Bridge to Terabithia explores the fine line between being alone and being lonely. The experiences of Jess, Leslie, and others show that being an outsider is isolating. However, when shared with someone else, being unique is what can connect us to one another.

Separately, Jess and Leslie are lonely children. Jess is the “only boy smashed between four sisters” (2), and at school, he has few friends. Both classmates and parents denigrate his creativity, and he feels so different from his family that he imagines he is a “foundling” who was found in a basket on the river. Leslie is an only child who, although she gets along well with adults, has no friends and is gawked at for her tomboyish appearance and “unusual” hobbies. Being outsiders is part of what draws Jess and Leslie together; while being different is initially painful, it helps them develop a strong friendship. Creating Terabithia is how they celebrate their unique creativity. The fact that Terabithia is exclusively theirs is what makes it special: “Terabithia was their secret, which was a good thing, for how could Jess have ever explained it to an outsider?” (59). Terabithia proves that being an outsider does not need to be an isolating experience.