Book Review: The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood #2) by Ann Brashares

Description from Goodreads
“Light and romantic," raved The New York Times of the second novel in the  bestselling Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares, author of The Here and Now.

With a bit of last summer’s sand in the pockets, the Traveling Pants and the sisterhood who wears them—Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen—embark on their second summer together.

“Fits like a favorite pair of pants.” —USA Today“A great summer read.” —The Sacramento Bee

 “As comfortable as an old pair of jeans.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred


My Review
This was much better than the first Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book. 
The girls are just one summer older, but seem infinitely wiser. Lena is sympathetic, Tibby is introspective, and Bridget is the epitome of growth in a character. The only character who is pretty much the same is Carmen- she's still a brat, and immature. 

But then I remind myself of the type of teenager I was when I saw my mother dating, and, although I still think Carmen is being selfish, I see more of where she is coming from. 

Bridget travels to visit her grandmother whom she barely remembers but starts to remember pieces of once she is there. But she doesn't tell her grandmother that she's her- she goes by a different name. Of course, her grandmother knows who she is the whole time. (I do not consider this a spoiler- if you don't pick up on that, I can't help you.)
I feel like Bridget's growth was the most profound, and the most real. She is still dealing with losing her mother, and losing her virginity as well. She left her one true love, soccer, because of not being able to cope, and she comes back to herself in such a beautiful way. 

Lena broke up with Kostos, and spends a majority of the book mourning that loss, and then he comes back, they spend an amazing couple of weeks together... and then he is just gone. She also deals with the loss of someone much greater than Kostos, and I cried so much when I read that part. 
There is a reason Kostos is gone, and I'm just excited to see where Lena goes next.

Tibby takes a film course over the summer, and makes friends that lead her to be someone that I really didn't like, but being inside her head definitely made me feel for her wishing for acceptance. She is still thinking about Bailey, but not wanting to think about Bailey. She still misses her hamster. 
Knowing what I know happens at the end of this series (I was spoiled by the internet and its inconsiderate masses, but I don't blame them because I have no clue how I'll handle life when it happens) makes me really sensitive and keyed-in to all of Tibby's feelings about everything. 

And Carmen? Well, her mother is dating, and she is hating life through most of this book. But, eventually, she grows up and accepts that she is going off to college and her mother needs her own life.


Overall, I really, really liked this story so much. I thought the character development was beautiful, and so real. It reminded me a lot of high school and my friends, and how we felt about everything. I can see some of my friends in every girl, and it really makes me wish I had read this when it first came out, and I could have related to it from a present perspective (since this book came out the April before I graduated high school).
I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

You can purchase a copy of this book for Kindle here, or a physical copy here. Or, pick up a copy from your local library, like I did!

FTC: I borrowed this book from my local library. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This post does contain Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.