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3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
This book is very much for a younger group than the original Sisterhood. It didn't grip me and make me want to read more about these girls like the original series did.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
Great addition to the sisterhood of traveling pants world. The characters are just new with a flare of a few from the original stories.
I liked the story, but it did seem very similar to the sisterhood books. In fact, it takes place in the same city...and the new generation of girls know about the "legend" of the traveling pants. There was some kissing, but not as "mature" as the sisterhood series...in my opinion.
Good book, though a bit slow perhaps for me to get into. Interesting contrast with the Sisterhood books. In those, the friendship is all important, seems to sustain them when they have big problems/changes in their lives. In the beginning of this book, their friendship is sort of falling apart, may have already completely fallen apart. But they come to see how important their friendship is to each of them. A sweet book. I grew to really like and feel for all of the characters. Am wondering if this will be a new series?
This is one of those books where you're kind of bored the whole way through, and thinking it's not all that special, and then somehow you reach the end and look back at the entire thing with a great fondness. Something about the way it all wrapped up nicely in the end made me think more favorably of the novel as a whole.
I will straight-up say I would have enjoyed this a lot more had I not gotten so caught up in the Traveling Pants series.
For me, this was a little like a next-generation re-do of the first series. It's sweet in the right places, it shares the same core message of healthy female friendship, but it just didn't have the same impact.
Part of the problem was the reader. This genre is not her forte; she'd do better with single-main-character domestic fiction or love stories. In fact, I didn't know Polly's name was Polly until I saw it typed here because the reader usually sounded like she was saying "Holly." I would have preferred multiple readers who had a real sense of their characters, giving each girl a unique voice and personality.
Even so, I don't think that would have totally saved the book. That spark just wasn't there for me. I got the point of the willows. I got the point of growing apart and coming back together. I just never really clicked with any of the girls or their summer adventures. I also found the trackbacks to the TP series to be both gratuitous and distracting, which is something addressed in the interview after the story. The publisher/interviewer loves the idea and the author wanted to have the connection between all the girls because she likes it when that happens in the books she reads. It appears we have different perspectives on the topic.
For me, this was a little like a next-generation re-do of the first series. It's sweet in the right places, it shares the same core message of healthy female friendship, but it just didn't have the same impact.
Part of the problem was the reader. This genre is not her forte; she'd do better with single-main-character domestic fiction or love stories. In fact, I didn't know Polly's name was Polly until I saw it typed here because the reader usually sounded like she was saying "Holly." I would have preferred multiple readers who had a real sense of their characters, giving each girl a unique voice and personality.
Even so, I don't think that would have totally saved the book. That spark just wasn't there for me. I got the point of the willows. I got the point of growing apart and coming back together. I just never really clicked with any of the girls or their summer adventures. I also found the trackbacks to the TP series to be both gratuitous and distracting, which is something addressed in the interview after the story. The publisher/interviewer loves the idea and the author wanted to have the connection between all the girls because she likes it when that happens in the books she reads. It appears we have different perspectives on the topic.
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-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
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants has been a series that has surprised me. I went into it thinking it would be a light fluffy summer read and end up loving it so much and really feeling like it spoke to me. I have been putting off finishing the series because I knew this was a side story that didn't feature any of the main girls from the main series. My hesitation was proven accurate. I didn't connect with these girls as much as the first group, I'm not sure why. I enjoyed the story, but it just didn't have the "punch" that the others had for me.
That being said, I did enjoy the idea that the original Sisterhood kind of took on a mythical status in their hometown/school among younger girls. That was an interesting perspective that I could definitely see actually playing out. The themes of sisterhood and self discovery were still very strong and definitely the saving grace of the story.
Overall, this series will stay as an unexpected favorite and hold a special place on my bookshelves for years to come. Maybe, someday, if I have a daughter, I will pass these on to her to enjoy when the time is right.
That being said, I did enjoy the idea that the original Sisterhood kind of took on a mythical status in their hometown/school among younger girls. That was an interesting perspective that I could definitely see actually playing out. The themes of sisterhood and self discovery were still very strong and definitely the saving grace of the story.
Overall, this series will stay as an unexpected favorite and hold a special place on my bookshelves for years to come. Maybe, someday, if I have a daughter, I will pass these on to her to enjoy when the time is right.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Eating disorder
Minor: Bullying
Similar to her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, Brashares weaves the story of three lifelong friends as they spend their summer vacations separated (in more ways than one).
Jo, Ama, and Polly planted willow saplings early in their friendship and see them as a symbol of their lives. As they've grown older their friendship has started to strain and they've started to grow apart. The summer after their eighth grade year the three girls are all headed in different directions - Jo to the beach, Ama to an academic camp, and Polly plans to spend the summer babysitting. Again, similarly to Sisterhood, the girls all learn valuable lessons as the summer progresses.
Side note: it's also fun to see secondary characters from the Sisterhood series make appearances.
Jo, Ama, and Polly planted willow saplings early in their friendship and see them as a symbol of their lives. As they've grown older their friendship has started to strain and they've started to grow apart. The summer after their eighth grade year the three girls are all headed in different directions - Jo to the beach, Ama to an academic camp, and Polly plans to spend the summer babysitting. Again, similarly to Sisterhood, the girls all learn valuable lessons as the summer progresses.
Side note: it's also fun to see secondary characters from the Sisterhood series make appearances.
Good book. make sure you read the Sisterhood books before you read this. it takes place in the same town and makes references to the Sisterhood books without having them be the main characters.