An elementary school boy (Jess) looks forward to being the fastest boy at his rural Virginia school. However, a girl (Leslie) moves in and ends up beating all the boys. This leads to the gradual ending of the races. (They would not want to race with a girl.) At first he keeps his distance, but gradually he becomes good friends with her. She has moved out there with her family from the DC suburbs. They spend time together and become good friends. They also work to help avenge a "mean girl" who took treats from his little sister. Later Leslie helps console the mean girl from her separate issues. Jess and Leslie have their own little place in the woods by a creek that they call Terabithia.
One day, Jess's teacher invites him to come to DC with her to tour a museum. While on their way, Jess thinks about inviting Leslie. However, he justifies not doing it. When he gets home, he finds that Leslie has died. This is hard for him. The tail end deals with him dealing with the grieving process. He first denies it, later accepts it, and then decides to use some of Leslie's family's lumber to build a bridge.
It is a well-written exploration of friendship, fitting in and dealing with death.
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