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.