Summary:

Jess Aarons is an eleven-year-old boy living in a rural area of the South who loves to run. He dreams of being the fastest boy in the fifth grade when school starts up in the fall, feeling that this will for once give him a chance to stand in the spotlight among his five sisters, and might win him the attention of his preoccupied father.

Jess is quite insecure in his identity. He loves to paint and draw, but he knows very well that this labels him a "sissy" in the eyes of most of the world, particularly his father. In addition, his family is very poor and he has little chance to really explore his own identity during this crucial period of adolescence. He has therefore built up the importance of winning in his mind, feeling that here, at least, is something that he is good at which won't win him an undesired label of "sissy" or "girl" in the eyes of his father or schoolmates. He practices each morning, always dreaming of his upcoming victory. However, when the races come around at recess, a new girl, Leslie Burke, crosses to the boys' side of the playground and beats everyone.

A rather unpromising beginning, but Jess and Leslie become fast friends. They build a secret fantasyland across the creek in the woods, called Terabithia. There they forget the rest of the world, such as the kids at school or Jess's less-than-satisfactory family. The time they spend in Terabithia, in fact, seems to strengthen them for these trials of everyday life.

Questions:

1. What is the setting for this novel?
2. Why is the setting important to this story?
3. Whose point of view is the story being told from?
4. What conflicts arise throughout this story? Are the conflicts resolved? Why or why not?
5. If you could change one thing about this novel, what would it be?

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