A review by jennaweston
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

emotional lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Nostalgia at its finest with this book. I remember watching this movie on repeat when I was younger…I want to say we even had it on DVD. So reading this was bringing me back to my childhood. I must say reading the story again, it was interesting…I truly did love it and think it portrays adolescent female friendship in a way that worked in 2001, but I have to say it did not translate super well for me into adulthood. 

What I Liked 
  • The girls in the group are so distinct and though we swap back and forth quite a bit (more on that in what I didn’t like), I think I was able to follow the story easier because of that.
  • It’s a quick read being YA, and the plot moves along nicely.
  • I do like that it’s trying to tackle tough topics like SA, emotional availability, grief, body positivity, isolation.
  • I did like that not each girl's story revolved around a boy. 

What I didn’t like
  • With it being four girls, I do feel like we lose the thread of each of their stories, especially trying to touch on 4 different characters in each 10-page chapter. So many fade-to-black scenes, and not just with the sex…which btw…did they have sex?
  • Real Life Corner: 
    • How the heck did Carmen’s dad just let her get on a train and yeet out of there without going after her?
    • How did Lena just yeet off the plane and make her little sister travel the rest of the trip alone!?
    • We’re just not talking about how Tibby befriended a girl with cancer and who died that same summer?
    • We just casually have Bee’s emotions destroyed by having sex with an older man (which ew Eric…that speech about her being hot…not demure and not mindful) and Lena just shows up and everything is all better?
    • AND LENA’S G-PARENTS ACCUSE KOSTOS OF SA AND LENA DOESN’T CORRECT THEM RIGHT THEN AND THERE?!
  • maybe it’s because I’m now 26 and have most of my frontal lobe developed, but this book is CHAOTIC.
  • The fact that we don’t wash the pants…made me want to throw up.
  • NO PAIR OF PANTS FITS 4 DIFFERENT BODY TYPES.