Bridge to Terabithia

Some lines from Bridge To Terabithia

"He believed her because here in the shadowy light of the stronghold everything seemed possible. Between the two of them they owned the world and no enemy, Gary Fulcher, Wanda Kay Moore, Janice Avery, Jess's own fears and insufficiencies, nor any of the foes whom Leslie imagined attacking Terabithia, could ever really defeat them."


"It was Leslie who had taken him from the cow pasture into Terabithia and turned him into a king. He had thought that was it. Wasn't king the best you could be? Now it occurred to him that perhaps Terabithia was like a castle where you came to be knighted. After you stayed for a while and grew strong you had to move on. For hadn't Leslie, even in Terabithia, tried to push back the walls of his mind and make him see beyond to the shining world—huge and terrible and beautiful and very fragile? (Handle with care—everything—even the predators.) "Now it was time for him to move out. She wasn't there, so he must go for both of them. It was up to him to pay back to the world in beauty and caring what Leslie had loaned him in vision and strength. "As for the terrors ahead—for he did not fool himself that they were all behind him—well, you just have to stand up to your fear and not let it squeeze you white. Right, Leslie? "Right."

A beautiful story on friendship. Leslie and Jesse, two very different individuals, often facing ridicule from their peers find strength in each other and there blossoms a magical friendship between the two misfits. Leslie lures Jesse out of his familiar circle where he finds comfort in his solitude and artwork that he hides from his father who shows no sign of support or encouragement. Jesse learns to overcome his insecurities and fears that constantly haunt himwith the help of Leslie who shows him a different world, a world of hope, a world of fantasy where he rules and makes the decisions- their own magical kingdom away from the rest of the world. Leslie brings jesse out of his world and takes him into her own, but once there, she leaves him stranded and alone, as in an unfortunate accident, she loses her life. Jesse had found comfort in that friend who came out of nowhere and brought him out of his shell, who had broken down the walls he built around him, who taught him to believe in himself and realise that there was hope in everything. Now it was all lost. He would never see her again. Things could never be the same. All that was left was a regret that he didn't follow her the day of the accident when she had called him to follow her to Terabithia. His interest in music seemed more important that day. He could have prevented that accident. She would have still been with him. All that was left was the knowledge that wherever she was, she was watching over him, standing by him, wanting to know that he never lost hope and continued being the changed person he had become....

It's true that even the greatest fantasies can never replace reality but, funny isn't it, how some novels actually display some sort of similarity to certain lives?