Bridge to Terebithia

Reader reviewed by Ryan Peckner

Without a doubt, this is one of the greatest young-adult novels that I have ever had the privilege to enjoy. This fantastic novel contains vivid, three-dimensional characters that are sensibly portrayed in realistic terms. Unlike most novels of this type, "The Bridge to Terebithia" simply tells a story in starkly unsentimental terms, not trying to play to the reader's emotions and hence being all the more effective at doing so. I have read hundreds of thousands of books in my lifetime, and so rarely have I come across such a gem that is a pleasure to read and gives one a good reason to cry at the end. As the main character comes to terms with the brutal reality that the world consists of, the reader matures in a similar fashion. This, undoubtedly, is a novel that will change your life.

Reader reviewed by Rose Thistle

I am going to attempt to get the person who disliked this book to look again. When I first read it, in gradeschool, I didn't much care for it either. But I have since then grown up. I myself am a writer, and I understand why the author did some things. I think the book is rather realistic, I've been in some situations. Haven't you ever had a secret place, where anything could happen? I think the worst thing was when Leslie died. Probably that is the main problem. But think about it. If you cried, threw a fit, flung the book against the wall and refused to read it anymore, the author did their job. You fell so completly in love with the character, as intended, and then the shock of their death made you mad, made you think. I have since then learned how to kill off my characters, how to beat them so badly they can't get up again. And not just the bad guys, but the good guys as well. The thing about books is that all of them have characters who must overcome their demons,! who must climb their walls and hopefully land safely on the other side. Some of them just don't make it, but they help others. Yes, it is sad, and hard, and perhaps even cold. I like reading books that end with a happily ever after. But there is more to life, more to writing, than candy and roses. Much as I like those things, I don't think I could live only with them. What is there to life if there are no challenges. How can you know the good times when you have never experianced the bad? How can you know sweet if you have never tasted bitter? Life is a mix, and though I read this book a long time ago, I think 'Bridge' illistrates it. Sorry if this was long, I have have a tendancy to soliliquys. Hope I convinced you to take another look at this book, or someone else.