Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Ann Brashares' first novel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, is about four very different friends-- Carmen, Bridget, Lena and Tibby; and, a mysterious pair of pants that Carmen had spotted in a thrift shop. Amazingly, the pants fit all of the girls' different bodies perfectly. This is each their 15th summer, and they are spending that time apart for the very first time.

Carmen, the youngest of the four, was planning to spend quality time with her father all summer, but it turned out he married someone other than her mother with two "too good to be true" children. Now she has to spend her whole summer in a hotel-like house with people she hardly even knows.

Bridget leaves for a soccer camp in Baja, California and went crazy over one of her coaches, who happened to be four years older than she was. But when her heart is broken after all that constant chasing and flirting, she will never be the same Bridget again.

Lena, the pretty one, goes to visit her grandparents on a little island in Greece. The exact opposite from Bridget, she tried to avoid the boy who liked her, even though her grandmother thought they were perfect for each other.

Tibby stayed at home and worked at a drugstore called Wallman's. Every day was a routine day until she met Bailey, who had leukemia. They hung at a 7-eleven with Brian, at their houses and at Wallman's. Their friendship seemed like an everlasting bond until something tragic happens and Tibby feels it is all her fault.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was a heartwarming novel in which people found themselves in emotional traps and funny situations. Brashares wrote this novel in such detail that I felt I was dragged into the book. I thought this novel was unique because not many authors honor pants in their books.

I recommend The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to people in ninth grade and up. I give it a 5 out of 5.