Novel Addictions

Bear with me; this is my first official book review for the blog.

I saw the movie version of this book (mainly because I adore Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn) and found it touching, funny, and entertaining. I was hoping the book would be the same. I was not disappointed.

The book is told from Carmen’s perspective and opens with her voice. She explains how the girls came to be more sisters than best friends. Their mothers were in a Lamaze class together before they were born, the moms bonded, and all four girls were born within days of each other in the month of September. Hence, they call themselves the Septembers. Their mothers drifted apart after a few years, but Tibby, Carmen, Lena, and Bridget became closer and closer.

One day while browsing through a thrift shop, Carmen comes across a pair of blue jeans. They’re nothing special–just cheap. Carmen buys the pants, takes them home, and thinks nothing more about them. She even contemplates throwing them away but something keeps her from doing it. Tibby notices the pants in Carmen’s room, and the girls’ interest is piqued. One by one, they try on the pants. Magically, the jeans fit every girl in just the right way despite their different heights, weights, and shapes. A plan begins to take shape.

This will be the first summer the girls spend apart. Lena will be visiting her grandparents in Greece with her sister. Carmen is going to visit her father in South Carolina. Bridget has signed up for a summer soccer camp in Mexico. And Tibby is spending the summer at home working at Wallman’s and making a documentary (much to her dismay). The girls hatch a plot. They’ll share the pants all summer, and the pants will make their way to each girl twice. They start with Lena. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants chronicles each girl’s summer. Along the way, each discovers something new about herself.

While Ann Brashares is clearly a young adult fiction author, it speaks volumes that this book made it to the New York Times bestseller list. Targeted toward teenage girls, much in the same style as the Harry Potter books, adults can enjoy these books just as much. They’re mind candy: an easy read for a Saturday afternoon. It is a series, and this is merely the first book. I, for one, will continue to read them.