I remember reading this book in the 4th grade, and then the following year the school banned it. I have never been able to figure out what was so horrible about it, but perhaps that's because my mind had already been warped by its subversive subject matter.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
From what I recall, the book isn't banned from some schools for subversive content so much as some feel the plot twist of the climax is too intense and upsetting for children.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I felt that way about the Fire Us series, but it was really good, but some of those images would have freaked me out as a kid.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
I didn't really like Bridge to Terabithia at all. It was just a bad story if you ask me. I definitely wouldn't have made it the whole way through the book if it wasn't required.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
quote:Originally posted by Hamson: I didn't really like Bridge to Terabithia at all. It was just a bad story if you ask me. I definitely wouldn't have made it the whole way through the book if it wasn't required.
*SPOILERS!!!!*
*nods in agreement*
I just don't see the point of the twist. Her death had no meaning or worth. Why did she have to die? Besides, her death was bland and unimaginative.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
That's the whole freaking point of the book. It's to show a new view then have it go away and deal with his reaction.
I did like the book, but I read it with a really good teacher so that explains a lot of it.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
quote:Originally posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion: I just don't see the point of the twist. Her death had no meaning or worth. Why did she have to die? Besides, her death was bland and unimaginative.
That was the point...that death can happen in a way that is totally random, leaving the loved ones behind shattered and scrambling to make sense.
As for your observation, judging by the obituaries, most people die in a way that's not colorful or exotic.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
I never read the book, but I remember seeing the movie when I was like 8. I loved it, even though it made me sad at the end.
I may just have a warped recollection, but it still resonates with me as a good movie from my youth.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
quote:Originally posted by Puffy Treat:
quote:Originally posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion: I just don't see the point of the twist. Her death had no meaning or worth. Why did she have to die? Besides, her death was bland and unimaginative.
That was the point...that death can happen in a way that is totally random, leaving the loved ones behind shattered and scrambling to make sense.
As for your observation, judging by the obituaries, most people die in a way that's not colorful or exotic.
But you see, that is real life. The story can be said in like 4 sentences. Boy and girl have fun in made up place. He goes off somewhere. She dies. He comes back and mourns.
I don't get why such an ordinary story has received so much buzz.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
*makes a note to not have Alt as the speaker at his funeral "He was born. He lived. He died. Gonna put him in the ground now. There anything to eat in this dump?!?"*
But seriously, most stories aimed at younger readers don't deal with senseless death, period. That's the controversy...some view that element as inappropriate for kids. Others don't.
Posted by CoriSCapnSkip (Member # 9153) on :
Actually, I thought the book was banned because the word "bit¢hing" appeared once or twice.
I was older (than the intended age group) when I read "Bridge to Terabithia" and found it very good. I was also older when I read "On My Honor," by Marian Dane Bauer, another book with a similar theme. I remember refusing to read "A Taste of Blackberries," by Doris Buchanan Smith, when I was in the age group for which it was intended, and read it when much older, almost back-to-back with "On My Honor." I did read "Home from Far," by Jean Little, in grade school, but with great reluctance.
Posted by 0range7Penguin (Member # 7337) on :
I loved Bridge to Tarabithia. Still do. It chocked me up the first time I read it.
Posted by Euripides (Member # 9315) on :
It was a while ago, but I thought the book was alright. If my memory serves me I thought the death was sudden and sort of caught me off guard, but it was a thought-out plot development rather than a kink in the story, as others have already said.
Speaking of banned books, isn't it depressing that books like "Brave New World" or "To Kill a Mockingbird" are challenged/banned by many institutions ( the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000 )? And isn't it sadly ironic that some copies of "Farenheit 451" were censored against the author's approval? (I think I read it in an afterward to one of the editions - if anyone has more details please let me know)
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I love this book. Katherine Patterson is one of my favorite writers.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I wonder if it's possible that part of the reason some here didn't like the book was because they were forced to read it. I know that when I was younger I was often resentful of having to read such and such a book when I wanted to be reading something else, and sometimes came away disliking books that, had I discovered them on my own, I would probably have liked quite a bit better.
Posted by MandyM (Member # 8375) on :
I have a banned books list on the door to my classroom. The librarian even maked it with the books we have available in our library. One of my kids has made it his mission to read all the ones we have in the library at least. Posted by Euripides (Member # 9315) on :
quote:Originally posted by MandyM: I have a banned books list on the door to my classroom. The librarian even maked it with the books we have available in our library. One of my kids has made it his mission to read all the ones we have in the library at least.
That's a great idea:)
Come to think of it yes, its probably true that I would have enjoyed the book more if I wasn't forced to read it. "The Hobbit" was also a class novel for me, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the Lord of the Rings books because I wasn't reading what caught my whim at the moment.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
The school my mom teaches english at (7 and 8) celebrates Banned Book week with readings to prove that the books are ok (but still grade appropriate).
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
No, I don't think it had anything to do with that I was forced to read it Noemon. That's definitely a very plausible suggestion though. I've always wondered if Enders Game would have resonated the same with me if I was forced to read it in school like some people here say that they did.
Just last semester we had to read "Forgotten Fire", and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was a very well written book.
Euripides, yeah, I have the 50th aniversary edition of Fahrenheit 451 and in the Coda he (Ray Bradbury) talks about how without his approval (and even sometimes WITH his disapproval) publishers would crunch down his books and fit them into large compelations for english classes, and how some editors had been censoring the books without his knowledge. It's a very good read if you manage to pick it up!
Posted by CoriSCapnSkip (Member # 9153) on :
"There's more than one way to burn a book." Ray Bradbury, "Author's Afterword" (added in 1979), "Fahrenheit 451." The Afterword and Coda should be found in at least some editions published after 1979.
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