If the Newberry Award has anything to do with emotional attachment to characters, then Patterson has earned it ten times over. I had heard all about Bridge to Terabithia, both from peers in college and in middle school (somehow, I always ended up with the teacher who didn’t assign the usual book). As such, I knew what was going to happen, yet nothing could keep me from experiencing the catharsis that the last section of the book offers. The two protagonists are likeable, even with their tempers – in fact, that made them all the more real to me. I completely lost it when Jesse hit his little sister in the face after the visit to the Burkes’. The sympathy that is generated for these characters in the worst of circumstances is incredible.
I also really liked the descriptions of Jesse’s home life. The meanness of his parents and older sisters really stuck out in the majority of the novel, which completely compounded the effect of the parents’ tenderness towards the end. The family relationship between Jesse and May Belle is very interesting, even if I found the ending a little lackluster.
Jesse and Leslie’s relationships with the teachers at the school were also a point that I paid attention to. The transition from “Monster-Mouth Myers” to tender, touched, and mournful Mrs. Myers – who laments the prompt removal of Leslie’s desk just as much as Jesse – is really something that I would want students to pay attention to and notice. I’ve read that some have attacked Bridge to Terabithia for the use of a “senseless” death and the absence of any positive theme. I entertained the latter idea for a while after I read it, but more thinking about it has made me realize the book isn’t as themeless as I thought.
The most important theme I noticed is that people aren’t always what they seem, and they aren’t rigid, unchanging emotional fixtures. From Janice to the teacher to Jesse’s oft-villainized mother, every character shows heart that would go unnoticed by a swift glance. Similarly, even Leslie’s best friend in the world isn’t without a selfish thought when she dies. Nobody’s perfect, but nobody is perfectly bad either.
As to whether or not I could teach this book, I’m really not sure. I really don’t think I’d be comfortable assigning the book at face value, thinking all the while that the students have an unpleasant little surprise waiting for them at the end. And it just would feel wrong to hand out the books, saying, “Okay, class – just remember, someone’s going to die” (one critical blog I read suggested putting a “Contains Character Death” sticker on the cover). I think the logistics of navigating that passage may just be enough to keep me from teaching this book, at least until I’ve prepared myself to deal with that degree of emotional intensity.
Also, I don’t feel that this book has anything exceptional or unique to offer (according to a curriculum, of course). The character voices and development are all really great, and there is definitely some intertextual connectivity with Narnia, but honestly, there is only so much time in a year to teach books with really great characters, and the books I assign to the whole class are going to have to vary somehow. Of course – and I feel like I’m saying this a lot – this is a book I would easily consider suggesting to a student who seemed interested in the themes of the book, or a student who expresses a desire to feel strong emotions.
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