Jess Aaron's greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new kid, a new girl, boldly crosses over to the boy's side of the playground and outruns everyone.

That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. It doesn't matter to Jess that Leslie dresses funny, or that her family has a lot of money - but no TV. Leslie has imagination. Together, she and Jess create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits. Then one morning a terrible tragedy occurs. Only when Jess is able to come to grips with this tragedy does he finally understand the strength and courage Leslie has given him.

I've finished reading the YA classic "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson, but I'm not as impressed as I hoped I would be. I haven't seen the movie, though I've noticed, without the book cover informing me, that there was a movie with the same title. I've bought the book last year at the Boekenfestijn, and I've finished it in two days. It's a small book.
Despite that it was an easy read and that I kept on reading I wasn't that impressed. I'd read on BookCrossing reviews that people cried reading it, so I actually looked forward too to shed some tears. But it was only until the last page that I realized that *this* was the tearjerking moment, and it was such a little moment that I was a bit 'huh?'. The book rushes a bit, building no emotional depth.
What I also didn't like was the American tone of the book. It was the same with with "Charlotte's Web" and "The Catcher in the Rye", and it makes me wonder if British (YA) books have some kind of British tone too. Perhaps I'm just not used to, and am I more 'British' than 'American' in my taste of books. Perhaps I should try some more American YA novels.
What was nice was that there is a Narnian influence in this book, but that also makes me wonder why the girl never made the connection to Aslan's resurrection and Jesus at Easter.


This book has a different cover, despite that I typed in the ISBN number. Also, contains Reader's Guide and illustrations.

Gaat mee naar de grote Castrium-meeting, op zoek naar een nieuwe lezer!

Meegenomen voor mijn dochters

Meegenomen van de nieuwjaarsmeeting in Amsterdam. Ik ken de titel wel, maar heb het nooit gelezen en was eigenlijk wel benieuwd. Dacht dat er ook een film van was.

This was a small book and I finished reading it in a couple of days. It started a bit slow, but I really liked once I got further into the story. I had not realized there was such a sad event, which did make me tear up.

I released the book on a bench in the Père Lachaise cemetery.
Hope it will find a new reader soon.