Patterson's book centers around the loneliness of the protagonist, Jess. In every sphere of his life he is the misunderstood, powerless outcast. His father is abusive. He is unpopular and bullied in school. And he lives on a farm, with no outlet to develop his passion for art. In total, he's sad and lonely, desperate to be understood or encouraged by somebody. When Jess meets his new neighbor, Leslie, however, everything changes. She's alive with imagination and enthusiasm for life. She teaches him about how to love others and to live without fear.
Since Patterson wrote this book for her son, she didn't stray away from the hard issues. Her son lost his best friends when she was struck by lightning while they were both in elementary school. Patterson decided to write Bridge to Terabithia to help him process his grief and to help other kids who struggled with similar problems, many of which she daily witnessed in her job as a school teacher.
Over the course of the book, Jess learns that he can enjoy life even if it's difficult a lot of the time. Leslie's optimism and imagination opened up an entire world for him. They talk about everything fearlessly during their friendship: religion, death, bullies, fear, passions, music, parents, etc. When Leslie dies, she takes with her all the joy Jess thought he'd found for himself. Then he realizes that everything he learned from Leslie was his to keep. He could rely upon himself to find the beautiful and meaningful parts of life. Finally, when his sister tries to cross the riverbank where Leslie drowned, He rescues her and invites her into Terabithia, from which she had previously been banished. He then teaches her what he had learned from Leslie. This story is a beautiful depiction of grief and redemption and hope. Patterson captures some really difficult aspects of life in a way that children can make sense of their own experiences.
