Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My kids and I listened to this on audiobook while driving across Ontario to northern Michigan.

My kids liked it, but my nearly-four-year-old preferred Ian Fleming’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which we listened to just before this one.

I liked Bridge to Terabithia fine (unlike my son, I don’t think I can compare it to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), but it didn’t blow my mind or anything. The storyline was fine, and I like that it’s an emotional story written from the male protagonist’s point of view and that it provides a way for children to talk about death or loss of any kind, but I didn’t find the writing all that gripping.

My spouse and I were especially distracted by Paterson’s over-use of similes. Read More