This is the tale of two youngsters who are, each in his or her own way, misfits in their environment. Jess is the only son of a farm family in the south, who cannot find his place as a fifth grader in his school. Leslie is the new arrival on the scene, who is also, for very different reasons, not a part of the local culture. The two connect, create their own magical kingdom in which they can reign and feel comfortable. They swing across the creek on a rope into Teribithia, a forested respite from a world that does not seem to work comfortably for either of them. The tale evolves through the development of this friendship, only to end in tragedy when Leslie drowns in the creek one day when Jess is away. The remainder of the story has to do with Jess's grief work, his steps through most of Kubler-Ross' stages, and eventual reconciliation with the loss of his best friend.