about his life anymore. 

    Reading this book as a 5th grader, I obviously saw why this book was sad, and Leslie's death was a huge shock, but now, 4 years later I empathize a lot more with what Jess felt and truly feel touched by the book. Like what Palmquist said, you can see the foreshadowing, even if you don't know what actually happens. The death becomes a lot less surprising, but even so, it becomes a much more difficult read.