Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that the sisterhood has grown up. In this last installment of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, the four friends are losing their virginities, fearing pregnancy, posing nude for artists, becoming involved with married men, and drinking a fare amount of alcohol. Like many young adults, they are also learning much more about themselves and facing painful realizations from their pasts, often with tears but also self-acceptance. Though they spend less time with their sisterhood counterparts, they keep the connection via phone, email, letters, and of course, the run-down, never-been-washed pair of blue jeans. While the series' start was a good fit for older tweens, this is more of a mature teen read.
Families who read this book can talk about the challenge of maintaining relationships when friends separate for college and have different interests. What are ways that these young women are able to sustain the bond? Parents can also point out the problem-solving that these women are now able to do on their own when in the past they consulted their peers at every turn. Teens: are there things you used to ask your friends' advice on that you handle on your own now? Will there always be things you consult your friends about? Also, parents may want to mention the unrealistic expensive travel that these women are able to do, such as the last-minute trip to Greece at the end of the novel. Other than Tibby, do these friends work? Is this a realistic look at how college-aged women spend their time in the summer?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Pam Gelman
FOREVER IN BLUE marks the end of the highly successful Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Having first met in utero, these four friends have just finished their first year of college and have their own experiences, plans, and adventures.
Their lives overlap less now, so it takes more effort for them stay in touch -- they still do, but don't rely on one another for the kind of support they sought as teens. The women solve problems on their own now: Carmen faces up to a rival; Bea takes on a new role in her family and recognizes her true feelings for her boyfriend; Lena breaks out of her shell and moves on from an old flame; Tibby takes a relationship to the next stage.
Two of the girls lose their virginities, one rather casually while the other fears she is pregnant. A third flirts and kisses a married man, drinks wine to the point of feeling drunk, and becomes sexually interested. All four of them struggle with learning more about who they are, accepting their faults, and embracing the future -- the sign of a transition to young adulthood.
From The Book
During Intermission she peeked out at the theater, watching it refill. When it was almost full and the lights blinked on and off, she saw three people file in through the center door and her breath caught. Time lapsed as they walked down the center aisle: three teenage girls all in a row.
They were so big, so bright, so beautiful, so magnificent to Carmen's eyes that she thought she was imagining them. They were like goddesses, like Titans. She was so proud of them! They were benevolent and they were righteous. Now, these were friends.
Lena, Tibby, and Bee were here, in this theater, and they had come for her. Her big night was their big night. Her joy was their joy; her pain their pain. It was so simple.
They were absolutely lovely, and in their presence, so was she.
Plot Summary:
It's the fourth summer for the women of the Sisterhood. Bridget works on a dig in Turkey and becomes involved with a married man. Lena returns to RISD, becomes involved with a boy in her class, and is reunited with an old flame from Greece. Enrolled in a summer class in New York, Tibby and boyfriend Brian take their relationship to the next level, and then question everything about it. Carmen, under the wing of a popular friend at school, travels to Vermont to pursue theater, lands a plum role, and must face her friend-turned-rival.
The four women keep in touch electronically and through the pants, until the pants disappear. This brings them together and on a trek to Greece to search for this symbol of their bond.
Related Books:
Others in the Series:
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
Plus the film based on the first in the series.
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Sexual ContentTwo characters lose their virginities, character poses nude for art student/love interest, character becomes involved with married man, she also has sex with boyfriend in her childhood bed. Descriptions of flirting, kissing, exploring bodies, condoms, periods, pill to end pregnancy, cleavage and wearing sexy clothes. |
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LanguageVery mild, such as "crap." |
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Social BehaviorFriendship is solid and holds this foursome together as they face their indvidual challenges. As girls grow up, parents still play important role as support. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoUnderage drinking of wine and beer, feeling tipsy and drunk. |
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