I'm just moments from having finished Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson. One might guess that the family picked this one up because of the recent movie, and one would be correct. We still haven't seen the movie, and I don't know that I especially want to, now that I've read the book.
The first commercials I saw for the movie looked interesting. I did know that it was a book, but I'd never been familiar with it as such. My only concept of Bridge to Terabithia came via a song of the same name, though with the name spelled Taribithia on the album jacket, from punk band extraordinaire Mr. T Experience. Should you care to find the song it is on the album Our Bodies, Our Selves, easily findable where better music is bought and sold and well worth the price of admission. One of these days I'll write about how my life is better for having found a seat on the Mr. T Experience ride. Yes that is a real album that is really playing as I write this. There you see the album cover as well. I like this picture and have titled it, Giving Myself Street Cred By Displaying My Outdated Stereo In A Picture In A Blog Post.
Big Brother read the book before I did, and I even game Momma a chance at it, but she failed to begin reading before me.
Trying to maintain a manly air, I will state first that I wasn't gasping for air, dripping tears on the pages. Perhaps aided by my own current fragile state of mind the book did see me a little damp eyed and sniffly by the end.
There aren't any battles between dragons or wizards or robots. There are no boy detectives or crimes. There are not even any truly evil intentioned villains in the book. It's just a great story, kind of sad, kind of happy. Assuming I haven't scared off any christian readers, I'd suggest a parental read through first due to a conversation that takes place after the family attends church. It was actually in the church scene of the book that I most related to the main character, though I saw bits of myself in him a few times. I didn't read it first, as I've mentioned, and I'm fine with Big Brother having read it, as if my own parental decisions effect yours, but still.
