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1-Page Summary of Bridge to Terabithia
Overall Summary
As summer comes to an end, 10-year-old Jesse Oliver Aarons, Jr. (Jess) runs through the fields behind his house in Lark Creek, Virginia. He wants to win the title of fastest runner in fifth grade when school resumes. Jess’s mother is a nag and his father doesn’t have time for him because he works long hours commuting from Washington D.C.. Jess also has four sisters who annoy him and antagonize him in various ways. When a new family moves into the old farmhouse across the street, May Belle hopes there will be a girl her age she can play with but instead finds that it’s a tomboy named Leslie Burke who reminds Jess of what he despairs about: Leslie is not like other girls and runs like she’s free as a wild bird no matter what others think.
Jess finds himself hating fifth grade. He only has one bright spot in his week, music class with Miss Edmunds. She is a beautiful hippie who encourages Jess’s secret talent: drawing. Jess believes that he and Miss Edmunds are “in love.” During music class, as Leslie and Jess sing together, Jess finds himself softening toward the eccentric girl. That afternoon they sit together on the bus, and Leslie explains that her parents—wealthy writers and intellectuals whom she calls by their first names—have moved to the countryside to escape the pressures of city life in Washington Dc. Leslie is hopeful that life in the country will be full of adventure; however she continues to draw ridicule from her classmates due to her bumbling social graces; she dresses in undershirts and cutoffs, states plainly that her family doesn’t have a television set,and talks about strange hobbies like scuba diving.Jess also has to contend with school bully Janice Avery,a large seventh-grade girl who terrorizes anyone in her path.As an escape from it all,Jess sneaks off into woods behind leslie’s house wth leonard where they build a castle out of scrap metal furnish it with provisions.They spend every day afterschool at Terabithia playing until dark then go back home for dinner
As time goes on, Terabithia becomes a place where Jess and Leslie can go to escape the pressures of school life. They use it as a space for strategizing, such as when they need to come up with ways to get back at Janice Avery for tormenting May Belle. It also serves as an escape from their families, who are always demanding something of them (even though their sisters receive preferential treatment). Eventually, Jess starts spending more time at the Burkes’ house because he’s comfortable around Bill and Leslie. He is proud that he made himself useful by helping fix up the house and paint it gold. One afternoon after painting was finished, Jess went back to Terabithia with Leslie for the first time in weeks. Later that night while he was sleeping his sister May Belle came into his room and told him she’d been following him and Leslie around—she knew about their secret hideout! She warned him not to tell anyone else about it because if she got caught spying on them there would be trouble.
As Easter approaches, it rains nonstop over Lark Creek. Mr. Aarons loses his job, causing even more tension in Jess’s family. Leslie is curious about church and wishes to visit one with her parents as an opportunity to learn more about the Christian religion she’s never been exposed to before. Mrs. Aarons agrees and invites Leslie along for Easter service at a nearby church the following day. During that particular service, Leslie is fascinated by what she hears but admits afterwards that she doesn’t believe anything being said during the sermon due to her lack of familiarity with Christianity or the Bible itself yet—she thinks May Belle was right when warning her about hell earlier on after learning that she didn’t believe in God or Jesus Christ back then during their first meeting at school last year back then where they became best friends ever since from there on out after doing so much together both inside Terabithia and outside of it too such as playing games like hide-and-seek together within its boundaries while having lots of fun both there in general as well as otherwise all throughout this past year’s duration afterward between them including other activities such “The Great Adventure”, “The Secret Island”, etc., not just simply speaking either among themselves, but also interacting with many other people today too whenever they’re able to do so wherever/whenever feasible (e.g., going somewhere new & exciting), especially when accompanied by each other whether they like it or not (like crossing a river next time without fear) whenever possible now!
