The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Ann Brashares
Published 2004
352 pages
Rating: B+

Synopsis

Carmen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didn't look all that great: they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach. On the night before she and her friends part for the summer, Carmen decides to toss them. But Tibby says they're great. She''d love to have them. Lena and Bridget also think they're fabulous. Lena decides that they should all try them on. Whoever they fit best will get them. Nobody knows why, but the pants fit everyone perfectly. Even Carmen (who never thinks she looks good in anything) thinks she looks good in the pants. Over a few bags of cheese puffs, they decide to form a sisterhood and take the vow of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants . . . the next morning, they say good-bye. And then the journey of the pants - and the most memorable summer of their lives - begins.

My review

This book is about four best friends, Tibby, Lena, Carmen and Bridget who all fit in the same pair of jeans. This should be impossible since they're all different size. The girls take this as a sign that they're obviously meant to be best friends and that the jeans will help them stay together over the summer while they all go their separate ways.

First, the pants go to Lena who is spending the summer in Greece with her grandparents. Lena loves Greece and thinks it's beautiful. She's especially happy that she gets to sketch a lot. Then Lena meets Kostos, a cute Greek boy who is totally interested in her. But Lena is shy and quiet and usually never talks to boys. As the summer goes on, the two go through lots of ups and downs and eventually fall in love with each other. But what will happen when Kostos has to leave for college and Lena has to go back to America?

The pants go to Tibby next. Tibby is spending the summer at home working at Wallman's and babysitting for her mother. While working at Wallman's Tibby encounters a 12 year old girl, Bailey, who has leukemia. At first Bailey is just really annoying to Tibby but soon the two become good friends. When Bailey learns she will die, Tibby tries to draw strength from the pants to let her friend go.

After Tibby, the pants go to Carmen. Carmen is visiting her father in South Carolina. She rarely sees her father and expects the two of them to have a great time together. When she gets there, her father surprises her saying he's getting re-married. Carmen is annoyed that she has to spend her summer with an annoying new soon to be step-mother and step-sister but she doesn't mind her step-brother. Soon Carmen's father, step-mother and step-sister make her feel totally left out of the family. Carmen feels hurt and betrayed by her father and she wants to tell him how she really feels.

Bridget is the last to get the pants. She is spending her summer at soccer camp in Baja California. At soccer camp, Bridget develops a big crush on of the coaches at camp, Eric. She knows that the coaches are off-limits but she doesn't care. She's never wanted anything more than she wants Eric. After a while Bridget finally gets Eric, but not in the way she wanted. Soon everything starts to feel wrong to Bridget and she needs her friends more than ever.

I really like this book/series. It's definitely a great read. Obviously not full of action but the romance and drama is good. It's mostly about friendship, love and
growing. Getting over past relationships, family drama and much more. For those who saw the movie, the book is pretty much the same thing except for a few things that are different. And there are also more details in the book obviously. I saw the movie before I read the book and I still enjoyed the book very much even if I already knew what happened. I definitely recommend watching the movie too. It's very cute and will make you both laugh and cry. Maybe at the same time. I know I cried and laughed several times during the movie AND while reading the book. If any of you like cute, simple books with a good story line and great characters, then read this book/series. Oh and here is a picture of the four of them from the movie.

-Marisa