The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Review on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Ioanna Lee
September 6, 2019
Rating: ★★★☆☆
I
recently finished The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which is the first
book in the Sisterhood series about four best friends spending their first
summer apart since birth. The story starts with Carmen buying a pair of faded
and worn jeans at a thrift store. She tosses them into the back of her closet
without giving them a second thought. The friends find out the pants fit all of
them perfectly and they decide to make a club sort of thing around it. However,
Carmen goes south to visit her father, Lena and her sister visit their
grandparents in Greece, Bridget goes to Mexico for soccer camp, and Tibby's
stuck home working at Wallman's Drugstore. They all face their own problems
along the way, sending the pants around to each other and taking turns wearing
it for luck, hoping the "magic" in the pants make their summers the best it could possibly be.
I thought
this book was pretty confusing due to its structure. The point of view would
hop back and forth abruptly between the four of them without any warning,
making me confused about who I was reading. It didn’t give my brain a chance to
shift gears and I was not able to gradually get used to the characters in the
book, causing me to mix all the parents up and stuff like that. After a while,
I got mostly used to it and all was well for the most part (the parents were
still confusing). This was one reason why I rated it 3/5 stars.
The plot was pretty typical, with
them having expectations for what their summers are going to be like, the
expectations crushed as they run into problems, each then reaching the climax
of their summer with everyone acting crazy at some point, them solving
everything (for the most part-I'm not spoiling anything) with the Pants, then
finally coming back together and being happy (again, for the most part). I felt
like the Pants were the author's go-to when she needed an easy solution. I also
thought it was a bit unrealistic because the friendship they had was so
perfect. The Pants pretty much held them together, no problem. Also, the
romance was also pretty predictable. EXCEPT FOR IN THE SECOND BOOK. (I am not
revealing any spoilers though!)
One thing
I liked about the book was that each girl had their own, unique family issues
with their parents. The parents were still side characters, but not as much as
in many other books I have read. The parents themselves also had stories of
their own that were incorporated into the book. Another thing I enjoyed in this
book was the letters that the friends wrote to each other throughout the book.
They were mostly hilarious, and I loved how I could see how they wrote to each
other. Each girl had her own style and sense of humor. For the most part, this
book was a fun, sweet, and unique realistic fiction that I was able to relate
to in quite a few ways. It was also interesting enough to want to read the rest
of the series to see what happens to them, and how they develop even more than
they did in this book. Who knows? Maybe I will find a favorite.
This review really showcases why characters you can connect with are important. Based off of your descriptions, this book seems unorganized and not amazingly written. However, the characters were still able to draw you in enough to give the book a 3/5 stars. Although I don't think I would read this book, I can definitely see why someone would.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great review! The book sounds packed and possibly even confusing. I like how you used stars as a rating system at the top, that was a nice touch. But one question I have is how does a pair of pants fix so many problems?
ReplyDeletelol. Don't ask me, I have no idea.
DeleteI've only read a little bit of the story but I really liked your summary. I agree that it was bit confusing to read as it was hard to keep track of the characters and all of their own problems. However, I thought that the characters were a little more bland and cliche; typical high school girls going through puberty.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! First off, I appreciate you not giving any spoilers for either this novel or the second in the series, as I often, when reading book reviews online am not offered the same courtesy. Having only seen the movie adaptation of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I can see why it would seem predictable and unrealistic. I myself have never thought so solve my problems with the pair of pants, but I do also enjoy how you included not only the cons of the novel but pros as well.
ReplyDeleteI would not read this type of story. I like the idea of switching point of views, because that can lead to contrasting perspectives of a certain event, but four people seems like a lot to handle. Secondly, it is realistic fiction, so the story is limited to what can happen in real life, and real life is pretty boring.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interesting book. I liked your summary/review and that you were honest that some parts of it were not the greatest. I have read stories that switch point of view before, but the author did a good job making it clear who was talking. I also agree that it might be nice to have a book where the parents are bigger characters. I found your review kind of funny, as you liked their 'unique family problems' and even just the concept of magic pants(which I still don't fully understand. haha) Good review!
ReplyDeleteYour review seems to be very honest and straightforward which are qualities that tend to make the best reviews. This book does seem a bit hard to stay on top of due to the constant switch of point of view, which is why I personally would not read it. My favorite part about this blog entry is that you foreshadowed the quality of the second book. Overall, this is a great review!
ReplyDeleteI have not read the book, but I have watched the movie and they sound pretty similar. The plot in the movie was also really predictable and I agree that their friendships are way too perfect. I really enjoy your summary of it, and that you didn't give too much away. I didn't even know this was a book so now i'm kinda sad I watched the movie first, but I will definitely read it now.
ReplyDeleteAwesome review! I knew there was a movie called this, but I didn't know it was based off a book. I wasn't sure what the movie was about, but with your in depth review, I have a much better idea. Your descriptions of the book are very easy to visualize, and you give a thorough review of every aspect of the book. The idea of the book seems to be cliche and unique at the same time, since the plot seems to be the classic teen summer novel, however it has a twist of pants? This was an informative and engaging review, and gave me a vivid idea of what the book is about without spoiling anything. Nice job!
ReplyDelete