The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

Series: Sisterhood, #1
# of Pages: 294
Publication: September 11, 2001
Source: Library Audiobook
Genre: YA Contemporary
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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.

This is a hard book for me to rate. When I originally rated it in 2014 I gave it 4 stars; however, after listening to it on audiobook I realized that I wouldn't rate it as high and here's why. I found a few of the girls to be difficult to relate to and in turn found them quite annoying. I think this is due to the fact that I'm older and handle situations and my emotions differently. If I had to pick my two favorite characters I would definitely say Bridget and Tibby. They went through the most during the summer and truly dealt with some difficult topics. I'm not minimizing the experiences of Carmen and Lena; however, I found that their situations were more in relation to their maturity. Due to my age and my perspective of their situations, it was hard for me to relate to them as characters. What I did enjoy was the relationship between the girls. It was phenomenal to see four teenage girls bond so easily together as they experienced the ups and downs of life. Their varied personalities were a contributing factor to how they were able to balance each other out. This is something that I love about books like this. It's the power of illustrating positive female relationships. I know that teens that grow up now face a lot more complex issues than I've had to face as a teenager so positive images related to female relationships is always a great asset in any book. 

I honestly loved figuring out the differences between the book and the movie because I love the movies. They are completely and totally different. I think I may even go back and watch the movie again to see if I can figure out more differences. I would recommend this books for teens ages 11-14.