Book Review - Sisterhood Everlasting

Author: Ann Brashares

Rating: 5/5

Series: Eh, not exactly

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.

Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.

Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

As moving and life-changing as an encounter with long-lost best friends, Sisterhood Everlasting is a powerful story about growing up, losing your way, and finding the courage to create a new one.

I'm not good at ending things. It's not just that I get attached/addicted/committed to a television show or a routine or a ritual, I like feeling as if the "thing" is helping me understand myself. 

That's kind of how I am with book series. I like getting to know my characters. I don't want to just appreciate them, I want to actually love them.

So when I realized Brashares wrote this fifth follow-up to her beloved Traveling Pants series (and if by some ridiculous reason you don't know about these books - especially if you are a teenage girl - click on that link immediately), I naturally had to read it. It took me longer to get my hands on  it - unlike my usual self, I know - but I finally succeeded and read it in a couple of long car rides this weekend (mind you I wasn't driving, but sitting safely in the backseat). 

I've read some reviews that people have left about this 5th book. Some said that the unexpected plot was "too much." Some said that it felt like some kind of farce. Some said they didn't WANT to know what happened to these girls after the fourth book (and to that I say: POOP YOU!! Don't read it if you don't care). Some said they felt like the girls hadn't grown up enough since the last book took place ten years ago.

But I loved it. Sure, I wanted to scream and throw things at Brashares for one big reason, but I won't spoil it. However, I can't imagine a more beautiful ending - and beginning - for my favorite group of gals. And by the end of the book, I easily saw how they had indeed grown up, without losing their cores - the things that made them each so very different and special but also so perfect for each other.

Brashares has a way of writing that feels like she takes the thoughts of others and writes them down, and somehow they are much more beautiful than we realized. 

One big difference that reflects the "older tone" of this book compared to the series is the non-summery feel. Each Traveling Pants book is the perfect summer read...partially because they take place in the summer. This book covers the other side of the year....mostly the winter. I think that's pretty symbolic, don't you?

"You have been my friend," replied Charlotte.

"That in itself is a tremendous thing."

-E.B. White

xo

rebekah