** spoiler alert ** 
 Bridge to Terabithia was my first experience with death as a kid - up until that point, everything had a happy ending and Leslie's death tripped me up. The make-believe world of Terabithia is enchanting. Leslie and Jesse are relatively realistic characters. All kids can relate to Jess's issues with his family - how many times did we crave for more attention from our parents and siblings? And, in the end, Jess gets just that when he shares Terabithia with May Belle. 
 As a kid, I couldn't fathom how Leslie could die in Terabithia. It was her special place; she should have been safe there. As an adult, I understand the logistics - there had to be a rope and a creek in order for that death to happen - but I'm not entirely sure what Paterson wanted to say with Leslie's death - is it a punishment for Jess's crush on his teacher? Is her death synonymous with the death of fantasy and growing up? Then, after Leslie's death, Jesse gets no closure. Maybe that's supposed to mirror real life and the lack of closure we face in the untimely and unexpected death of a friend or family member? Jess's sisters are absolutely terrible to him after Leslie died, and that seemed unrealistic: wouldn't they feel bad for him and be nice, even a little? And that doesn't even touch on Ms. Edmunds taking Jess out for a day without his parents' permission - nowadays, this would never, ever work. 
 This book was a good conversation starter on death - it gave my mom an opportunity to discuss the loss of a loved one with me. It's a great place to start that conversation, if your kid is lucky enough to have little/no real life experience with loss.