The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

I can't remember why this was on my 'want to read' list. I think it had something to do with Rory Gilmore, but then, after checking the Rory Gilmore reading challenge, I see it isn't there. And then the penny dropped. Alexis Bledel acted in the movie version of this book... But that still does not explain why I had it on my list. Anyway, I am pleased that my favourite bookseller, Kerry, found it for me, and I am more than pleased that I have read it.

Four 15-year-old girls, who are best friends, are about to spend their first ever summer holiday apart. They agree to send the jeans to each other throughout the holiday. That is the shallow synopsis. A better one would be: How the importance of friendship can bolster one when life becomes difficult - which it is bound to do, especially when one does not expect it.

I do not know exactly what I was expecting with this one, but what I got was not 'it'. Although I would consider this younger than the regular YA bracket, neither the subject matter nor the way in which it was handled was childish.

I think this book is great for a young teen reader. Besides the mature topics, it has a lot of wisdom without coming across as being preachy, and showed a good healthy friendship between girls. At one point I thought this was going to be a book about how each girl got a guy for the summer, but it wasn't that at all. YAY! The themes had more to do with self discovery (not in the cliched way either), overcoming hardship, and seeing the bigger picture.

Bailey broke my heart. Just saying.

I gave this 5 stars on Goodreads. Although I am a bit old for it, I actually enjoyed reading it.