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Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood

Book Summary

Reviewed by Pam Gelman

It's the summer after high school graduation, and the four girls unfold the pants once again as they embark on summer adventures. Always looming is the thought of another good-bye as they leave for different colleges.

Carmen takes a job caring for Lena's depressed and cranky Greek grandmother and meets a boy who only sees her as Carmen, doer of good deeds. She's also horrified to discover that her middle-aged, newly remarried mother is pregnant. Lena's ultra-conservative father confronts her about her ambitions in art and threatens to pull the plug on RISD. Tibby's relationship with a male friend takes a romantic turn in the midst of a family crisis. And Bea, still processing the death of her mother, is reunited with a past fling -- but learns this time to start with friendship before romance.

The book concludes at the end of summer with the four girls together at the beach exchanging gifts and sharing the ultimate gift of memories together.

Is It Any Good?

3

The pants are back -- and with them, adventure and self-discovery for four college-bound friends. Ann Brashares' third novel in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series continues the odyssey that's struck a nerve with teens across the globe. As the girls grow during the summer after high school graduation, the "magical" pants become less of a prominent symbol in the story. Brashares does a great job making the novel flow as the reader jumps around the girls' four different adventures, sometimes within the same chapter.

Teen readers have fallen for these girls and their seemingly unbreakable bond, but many parts of this story are unrealistic. Not only do their communal pair of jeans fit all four girls to a T, they're never petty with one another, and all are accepted at top-notch colleges. What brings the story back to earth are the real-life challenges the girls face and Brashares' good writing. That makes this tale a good match for mature teens who enjoy the coming-of-age genre.

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