Bridge to Terabithia

 Paterson, K. (1977). Bridge to Terabithia. New York, NY: Scholastic.

 This tearful-dramatic story is about a boy, Jess Aarons, and a girl, Leslie Burke, who become friends after a short time of meeting each other. Their friendship booms into something quite splendid as well as their imagination that creates a beautiful land called, Terabithia. Both kids create this magical land to escape the realities of their own lives. Jess one day goes on a trip without Leslie to Washington and he considers this day to be the best day of his life, but sadly when he comes home he must face some unbearable news. The unbearable news is that his best friend Leslie Burke died using the rope swing to cross the stream. Jess feels extremely guilty for not being there for Leslie and he blames himself for not inviting her to go to Washington with him. Will Jess ever forgive himself for what happened to Leslie or will he continue to blame himself? 

This tear-jerking story tore at my heart when I read this story. This story reminded me of Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls , because of that strong bond of friendship between Billy Coleman's dogs and himself. The bond that Jess and Leslie had is very similar to how Billy felt for his dogs. I admit I cried when I learned what happened to Leslie just like I cried when Billy lost his dogs. After the tears were shed and my mind made clear I thought about the author's message. I believe the author was trying to tell young readers when we lose those who we love we will never forget them, because they will always be in our hearts and memories.