The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares [book]

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares [book]

Publisher: Ember, 2003
Language: English
Paperback: 336 pages
ISBN: 0385730586

Plot Summary:
Four girls have spent their entire lives together; ever since their mothers met when they were all pregnant at the same time. They are all different: Lena is quiet, artistic and beautiful; Bridget is outgoing, athletic, and mildly tormented by the death of her mother; Tibby is a quirky, cynical filmmaker; and Carmen is a Latin, down to earth girl who is very close with her single mother. Before their junior year of high school the 4 girls mysteriously find a magic pair of pants that perfectly fit all of their different body types and they see it as a sign that the pants found them and they were meant for them. They use the pants as a catalyst to remain close as they are going to spend their first summer ever apart.
Bridget is not close with her father or brother, and over summer she decides to go to a soccer camp in Mexico. While their she spends time having fun, running and meeting her a counselor that she pursues actively. Bridget is beautiful and very reckless and she eventually loses her virginity to the counselor, which affects her more than she would have thought. Her summer ends with the counselor telling him that it could have been different and Lena coming to her side for support. Lena is painfully shy and reserved and spends the summer in Greece with her grandparents site seeing and doing her art. She meets a Greek boy and falls in love for the first time, finding heartbreak when she must leave him. Tibby works over the summer, while playing video games with her neighbor and being followed around by an annoying twelve year old girl that adores her. Tibby films the summer, and eventually finds out that the young girl that has been her friend is very ill and she dies affecting Tibby as she has never been affected before. She ends up making the film for and about Baily effectively sharing her beautiful, short time with her. Carmen has a hard time over the summer visiting a father that she is not close with. When she goes to visit she even sees that he is engaged with the woman's two other children living with them. Carmen bonds with her soon to be step brother but faces conflicting emotions about not being a part of a family that she feels that she should be. After battling her inner turmoil and storming home Carmen takes advice from her loving mother and attends her father's wedding. During all of their stories the girls mail the traveling pants to one another righting messages and drawing pictures of their lives apart on the pant that kept them together.

Critical Evaluation:
I think that this book is very well written; in each girl's perspective you are able to empathize with them and see how close their friendships are. They go through experiences that many girls in high school go through and they express them honestly and clearly along with their consequences. The themes of abandonment, friendship, and growing up are all very relevant and clear to young adult readers. The characters were well formed, the  multiple story lines fit well together and I felt that even the characters were very diverse. I think that the storyline could have extended longer, I did feel that it was cut a little short, but there are three more novels to follow, so I felt that that made the difference.

Reader's Annotation:
4 best friends find a pair of magical pants that mysteriously fit them all. They have never lived their lives apart and they find them right before the spend their first summer apart; they use the pants to stay close throughout their lives even though they are apart.

Websites to look Into:
http://annbrashares.com/

The Author:
Brashares said that the topic for the book started with a conversation that she had with her friend in which the friend told her of a summer that her and her friends shared a pair of pants that were eventually lost. She liked the idea that there was something solid (like the pants) in the midst of change.

Awards:

ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Awards

ALA Best Books for Young Adults

Book Sense Book of the Year

Evergreen Young Adult Book Award

Garden State Teen Book Award

Volunteer State Book Award
Young Hoosier Book Award
Young Reader's Choice Award

Similar Books:
"The Second Summer of the Sisterhood" by Ann Brashares
"Girls in Pants" by Ann Brashares
"Forever in Blue" by Ann Brashares

Booktalking Ideas:
Showing scenes from the movie in comparison with the book
Discussing female friendship and life lessons

Genre:
Chic Lit, Fiction, Drama

Interest Age:
14+

Challenge Issues:
Sexuality
I think that Bridget's storyline is the most challenging because she loses her virginity as a junior in high school to a counselor that she is not supposed to be fraternizing with. To combat it I would say that she learns a harsh lesson in the book because it is not as carefree and fun as she expects it be when she gets into it. It also shows how having close friends by your side can help you in situations that you feel you cannot handle alone.

Why this Book?
This is a great book about lasting friendships and female fellowship. I fell in love with all of the characters and could not put these books down. I definitely think that they can be considered chic lit because it is all about girls and their lives apart from one another.