Reviews

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

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kmparsons's review against another edition

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5.0

This book perfectly sums up how I want my life to go

outoftheblue14's review against another edition

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5.0

Once upon a time there was a pair of pants. They were an essential kind of pants - jeans, naturally, blue, but not that stiff, new blue that you see so often on the first day of school. They were a soft, changeable blue with a little extra fading at the knee and the seat and white wavelets at the cuffs.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares has been on my reading list forever. Now I've finally gotten around to reading it. I expect everyone and their grandmother has read this already, so I'm not concerned too much about spoilers in this review.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is about a group of four fifteen-year-old girls living in Bethesda, Maryland. Their mothers were friends and attented birth classes together - the girls were all born during the month of September. Lena, Bridget, Carmen and Tibby practically grew up together, and have been best friends since they were born. Now, during their fifteen summer, they are going to be separated for the first time: Lena is going to Greece to visit her grandparents; Carmen is spending the summer with her dad (her parents are divorced); Bridget is attending soccer camp in California; and Tibby is staying at home, with a boring summer job at Wallman's.

Before they are separated, though, they discover a pair of jeans with the apparent magical property of looking great on each of them, in spite of their different builds. They decide that the Pants will be passed between them throughout the summer, as a way for them to keep in touch and feel close to each other. During the summer, Lena falls in love for the first time; Bridget pursues a guy who's too old for her; Carmen has a difficult time adjusting to her dad's new family; and Tibby learns to see life thorugh the eyes of a wise twelve-year-old.
What I liked the most about this book is that all four girls have something that makes them special. They grow up, make mistakes, laugh, and cry, but they are all special in some way. The character I can relate to the most is maybe Tibby, with her snarky personality. But I liked all four girls, really. I look forward to reading the next book in the Sisterhood series.

lilyjalberti's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

go2hellstephanie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I read this years ago, and this book is still a really, really good coming of age story. I love these friends and their summers, and I weep every time I get to the end. I really love how these friends care for each other, even during their first summer apart, and I'm so impressed with the way Brashares captures everyone's emotions so well and so realistically. Can't wait to binge the rest of them.

hanniballecter's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

eesh25's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5 Stars

Going into this book, I really didn't think it was going to be good. I guess it felt similar to a lot of other books that I'm not a fan of (like Jenny Han's books), and I was only trying it for a reading challenge. And I'm so thankful to that reading challenge right now because this book really surprised me and I enjoyed it a lot.

It follows four girls--Tibby, Bridget, Lena and Carmen. Carmen gets a pair of jeans at a thrift shop and when the four friends try them, they seem to be magical because they fit all four of them. The girls make a pact to take the pants with them on their separate vacations and mail them to each other on schedule. That's when the journey of the Travelling Pants begins.

And these were quite a pair of jeans, I tell you. I loved the initial description/introduction. Never have an ordinary pair of blue jeans had that much character.

In the beginning, I was kinda interested in knowing if the pants were actually magic (side-effects of reading too much fantasy) but soon after, it ceased to matter. The story is more about the four girls and about what those plain jeans symbolise for each of them.

They symbolize strength and comfort and, most importantly, their friends. And they really help on the different journeys.

As for the journeys, I'm gonna let you read them for yourself. I loved reading each one and I really grew to care for all the girls. They were all very different characters and they all made their own mistakes and learned from them. They grew in many different ways and, honestly, this book has so much to offer to young girls and even to older people. It was a wonderful read.

Except for the part with the parents. It just baffled me how neglectful they were. When I was fifteen, my mom would've freaked if I'd gone to buy cookies without telling anyone. And here, they can just book a flight and leave the state and it's no biggie. It feels like the author didn't know what to do with the parents other than when they were needed. That was a little sloppy.

But otherwise, everything was great. The book was well written, touching and also a lot of fun. I loved it and I highly recommend it.