The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants: Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants: Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

Completion Date: June 8, 2011

Reason for Reading: Finish the series.

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 am really surprised to say this, but I really wound up liking this book. I was having a bit of a hard time getting into things at the time, but this book was entirely different from what I had been reading and it worked really well. This is the fifth book in the famous Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series and is hands-down the best of the lot. The characters are older, though, so that could be part of the appeal. It was really interesting to see what happened to them in the 10 years since the 4th book took place. They think that have everything that they wanted from life, but drastic changes take place that change everything. I was a bit worried about the direction the book was going in, but it actually all worked out for me.

The four friends have been close since they were babies, but things have happened in the last 10 years that has driven them apart. A lot of it is distance and not knowing how to bridge it anymore when it is only part of the group. Tibby has moved all the way to Australia, so she is not in close contact at all. She decides, though, that the four of them have to reconnect and so she sends them plane tickets to do just that. After this, nothing will ever be the same again. The first problem is that after the reunion, things have changed so much that the girls still don't know how to connect with each other. It isn't until other events happen that Tibby finally succeeds in bringing them together.

It was a touching story and yes, it was a bit of a coming-of-age story. Normally I don't like that so much, but it suited my mood at the time. These were characters that I had spent time with before, though, so it made it a story that I was all ready invested in. I think writing a book that followed up right after the fourth book never would have worked. It was a smart idea to set it in the future and then flash back to the events that happened during those years when it pertains to the story.

I quite enjoyed this book. It was a satisfying end to the series.

I received this book for review from Random House Canada.

Series:

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood

Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood

Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood

Sisterhood Everlasting