Review Detail

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was Ann Brashares first novel and it is a joyous and heart-rending look at four teenage girls on the brink of womanhood. Yes, I know that sounds like something out of a Hallmark card. But, this book really delivers.

Carmen, the insecure one, finds the jeans in a thrift shop. Each of the girls tries the pair on and finds it a perfect fit. Impossible! The four girls, while lifelong friends, have their own distinctive shapes. They decide the pants must be magic and make a pact to share them equally over their first summer apart.

Throughout the summer, the pants travel back and forth between the girls. They travel to Greece with Lena, a beauty who learns about love and trust. Heartbreak (and life lessons) are in store with Bridget spending time in a soccer camp in Baja. Carmen learns about her own strengths and weaknesses as she vacations with her father and her father's new family in South Carolina. And Tibby, stuck at home, finds a new friend who teaches her about life and death.

The story includes the letters that the girls send each other during the summer. They are in turns charming, funny, thoughtful and silly, just like the girls themselves.

Chances are, you'll cry at least once during this book. You'll also laugh.

I highly recommend this book for girls of all ages, but especially those 12 and up.