REREADING the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants!

As I write this, I have a book with a purple cover on the desk next to me. The green cover book is nowhere in sight because I finished it. Yeah, it's now retired to the floor in my bedroom waiting to be put back in the shelf. (My system is efficient, you can't deny that... maybe.) Anyway, it is now time to talk about what I just read.

I thought it would be awesome to reread one of my favorite books from my elementary school days. Especially since I got the yearning to reread The Second Summer as I toiled away at The Virginity Club, a book that, shall I say, isn't even that exciting for virgins everywhere. Whatever the case, I thought I was familiar with the trials of Bridget (yeah, I spelled her name wrong), Lena, Carmen and Tibby. I thought I knew what I was going to like, and what I was going to hate. But the thing is, when you reread a book that you haven't read in years, well, things change. Sure the words are still the same, but the way you take them in is different. (I was well aware of that as I reread Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen.) It's something that I should've expected, but I was (pleasantly) surprised.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the well worn copy of The Sisterhood was the fact that I loved the font. It was fun, it was flirty, and it was summer. While I'm more of a Garamond or shall I even say Times New Roman kind of kid, I liked it. It reminded me of SweeTARTS, something I'm not even sure I ate a lot while reading these books the first time around.

But as I worked my way through the book, I was struck with two thoughts: 1) This wasn't as exciting as I thought it'd be and 2) I kept on comparing it to the movie. Before I discuss my thoughts on the movie, I'll explain number one. Here's the deal: The Sisterhood is not a boring book. I just found it to be a bit tedious to read about the girl's adventures as I already knew what was going to happen. Or you know, I thought I knew. There was this scene I thought was going to happen in regards to Bridget, but it was just something I saw in the movie. HOWEVER, as the story unfolded for each girl, I was drawn to what was happening.

I'm not going to be super spoiler here as I review this read, because I know for a fact my partner in crime Leah hasn't experienced it.

When I first read The Sisterhood, at the age of twelve, I thought Bridget was just so glamourous and fantabulous. To be honest, I still thought the same thing rereading the novel. Sure she has problems in regards to her mother being gone, but she still does everything that I wish I could do. I mean, being kick ass at soccer? Being able to run seven minute miles? If only. However, reading The Sisterhood this time around, I was aware of the concerns her friends had for her. She was pushing herself far beyond her limit, and it wasn't actually a good thing. Her friends, even from a distance could see that.

(I'm watching Gossip Girls as I write this. One might say I'm really imaging Blake Lively as Bridget.)

To get the transition just right, I'm going to talk about Lena now. Like Bridget, I thought Lena was tied for first in my favorite girl contest. And sure, Lena had an awesome story this time around. But how I'm being, I'm just going to be honest: I found her story to be just a tad boring, especially at the beginning. A common theme in this review thing, but perhaps it was just because I already knew what was going to happen. I'll actually have to continue reading the rest of the series to know for sure. I mean, I was REALLY happy when Kostos and Lena finally kissed at the end of the novel, so I know I don't dislike her, so I'm not that worried. Maybe it was just her talking about Greece and its beauty. Apparently I can't appreciate beauty when it's described to me in a novel.

Note: Lena is a painter, and was worried at one point in the novel about not being able to capture the beauty that was the sunset. Perhaps it's just my personal preference, but I thought she could've just took a picture.

Next up is Carmen. Her storyline involved visiting her dad and dealing with the issues that were happening in North Carolina. (Or was it South?) Not being that important, I thought this would be the most boring, due to the story in the movie not being so exciting. I mean, I still like it, but it doesn't have the firework kiss that Kostos and Lena produced. HOWEVER, I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy it. While I knew what was happening and how she had to deal with being mad at her dad, I still was riveted to what was happening. Sure there were moments when it got a little boring, but I'd give her storyline an 8/10. And it wasn't even that jampacked with action! Unless rocks are a new thing...

Note: I had to message Leah at one point to ask her what a cottonmouth is, as Carmen wished she would see one. It was nice to have my friend there "with me" when I didn't know what something meant.

However, what surprised me the most about reading The Sisterhood was how much I liked Tibby's story. The first time around, I can just imagine how captivated I was at Bridget and Lena's narrations and bored with TIbby's, but this time around I was all about The Tibby. Not once was I a little bored at her story, even though by all accounts it should've been the most boring. After all, she was the only one staying home that summer. But it surprised me, because I absolutely loved it. Sure I had to stop at a few points to put off what was eventually going to happen in terms of tragedy, but it was because sad times are sad times. In terms of looking at it from the movie's point of view, I totally forgot about the guy Tucker Tibby had a crush on. (As he didn't exist in the movie.)

Overall, I'd say I enjoyed this book, even if the beginning was a bit meh in terms of getting started. While the action did start right from the beginning with Carmen's narration, it wasn't until each girl was underway in her own adventure did the story take off.

A note on the narration: It starts (and finishes) off with Carmen's thoughts. I liked the way the story explained the existence of the pants, but also explained each of the girls. Of course, it was a biased view. Since Carmen was narrating, she couldn't explain what the other girl's saw in her. Sure she was able to explain Bridget, Lena and Tibby, but she wasn't able to do so herself. So what I REALLY liked was when the other girls would interact with each other, you'd see the other girls from a different perspective. And yeah, you definitely saw them from a different perspective. I can just imagine it's very difficult to weave FOUR different characters into one story without making them all seem like they're the same, but this didn't happen in the book. Each girl was unique in her own way, and if it came down to it, each one could support a book on their own.

Some random thoughts:

• Tibby's underwear was the only one talked about
• Tibby cut her smock to see how thick 2-ply polyester was, which made me think for awhile how thick it actually was (I remember thinking of this the first time around, as well)
• I don't know HOW I could be confused at what Bridget was doing with Eric. I blame it on being so naive
• The supporting characters were just as developed as the girls
• I'd recommend this book

So maybe it wasn't a perfect reread novel, but I have hopes for The Second Summer. After all, it's what gave me the urge to reread the entire series. So lets hope my hopes aren't crushed like a soccer ball hitting someones face!

Happy Reading,
Julia

Books to read:
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
Forever Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood