Summary

‘Bridge to Terabithia’ invites readers into the life of the troubled Jesse Aarons from a small town called Lark Creek. Jesse feels lonely for not getting the attention he needs from his parents – who are too busy to notice him. Later, he finds a friend in fellow fifth-grader Leslie, and together both discover new adventures that will transform both of their lives.

‘Spoiler Free’ Bridge to Terabithia Summary

10 years old Jesse Aarons runs through the cow fields rehearsing for the upcoming running competition for fifth-graders at his school. He has been training hard since the start of summer and must come out the comfortable winner of the race if he’s ever going to gain the respect of his father – who thinks he’s too weak and girly.

The D-Day comes only for Jesse – and all the other boys – to be defeated by a girl named Leslie who lives a few blocks away from his house. Despite hating Leslie for stealing his dream, Jesse can’t help but admire the freedom with which Leslie ran – so he gets close and becomes her friend.

He and Leslie would then create Terabithia, a magical country, that allows them to live their dreams and fantasies, but one day as Jesse returns from out of town, he is told that the unthinkable has happened to Leslie, and despite the shock from the news, Jesse is presented with the tasks of defeating his guilt and sadness to step up and fix things as a leader.

Bridge to Terabithia Summary

Spoiler alert: Important details of the novel are revealed below

About the year the 1970s in a small town in Virginia called Lark Creek is Jesse, a sad 10-year-old racing through the cow field in rehearsal. Jesse lives with his parents and four siblings and is the only male child of Mr. and Mrs. Aarons.

Jesse’s father, Mr. Aarons is a workaholic who doesn’t have time for Jesse and is always busy with work – which sees him travel several miles to Washington daily. If he ever has even a little chance, he would rather spend it with the girls, and tell Jesse to deal with it – that men are supposed to be tough.

Like his father, Jesse’s mother Mrs. Aarons is way too worried about counting bills and debts to care about Jesse’s needs. She makes the home and attends to the needs of the girls – knocking Jesse’s wants down the pecking order. Jesse is only ever remembered when the time comes for someone to be nagged or picked on.

For these reasons, Jesse finds himself sad, alone, and under constant pressure to impress his family – especially his father to reclaim his integrity. Jesse picks up running as a hobby and trains all summer so he can become the winner of their little fifth-grade running competition; this feels like something manly, and his father might respect him for once.

One day, Leslie, a new girl whose parents recently moved into Jesse’s neighborhood approaches him in the field wanting to be friends. Jesse declines as she isn’t really his type. On the day of the competition, all the boys in fifth grade – including Jesse – come out to run. Jesse is surprised to find that Leslie, who is also his classmate, has asked to be included.

To everyone’s surprise, Leslie emerges the winner in the race and all the boys start hating on her, but Jesse finds himself drawn to her. The two become friends and spend time together, subsequently building a magical country out of a marsh around their neighborhood. They name this place Terabithia and build castles, become king and queen, invent games, and appoint prince Terrien as guardians.

Terabithia becomes a place they sneak into for solace and tranquility when the real world offers hate and rejection. Jesse and May Bell invite Leslie to Sunday service and afterward preach Jesus to her as the way to salvation.

Later, spring approaches and it pours heavily on Terabithia and the place becomes swampy and dangerous. Jesse is scared and doesn’t go there anymore, but still fears for the safety of Prince Terrien. He makes up his mind to warn Leslie but it skips his mind.

One day Jesse goes to an art museum in Washington with his music teacher Miss Edmunds, only to return to the news that Leslie has died after accidentally falling and heading her head while trying to cross to Terabithia. Jesse is sad and devastated.

He feels guilty for not warning Leslie. After some moments of guilt and self-blame, Jesse picks himself up and finds the courage to build the bridge that connects Terabithia to prevent anyone else from getting hurt. He then welcomes May Bell to Terabithia as the new queen of the magical country.

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