Love stories, good love stories, are rare today. [Bridge to Terabithia] is a beautiful one, encompassing all the tones and nuances of deep feeling, all the entanglement lovers feel with each other's sensitivities and interpretations of life…. This is not a love story of physical encounter but a fusion of souls and minds. To shy Jess, Leslie's philosophy opens new doors. Her sudden death threatens to crush him before he has learned to live her teachings. Her strength, however, continues ...

Not only is [Bridge to Terabithia] … unusual because it portrays a believable relationship between a boy and a girl at an age when same-sex friendships are the norm but it also presents an unromantic, realistic, and moving reaction to personal tragedy. Jess and Leslie are so effectively developed as characters that young readers might well feel that they were their classmates. (p. 61) Jack Forman, in School Library Journal (reprinted from the November, 1977 issue of School Library Journa...

What seems at first the main fault of [Bridge to Terabithia]—its light loosely woven structure—becomes its most important quality. The fabric of loosely woven thoughts is an integral part of the story. The short, sharp American dialogue is rather off-putting, as is the opening theme, but these are overcome by the developing charm and simplicity. This book grows on you, and you may not realise how much you have enjoyed it until the end. (pp. 23-4) Penelope Curtis, in Book Window (&...

Jess and his family are magnificently characterized; [Bridge to Terabithia] abounds in descriptive vignettes, humorous sidelights on the clash of cultures, and realistic depictions of rural school life. The symbolism of falling and of building bridges forms a theme throughout the story, which is one of remarkable richness and depth, beautifully written. (pp. 49-50) Ann A. Flowers, in The Horn Book Magazine (copyright © 1978 by the Horn Book, Inc., Boston), February, 1978.

[Bridge to Terabithia] is not a message book, however, Paterson subtly handles [its] complex subject in an eloquent way that makes evident the expansion of her writing ability. The vivid and sensitive character portrayals and changing relationships … are superb. (p. 554) Barbara Elleman, in Booklist (reprinted by permission of the American Library Association; copyright 1977 by the American Library Association), November 15, 1977.