Bridge to Terabithia

    I'm almost finished reading the book Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. This is my first time reading the book, even though I've seen the movie many times. Something I thought was very apparent and important throughout the whole book was the amazing bond between Leslie Burke and Jesse Aarons. Their bond becomes increasingly stronger throughout the book.



     Jesse and Leslie became best friends almost instantly. Even though their families are really different. Jesse's family has 5 children, and they are very poor. Lots of the kids don't have shoes and things. Leslie's mom and dad are writers, and they are very rich. Leslie is their only child. Jesse's mom would say things like "Her hair's shorter than a boys'" or " that little girl's parents are hardly more than hippies" or make comments about Leslie's "tacky" clothes.  Even though all these negative comments were made, Jesse wasn't concerned by them. He admired Leslie, the way she was different from anyone that he ever met before. And Leslie admired how hard-working and determined Jesse was about everything. 




       I've also noticed that their bond has become more than just best friends. It's apparent now that Jesse loves Leslie the way he loves his sisters. The book even says "Jesse now realized he loved Leslie. Not like the kind of love Ellie and Brenda giggled about on the phone. It was the kind of love he felt for his family." This shows that Jesse cares and wants to protect Leslie the same way he does with his sisters (mostly his younger sister May Belle). Leslie also admits how much she cares for Jesse when she buys him a sketchpad and some markers and pens. Now this may seem little, but this was huge to Jesse because he loves to draw more than anything and really wants to be an artist. But, he can't afford anything to draw with except some scrap paper and some old crayons.



       Leslie and Jesse's bond is probably the tightest bond I've ever seen in a book between friends. They completely trust each other, and can be themselves around each other. They accept each other and don't care what others think about them even when people tease them and make up rumors. I think there should be more people like Jesse Aarons and Leslie Burke.