Greetings to my lovely readers!!
I hope you all are having a fantastic winter and that your holidays will be cheerful and filled with love and happiness, (and good food of course). While many of us are on vacation, either from school or work, I hope many of you choose to spend some of that relaxation time catching up on that reading list I know you all have. Mine just keeps getting longer and longer as time goes on.
In between all the chaos of preparing for visiting family members and pursuing other creative endeavors, I finally decided to pick up the last installment in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. I have to admit, I was initially hesitant to read it when I heard that instead of continuing where the fourth book left off, it instead fast forwarded to ten years later. Part of the initial appeal of the series for many of the readers was the age of the four protagonists. Would the same readers who read the first four novels enjoy a different version of the characters they have come to know and love? Well, I decided to take the plunge and find out.
I hope you all are having a fantastic winter and that your holidays will be cheerful and filled with love and happiness, (and good food of course). While many of us are on vacation, either from school or work, I hope many of you choose to spend some of that relaxation time catching up on that reading list I know you all have. Mine just keeps getting longer and longer as time goes on.
In between all the chaos of preparing for visiting family members and pursuing other creative endeavors, I finally decided to pick up the last installment in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. I have to admit, I was initially hesitant to read it when I heard that instead of continuing where the fourth book left off, it instead fast forwarded to ten years later. Part of the initial appeal of the series for many of the readers was the age of the four protagonists. Would the same readers who read the first four novels enjoy a different version of the characters they have come to know and love? Well, I decided to take the plunge and find out.
Well . . . no turning back now
Despite the trepidation when starting this book, many of the aspects of the rest of the series could be found within. Perhaps what astonished me the most was the amount of growth and depth in the characters. The author did quite an exemplary job of transferring the four girls into an adult setting while retaining the traits that had endeared them to readers. Like reconnecting with an old friend after years of absence, there is both the familiar and the foreign in the protagonists. And the issues they encounter within the text are more mature than previously as well. I have found that most teen authors skim over the more intense issues unless the whole plot of the novel revolves around them, for example the work of Ellen Hopkins. However, Ms. Brashares does not avoid the sensitive topics, but instead brings them to light in a subtle way that most readers can relate to, not the extreme cases that seem to proliferate teen literature when authors do decide to take a risk in subject matter. Depression, suicide, fatal illness, abortion: all of these are faced with a level of empathy, realism, and honesty that is found few and far between.
You learn you are not alone even when you feel alone
While the characters that have developed over the past few novels are still there and remain recognizable, the reader can clearly see how life has changed them, how they have lost pieces of themselves that are rediscovered. No longer will you see Carmen as a teen being immature enough to throw a brick through someone's window, but she still has not become comfortable enough in her skin to be who she truly wants, letting the dictates of Hollywood determine who she is. And Bridget, Tibby, and Lena all make similar journeys throughout the pages.
So the question, I believe, is this: Is this really a continuation of the original Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? Is it a companion novel? Or is it a stand-alone piece that just so happens to follow the same individuals? There are valid arguments for each of these viewpoints, but I see it as a companion piece. While it relates back often to the issues and people that were mentioned in the previous four installments, it is, in my opinion, written in a different vein. It is more somber, less humorous, but nevertheless just as relatable and real, although in perspective that differs from what we are used to. In those aspects, I see Sisterhood Everlasting as a successful transitional novel that can bring teen readers into the world of adult literature. Take a gander, and let me know what you think.
All the best, my fellow bibliomaniacs!!
So the question, I believe, is this: Is this really a continuation of the original Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? Is it a companion novel? Or is it a stand-alone piece that just so happens to follow the same individuals? There are valid arguments for each of these viewpoints, but I see it as a companion piece. While it relates back often to the issues and people that were mentioned in the previous four installments, it is, in my opinion, written in a different vein. It is more somber, less humorous, but nevertheless just as relatable and real, although in perspective that differs from what we are used to. In those aspects, I see Sisterhood Everlasting as a successful transitional novel that can bring teen readers into the world of adult literature. Take a gander, and let me know what you think.
All the best, my fellow bibliomaniacs!!