Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brasheras

Brashares, Ann. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Dell Books for Young Readers, 2005. ISBN: 0553494791

Plot

Lena Kaligaris, Tibby Rollins, Bridget Vreeland, and Carmen Lowell, have been close friends since childbirth, practically sisters. Carmen finds a pair of thrift store jeans that fit all four girls great, even though they all have different shapes. They believe the friends to be magical since it is impossible that the jeans fit all of them, so that night they make rules about the jeans. They are about to spend there first summer apart from one another so the jeans would be shared between one another. Lena is heading to Greece to spend time with grandparents, Carmen visits her father in South Carolina, Bridget is attending soccer camp in Mexico, and Tibby is the only one staying home. All four girl experience one of the most eventful summers of there lives. Leah meets a boy in Greece who she is forbidden to see due to family rivalries. Carmen finds out that her father is about to re-marry and has an established family. Tibby meets Bailey, a ten year old girl who she befriends. Bridget has her eye on one of the coaches at the camp who she is determined to get. It is there friendship, as well as the jeans, that help them get through the summer. They were changing but they had each other.

Critical evaluation

The four girls are use to having each other all the time and this might be one of the summers they face apart but the jeans give them that same courage they get from one another. The jeans become part of there foursome. The novel captures all four girls feeling and events perfectly, as a diary. Carmen feels that her father is leaving her for another family but does not know to express herself. Tibby becomes good friends with Bailey but Bailey has Leukemia, her death teaches Libby to be more optimistic in life. Bridget is the first one to sleep with a boy and she regrets it after he does not want anything to do with her. Lena falls in love with a Greek boy who her family did not accept. There situations act out the way teens would feel. The author captures the raw emotions of being a teenager, by only using emotions rather than logic.

Readers Annotations

Miracle jeans and sisterhood allow four friends to make it through one of the hardest summers of there teenage lives.

Information About the Author

She is best known as the author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series of books.

Genre

Fiction/young adult/friendship

Curriculum Ties

English
Booktalking Ideas

1) the jeans. First person narrative
Reading Level/Interest Age

12+

Why Book Included
My sister told me that the book was really good so I took a chance on it since it is not the typical book that I usually check out.