Review on: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Series: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Book 1)
Rating: 3/5
A long overdue read, I first heard about The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants when I watched the film on television. It is a story about 4 close friends whose lives have been intertwined since before their birth, until their teenage years where the present book takes place.
American-born Greek Lena, sporty Bridget, somewhat outspoken and honest Libby, and half-Puerto Rican writer Carmen. The four girls who are coincidentally born within days of each other, have grown up together and are the best of friends, despite their different personalities. For the first summer ever, the girls will be separated, spending their days apart from each other doing completely different things. It is during their time apart that each of the girls goes on their own little adventures, discovering a little more about themselves and the people around them.
(Beware: Spoilers ahead)
Lena spends the summer with her grandparents in Greece, where she not only learns more about her culture and her family, but also of herself. Carmen spends the summer with her dad, when she discovers that he is engaged to be married to a woman with 2 grown-up kids of her own. Bridget goes on a soccer summer camp that challenges not just her sports-minded personality, but her mind and heart as well. Tibby is left in their town, working part-time, when she meets a twelve-year old Bailey who is sick with leukemia, and through Bailey’s eyes begins to see the world in a different light.
(End Spoilers)
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Though almost very similar to its film version, the original novel has disparities to how it was portrayed in the film. Personally, the book felt more age-appropriate to the teenage years it was trying to portray, rather than the more mature-film version.
One of the defining features of the novel are the letters that the four main characters would send to each other throughout the novel, which expressed the inner and sometimes confused feelings the girls had about their own experiences throughout the story. Those letters and feelings didn’t seem as well-portrayed in the film, especially since the text of the novel aptly showcases the youth and innocence of the characters.
The novel in itself is short, not very descriptive to some extent, but still explains well the lives of Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen. Because of its easy text, and the way the stories were explained, especially the stories behind each of the girls, the novel is something that teenagers, maybe even pre-teens, can easily relate to. It’s a time of hormones, BFF’s, falling in love, especially in a time before the internet had a big impact on people’s lives. It’s a natural story of love and friendship that takes place away from the world of modern technology, which is something that might not be understood as well by teenagers in our present and future generation, but still can relate to many young girls, and even to young adults who may look at this and reminisce about their own teenage years.
I find that though not as thought-provoking as the feelings I felt when I watched the film many years ago, there’s something young and innocent and beautiful about the novel, and how it aims to portray friendship and young love among four friends. One of the nice and positively inspiring things about the novel is how the author had distinct personalities for each of the characters, but in the course of the story challenged these characters to face dilemmas that put them outside of their comfort zone, outside of their character set. I call it positively inspiring because I feel that it best tries to portray that time in one’s teenage years when girls try to find and understand themselves, and how through the days, weeks, and months, each person finds themselves at odds with the world and even with one’s feelings, constantly changing to fit and adapt to the environment and society. Honestly, it feels like the kind of book that teenage girls can read and look up to, or read and discover coincides with what they’re feeling or going through, to some extent.
At the end of the day though, 26 year old me feels a little bit distant to the story of 15-year old girls; but at the same time it brings up memories of me when I was at that age, reminding me that once again, I was once a teenager, and I also had those kinds of everyday dilemmas that now seem so small and insignificant.
It’s that kind of feel-good nostalgia book that sometimes one comes across, in an attempt to re-discover and understand oneself, and how a person can grow and change from their teenage years to whatever age they are currently at.
Next Book in the Series: The Second Summer of the Sisterhood