Sisterhood Everlasting

Ann Brashares brings back the four young heroines from her popular Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series in Sisterhood Everlasting—except this time, it is ten years later, and the girls are no longer teenagers. Instead, they face problems common to young professionals on the brink of 30.

At first, I was put off by the book. I knew many fans might consider the novel a betrayal to their loyalty, and I wondered why Brashares found it necessary to return to these four characters instead of letting them rest peacefully in readers’ imaginations.

As I continued reading, though, I came to terms with this new edition. I haven’t felt so compelled to ignore life and read a book for a long time (i.e., since having my son). As a 30-something myself, I could relate to some of the struggles these women face in terms of relationships, work, and parenthood. I found myself emotional on more than one occasion.

Brashares does of good job of tying up loose ends from previous novels. That said, I wish some of the characters had matured more in ten years than they had. Carmen is still a whiner; Lena is still pathetically inert. I just hope I’ve changed more in the last decade than these women.