The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

This is actually a blog on the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 & 2 but the title wouldn't allow it.

The novels are by Ann Brashares and they revolve around four different girls: Carmen, Tibby, Bee and Lena. Although they're pretty unique, the four of them are best friends and have been since they were babies. They've never been apart for an extended length of time, but one summer that all changes. Carmen goes to visit her father, Bee goes to soccer camp in Baja, Lena goes to Greece to visit her grandparents and Tibby remains in their hometown.

Before the girls separate, they encounter a pair of "magical" jeans that somehow manage to fit all their body shapes perfectly, despite having different proportions. Deciding to use the jeans as a way of staying "together" over the summer, they dub them "The Traveling Pants".

As the girls embark on their various endeavours, the jeans help them gain maturity and the clarity they need to grow as individuals. From Carmen's shock at having a whole new step-family to Bee's forbidden infatuation to Lena's misadventures with Kostos to Tibby's unexpected tween friend, the Pants show the girls just what they're really made of.

BOOK TWO.

It's another summer apart for the four girls. This holiday sees Bridget, who has gone from energetic and reckless to lost and confused within a year, going back to her childhood roots in Alabama. She meets her previously-estranged grandmother and pretends to be "Gilda" until she finally reconnects with her true personality at the end of the summer.

Meanwhile, Tibby has gone to college for a summer filmmaking course, where she meets people she views as "cool". In an attempt to impress them, she creates a humiliating video about her mother; once she sees the effect it has though, she realises the error of her ways. Ditching the fake friends, she reunites with her best friend Brian and makes a beautiful video in homage to Bailey, her friend from the previous summer who died of leukaemia.

Carmen spends the summer first trying to sabotage her mother's relationship with David because she seems to fear the change it would bring. Eventually she realises how true her mother's feelings are for David and brings them back together.

Finally, Lena returns to Greece when her grandfather dies as the result of a stroke. There she meets Kostos again, where she is shocked to discover he is married. He tells her that after she broke his heart, he fell into a depression and slept with his now-wife. She fell pregnant and so although Kostos maintains that he doesn't love her, he claims that he must do the honourable thing and marry her anyway.

Throughout the turbulent summer, the Pants keep the girls united in a way that nothing else ever can, and they learn who they really are at the end of the day.

***

I love this series. It's totally unique- who else would think of a series that revolves around magical pants?! The girls are all so different and yet they're bonded in a way that you don't see very often. Their troubles and experiences are unusual and I just adored reading about them. I felt that even though I hadn't been through it myself, I could connect with them nonetheless.

The books were thrilling, heartfelt and a joy to read. Loved it :)