Description from Goodreads
Carmen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didn’t look all that great: they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach. On the night before she and her friends part for the summer, Carmen decides to toss them. But Tibby says they’re great. She'd love to have them. Lena and Bridget also think they’re fabulous. Lena decides that they should all try them on. Whoever they fit best will get them. Nobody knows why, but the pants fit everyone perfectly. Even Carmen (who never thinks she looks good in anything) thinks she looks good in the pants. Over a few bags of cheese puffs, they decide to form a sisterhood and take the vow of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants . . . the next morning, they say good-bye. And then the journey of the pants — and the most memorable summer of their lives — begins.
My Review
I'm obviously too old to have read this book for the first time.
Let me explain- I am a huge fan of the movies, but I never got around to reading the books. But when I found out there might be a "final" movie in the series, I decided I wanted to read them. So I requested the first book from my library, and picked it up, really excited about reading these.
... and it was cute. But it wasn't life altering or amazing, or this profound thing that people have been telling me about for years.
I found Carmen to be a complete brat, and Lena to be a snob (I get that she was supposed to be shy, and as a kind of shy person myself, I should have felt sympathy for her, but I didn't). I felt really bad for Bridget, with everything she was going through emotionally, and, of course, I cried with Tibby.
It figures that my favorite character from the movie, Lena, would be my least favorite in the book. And it also figures one of my least favorite, Bridget, would be the most sympathetic in the book.
But Tibby is pretty much the same. And Carmen is just... okay, I get the situation, but I definitely felt more sorry for her situation in the movie than the book.
I didn't mean for this to be a huge comparison of both, and once I'm through to the last book, there won't be anything for me to compare it to. But I definitely would have felt the same about all of the girls. I would have felt sympathy for Bridget and her whole situation with her mom, and wanting attention in the wrong way. I would definitely have thought Carmen overreacted and should have given her Dad a chance to explain things. I would have still been so upset for Tibby. And I definitely would have still not understood Lena just everything about her, pretty much.
The only part I enjoyed about Lena's story was her relationship with her grandfather, that was adorable. Otherwise, I was just reading as fast as I could to get to Bridget and Tibby.
I gave this book three stars on Goodreads. It was a cute, simple read- perfect for a preteen or early teenager, definitely. I'm sure 14 year old me would have given this a solid four stars, but beings as I'm 29 now, I can only look back on my own experiences and give this a solid three.
I will be reading the rest of the series, and hopefully as the girls get older, I'll be able to relate just a little more.
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.
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