Customer Reviews

Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If you are not familiar with the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, this is the last book in the series where four real close friends travel far away from each other but share one thing in common. They can all fit into these pants that look wonderful on each of them. This last book takes place after their first year of college and all of them face the fact that they are changing and what used to be home can no longer be called home.

The scenario of this book goes like this:
Bridget (the beautiful blonde, athletic type) goes to Turkey kind of randomly particpates in this dig. She finds that she loves to dig but also realizes that she makes the same mistake over and over. See she has this really great boyfriend Eric who also made plans for the entire summer. She was upset that they wouldn't be seeing each other and started to forget about him thinking she didn't love him anymore. What will Bridget learn about love in the end? Will she learn the hard way or the easy way?

Carmen (confident latina girl) has not been herself for a whole year, she has become invisible. Carmen somehow lost who she was and has been hiding behind Julia this popular actress who is a bad friend if you ask me. Carmen excludes herself from her friends and follows Julia to a drama camp, she isn't into acting but want to be with Julia and build sets. Carmen learns that friends are not supposed be happy when you are sad.

Tibby (timid and fragile) is invovled with a great guy named Brian. Because they love each other so much they took the relationship to the next level. Tibby freaks out because she might be pregnant. She becomes resentful towards Brian and pushes him away thinking that she never really loved him. What is the fate of Tibby and Brian? What does Tibby learn? Is she pregnant?

Lena (artistic and romantic) takes summer classes and intends to focus on art work all summer. However, she becomes very curious about a classmate of her's and feels like she is over Kostos. Is Lena capable of loving someone else though? She certainly is trying, what about Kostsos, he does appear in this book!

The friends all come together at the end because something has happened to the pants! The story ends but when you read it you can predict what will happen for each girl in the future, the author did a great job with this final book. I am sad the series has to end, but I felt it ended in a good way. Just Perfect.

I would reccommend this book for any girl or young woman who has great friends or who wants great friends!

If you've read the other three books in this series, you're going to love this installment. If you haven't, read those first three books and then check this out.

Forever in Blue has the four girls fresh out of their first year of college, and a lot has changed. Carmen hasn't found her niche in life yet and feels like she doesn't belong to anything, so she's doing her best to avoid the other three seemingly successful girls and instead goes to a theater camp with a college friend, to work on sets instead of act. Tibby is taking a summer class at her college and is still in love with Brian... until a pregnancy scare makes her hide. Lena is in an art class, lusting after the first guy she's been interested in since Kostos. And Bee is in Turkey, doing an archaeological dig and becoming closer and closer friends with a young professor there (nevermind that she has a boyfriend and he's married!).

While this book deals with more mature and adult themes than the first three, it is no less charming. The author writes beautifully and manages to include numerous thought-provoking statements that are easy to relate to. You will feel yourself being pulled into the novel, unable to stop reading.

The ending of this novel is more satisfying than those in the past have been, likely because this is the last one and readers want to know what happens in the future. Most loose ends are tied up nicely, and the few that aren't are hinted at so you are able to draw your own conclusion. I highly recommend this book for those of you who have ever spent time reading about Tibby, Bee, Lena, and Carmen - you won't be disappointed. I can't wait to reread it myself.

I am a big fan of the first three books in the series. I think Ann Brashares is a wonderful writer and really has a sense of all the emotions, ideas, and worries that go through the minds of 16, 17, 18, and 19-year old girls. I was 17 when I read the first two books, 18 when I read the thrid one, and am 19 now (and just finished the last book), so I could really appreciate Brashares's ability to get into a teenage girl's head and heart. Every worry or thought these 4 girls have ever expressed in these pages I have thought too, and it was refreshing to hear Brashares express these feelings through Lena, Tibby, Carmen, and Bridget.

When the fourth book came out, I was very eager to read it. I was the at my local bookstore at 9AM pestering the customer service to put the book on the shelves. I hurried home and began reading it immediately. I have to say, I was somewhat confused by what I read.

Without giving too much away to those who have not read the book yet...
Carmen: Since when is Carmen the kind to take that level of abuse and neglect from a person? She is such an assertive and indepentdent character, and one year of college destroyed that?

Tibby: While I understand the confusion Tibby must have felt about the situtation (those that have read know what I am referring to), I don't know if Tibby would have completely alienated Brian and let things get so bad.

Bridget: Although Bridget's storyline seemed entirely random (Turkey? Where did that come from?), hers was the only one I felt remained true to the character's essence. My favorite story from Bridget is still the one from the second book.

Lena: Okay this is my main problem... what is going on here? Her entire storyline is completely and utterly out of character. Sorry, but *SPOILER* come on- Leo? What?!? Since when is Lena an exhibitionist who sleeps with artists? And then Kostos just randomly appears and the whole hotel sequence? Then it turns out his wife was faking a pregnancy and yay for everyone now they can be together? WHAT?!?! Personally I am very disappointed that Brashares did not pursue the Lena-Paul storyline she mildly started in book 3. At the end of the book, it was insinuated that Paul and Lena had a mild attraction that could grow into something. That would have been great! Paul seemed like he would have been such an interesting character that the readers could have gotten to know better through Lena. In my opinion he is much better option than Kostos, but Paul is not even mentioned in book 4.

