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The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Book Summary and Study Guide

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants


Tibby, Lena, Bridget and Carmen are four girls who have been friends since before they were born- their mothers all took an aerobics class for pregnant women together and the four girls grew up in each others houses, backyards and lives. The beginning of this book is the first summer that the four friends are going to spend apart from each other- Lena is going to Greece with her family, Carmen is going to South Carolina to visit her Dad, Bridget is going to soccer camp in Mexico and Tibby is staying at home in Maryland.
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The day before they are separated, Carmen buys a pair of jeans on a whim from a thrift store. Gathered together later that day, the four girls all try on the pants and miraculously, they fit all four of them perfectly, despite the fact that they are all different shapes and sizes. They then decide to use the Pants to keep them connected over the summer- they will send the Pants from one to the other throughout the summer as a way to be connected even when they are apart.

While they are apart, the girls each have different experiences- Carmen is shocked and angry to discover her Dad has moved in with a woman named Lydia and her two kids and is remarrying without telling her, Lena finds romance in Greece, Tibby strikes up a friendship with an inspirational 12 year old named Bailey and Bridget falls in love and messes herself up over it in Mexico. As the summer ends, the Pants help the girls fix their problems and grow as people.
The review of this Book prepared by Katie




Lena, Bridget, Tibby, and Carmen have been friends since before they were born. One day Tibby picked up the traveling pants from Carmen's dresser and asked if she wanted them. Soon they found, that even though they all wore different sizes, the pants fit them all perfectly. Before they go their seperate ways for the summer, the four vow to share the pants and send them on to the next person when they are finished. They write up a set of rules, and their adventures begin.

Bridget goes to an athlete camp, where she easily gains the popularity of the girls she stays with... however, she's more worried about what Eric thinks of her, the handsome too-old coach who can't stop himself from falling for Bridget. But Bridget was counting on just how deep of trouble she was getting herself into before it was too late. Tibby, who works at Wallman's drug store, meets Bailey, a young girl who had been struggling most of her life against cancer. Bailey shows Tibby that not everyone is how they appear on the outside, but the closer the two become, the closer comes a relapse of cancer that Bailey won't survive.

Carmen visits her father, but she wasn't counting on him having a whole new family, which was exactly what happened. As she tries to fit in with this perfect life she doesn't belong in, she loses patience and runs away, feeling upset because she isn't enough for her father anymore. Lena, who is staying with her grandparents, meets the irresistable Kostos, and even cold Lena can't ignore him. After he walks in on her swimming naked in a pond, she makes a wrong assumption and almost ruins anything that might have happens between him, but she gets a second chance. Throughout the summer, the four girls start on the path to finding who they are, although they hit quite a few bumps and snags on the way.
The review of this Book prepared by Hannah Kampf




Four teenage best friends since birth spend their first summer apart, and they stay connected by sharing a pair of jeans that amazingly fit them all in their various shapes and sizes. They send each other the pants and letters about their summer adventures, which include: attending soccer camp in Mexico and developing a crush on a coach that could move too fast; visiting grandparents in Greece where art, solitude, romance, family, and the future are discovered; visiting Dad in another city to discover he's getting re-married; and staying at home for the summer only to make an unexpected friend who teaches them about life and loss.
The review of this Book prepared by Linda Napikoski




Bridget, Lena, Carmen and Tibby are best friends who have known each other all their lives. But this summer--their fifteenth summer--is the first summer they will be separated. Bridget, a tall beautiful athlete, is going to Baja California for soccer camp. Quiet, instrospective Lena is going to Greece to visit grandparents she's never met. Carmen, who's dad left her and her mom when she was little and only visits three or four times a year, is going to visit him for the whole summer. And Tibby, poor Tibby, is the only one stuck at home working a summer job in a drug store.

But on the night before they are to go their separate ways, they discover a pair of pants, which magically fit each of the various-sized girls perfectly! They decide to share the pants--each girl will wear them for a week and then mail them to the next girl so that each girl gets the pants for two weeks during the summer. As they head their separate ways, things don't turn out quite as planned for anyone. Bridget falls in love with an older guy who is a coach at soccer camp. Lena's grandmother tries to set her up with a Greek boy from her village. Carmen's dad surprises her by bringing her home to a fiancee and two teenaged stepchildren he never told her about. And Tibby is befriended by a twelve year old with leukemia. They all face tough decisions and tough situations that require all the power that the pants and their friendship can provide.
The review of this Book prepared by Eucalia




Four completely different girls- Carmen, Lena, Bridget, and Tibby- have been best friends their whole lives. Now, they have to spend their first summer apart. The night before they separate, they discover a magical pair of pants that fit each of them perfectly. They decide to pass the pants on to each other throughout the summer, to have a little bit of each other with them. Each girl has many experiences and adventures during the summer.
The review of this Book prepared by Patricia




Four lifelong friends must spend their first ever summer apart, and to keep together they use a pair of pants. Each friend has two turns with the pants and they must recount their experiances with them when they reunite at the end of summer. There are also some rules that they must follow in regards to the pants.
The review of this Book prepared by Christine




This is a book about 4 girls who are about to begin their first summer without each other. When they find a pair of pants that magically fits all of them they decide to take turns wearing the Pants. The summer brings a load of adventures from romance to new step parents to a new friend who tragically dies from leprosey.
The review of this Book prepared by Sophie Weiner



Chapter Analysis of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

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Plot & Themes

Tone of book?    -   upbeat Time/era of story    -   1980's-1999    -   2000+ (Present Day) Kids growing up/acting up?    -   Yes Is this an adult or child's book?    -   Age 11-14    -   Adult or Young Adult Book Age group of kid(s) in story:    -   high school Something wrong upstairs/downstairs?    -   searching for identity/meaning Loving/sexing?    -   guy chasing

Main Character

Gender    -   Female Profession/status:    -   student Age:    -   a teen Ethnicity/Nationality    -   White (American)

Setting

How much descriptions of surroundings?    -   5 () United States    -   Yes The US:    -   Southeast Europe    -   Yes European country:    -   Greece The Americas (not US):    -   Yes The Americas:    -   Mexico

Writing Style

Amount of dialog    -   roughly even amounts of descript and dialog    -   significantly more descript than dialog

Books with storylines, themes & endings like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Ann Brashares Books Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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