The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Book review by Matt Berman, Common Sense Media
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 12+

Popular series start shows positive girl friendships.

Ann Brashares Friendship 2001
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Parents say

age 12+

Based on 23 reviews

Kids say

age 12+

Based on 77 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

Stands out for and .

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is the first book in Ann Brashares' series about a group of girls who share a pair of "magical" pants to bond and stay connected to one another's experiences. This book's emphasis on strong, supportive girl friendships may inspire readers to examine how they interact with their own friends and what they think being supportive to other people looks like. Readers learn the rules to wearing the pants, which help the girls discover their inner strength and positive self-image. The characters do make some poor decisions, but they each grow and learn from them. There's some sexual content (lots of kissing, it's implied one charatcer has sex with a boy), language (including "s–t"), and some pretty intense, if mostly age-appropriate, emotional situations. This coming-of-age story offers many points of connection for readers going through puberty or readers interested in narratives that examine the highs and lows of growing older, making friends, and learning to be an adult.

Community Reviews

hannahrw1991
hannahrw1991 Adult
February 7, 2020
age 12+
Parents need to know that this book supports female friendships, which will inspire many readers. The characters make poor choices, but they "grow from them," according to the site's expert review. There are some sexual references, language and some "intense" emotional stuff. Teens will really enjoy this book (young adults, too!).

This title has:

Great role models
Too much sex
Too much swearing
threelambs
threelambs Adult
June 7, 2017
age 14+

*Spoiler included RE sexual content

I did really enjoy this book and found the characters to be well developed and charming...true to how I remember myself and my friends feeling and acting in high school, if not in action, definitely in spirit. I do feel that the material is more appropriate for high school aged teens, however. The provided review referenced "some sexual content" which would include a young teen seducing an older teen so she could lose her virginity. A lot of emotion is involved, obviously my description is brief, flippant, even, for the purpose of sharing information quickly. Remember that I do like this book and am not saying to stay away from it. And some 12-year-olds may relate to that. But not all. I think there are some parents of 7th graders who would want to know that that's in there and would choose to hold off a bit. I just like everyone to be able to make those informed choices.
See all 23 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS, Lena, Bridget, Tibby, and Carmen have been best friends since birth. Now, just before they're about to spend their first summer apart, they discover a pair of jeans that miraculously fits all of them. And not just fits -- the Pants make each girl look and feel beautiful and confident. They don't know it yet, but they'll need that confidence during a summer that will test them, each in different ways. In a solemn midnight ceremony that will resonate with teen readers, the girls make up a compact about the Pants, part of which is that they'll send them back and forth among themselves throughout the summer.

Is It Any Good?

Ann Brashares is a great storyteller, building a reservoir of affection for her characters that makes the climax of each of their stories effective. This book's main characters certainly experience their share of drama: Tibby befriends a 12-year-old with leukemia, Carmen's father has a new family, Lena falls in love in Greece, and Bridget has her first sexual experience, which devastates her.

The friendship that the four girls share is the kind most teens long for: rock solid and dependable, with no rivalries or pettiness to mar it, filled only with kindness, love, and understanding. This friendship -- along with the girls' openness to the world and their capacity for honest self-appraisal and growth -- gives teen readers something to aspire to.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about friendship in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. How are female friendships often portrayed in the media? What sort of impact do those portrayals have on real-life girl friendships? Why do you think this book -- and its subsequent sequels -- strike such a chord with readers?

  • This book has many sequels. Why are series so popular in young adult books?

  • What do the characters learn about themselves? How has their summer experience prepared them to deal with change as they return to their regular routines?

  • How do you deal with new feelings like love and attraction? How does one girl's experience with sex act as a gateway to discussing love and how it's OK to do nothing if you're unsure?

Book Details

Our Editors Recommend

For kids who love coming-of-age stories

Themes & Topics

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