#Audiobook #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson #KatherinePaterson @HarperAudio ‏

TITLE: Bridge to Terabithia
AUTHOR: Katherine Paterson

NARRATOR: Robert Sean Leonard

PUBLISHER: Harper Audio

PUBLICATION DATE: August 18, 2009 (first published 1977)

FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook

LENGTH: 3 hrs and 30 mins

GENRE: Children's Fiction, Classics

ASIN: B002VA8VYO

Jess Aarons' greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in his grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new girl boldly crosses over to the boys' side and outruns everyone.That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. Together, they create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits.

Then one morning a terrible tragedy occurs. Only when Jess is able to come to grips with this tragedy does he finally understand the strength and courage Leslie has given him.

MY REVIEW:

I own this paperback, but I wanted to pre-read it before reading it aloud to my younger daughter so I borrowed the audiobook from the library.

The main character is a 10-year-old boy named Jess, who has four sisters. They live out in the country, and a new family is moving in next door. They have a daughter, Leslie, who is the same age as Jess.

Jess and Leslie develop a warm friendship, and they have a special place that they go called Terabithia. It's a magical place, and you can only get there by swinging across the creek on a rope. It's their secret hideaway, where they imagine they are the king and queen. 

Of course, tragedy strikes! I shed lots of tears with this one, and I'm glad that I pre-read it because I don't think my sensitive younger daughter is ready for this one yet. I think our school division uses this book as a novel study for their Grade 5 students, so I'll hold off until then.

I enjoyed the narrator, Robert Sean Leonard. His pace was good, and my only complaint is that I wish that he would have distinguished more between the characters as opposed to simply "reading" the book. Here is a sample of the narration:

MY RATING:

4 stars!! It was really good, and you should put it on your TBR list if you enjoy middle grade fiction!

This book qualifies as:

#9 for my 2018 Audiobook Challenge
#3 for my 2018 Library Love Challenge
#9 for my Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2018
#14 for my Beat the Backlist 2018 Challenge
#12 for my The Backlist Reader Challenge 2018
#8 for my New Authors 2018 Reading Challenge
#8 for my 2018 Try Something New Challenge
#13 for my 2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
#3 for my Read Harder Challenge 2018
#12 for my Blydyn Square Books 2018 Reading Challenge
#6 for my 2018 Badass Books Reading Challenge
#12 for my Full House Reading Challenge 2018
#12 for my GWB Book Bingo 2018
Task #34 for my 2018 Reading Challenge (Linz the Bookworm)
#6 for my 2018 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge
#6B for my 2018 Literary Escapes Challenge
#3 for my Middle Grade Reading Challenge
#14A for my Good Rule Reading Challenge
#1 for my Newbery Reading Challenge 2018
#1 for my Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge 2018
#3 for my 2018 YA Reading Challenge
#1 for my 2018 Book to Movie Reading Challenge
#38 for my The Newbery Project
#13 for my 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up

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