In conclusion, while I did enjoy reading the last book, I felt the storyline and characters were slightly lost. The last section of the book seemed to come completely out of left field, and the last chapter in particular where bridget puts everything to a close seemed very anti-climatic and abrupt. I liked the series overall, but the last book is definetly not my favorite one.

This was, in my opinion, the most mediocre book in this series. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't as amazing as the others. I felt sad during the entire book, because all of the girls exept Bridget were depressed or making stupid choices. The others made me laugh, cheer, and be happy, in addition to the sad and moving parts. The second book is by far my favorite, because it rings the most true to the characters portrayed in the first one. This one failed to do that.

Tibby: Her part of the book, while massively annoying, was pretty close to her normal character, since she has freaked out and avoided things through all four books.

Carmen: I didn't mind her part of the book, but it was relatively boring. She didn't seem like the same firey Carmen that I felt that I had the most in common with out of the girls. She seemed weak and lazy, which depressed me because instead of standing up for herself, she just let Julia walk all over her.

Bridget: She was actually in character, and I was entirely interested in her part of the book. She has been the only girl who has stayed true to the character in all four books. I really have nothing in common with her (her being outgoing, blonde, and hot) but I think she is my favorite character, because it was awesome to watch her grow throughout the books.

Lena: She was entirely out of character. I mean, she was so shy about looking at Leo's painting in the beginning of the book, but then she doesn't seem to have much problem taking off all her clothes in front of him, nor sleeping with him. That is SO not Lena. And may I re-state what others have said... where was Paul? I really liked him, and I think that he should definitely have been in this book. I'm fine with the way things ended with Lena and Kostos but I would have preferred to see her with Paul.

This completes what is one of my all time favorite series, so I don't regret reading it, but neither does it join the second one on my shelf of the best books I have ever read. Go read it, you'll probably like it, but don't expect to be amazed, or you will be disappointed.

This is the last book in the series. It's supposed to be final. It's the end of something and the beginning of something else for our four girls. And we know it. I know it.

It's just hard to let them go. I blazed through this book in three to four hours to find out how Ann Brashares manages to let Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen go. She does it in fine form. I think it's important to note that I didn't cry at the end of this one, even though I cried for all the other ones. But this isn't the same as the others. It's not that it doesn't have its quiet sad qualities - it does. But, what it really is is a jubilant finale.

This last installment makes it clear that what we are reading is a fable. Without giving away too many details, nothing could ever be so perfect or so tragic or so romantic. But it's a magical fable because of these things.

At the same time though, it leaves us wanting more. Does that make it imperfect? Well, of course not. Brashares ties up some loose strings, and lets other dangle. We know they'll get sewn up eventually, even while other strings struggle loose again. But we also know that the Septembers finally truly are full grown and living the "real" lives that we all think never come. They've grown beyond the pages of the book, and in some way, by reading it, we have grown beyond them, and into ourselves.

The book hurridly opens with Tibby, Bridget, and Lena (Carmen doesn't come because she is avoiding the others) come together to cerimonaly distribute the Pants for the last time. Opening with a sense of finality one is struck by the realization that everything has changed.

Tibby, who has been dating Brian for ages, finally decides to take the next big step with him,(in a pretty realistic, though out of character for Brian way) and then suffers the consequences from it. Tibby as a result from her and Brian's actions and her pregnancy scare, beings to avoid and shut out Brian, damaging their relationship. In typical Tibby fashion she overanalyzes, locks herself up, and is annoying in general- though truth be told, Tibby never was my favorite character.

Carmem, who has never had to leave the secure embrace of her friends finds herself as the epitome of the pathetic freshman- no boyfriend (whatever happened to WIN by the way? oh and that pathetic "she let it trickle of"... excuse didn't work, sorry). Desperate she lets another college student-Julia- "befriend" her though Julia doesn't truly care for her or what her to succeed. Carmen learns the meaning of the age old cliche "with friends like these, who needs enemies?"

Lena, finds herself (annoingly) back at square 2, wondering whether she has really finally gotten over Kostos. She has a summer fling, learning the meaning of lust as opposed to love, and realizes after a ridiculously bizarre scene in a hotel, that she still loves Kostos (whatever happened to PAUL by the way?????)

Bridget jets off to Turkey on a archalogy dig and discovers a new passion (what ever happened to soccer by the way?) She also enters into a mini flirtation with a teacher, but in the end decides what she really wants is her boyfriend and her family to be whole.

Ann Brashares has never made the mistake of feeding young adults ridiculous, angst-ridden melo dramtic rubbish, and she doesn't do that here either. Whatever people may say about this book Ann Brashares is a generally good, quality young adult writer; she writes with realism, insight and wit, and even at her worst (which this book undoutly is) she still writes circles around some of her other contemperary counterparts. She isn't afraid to create whole, imperfect characters, which I admire and respect.

Where the real shortcomings lie, is that fact that this book is disconnected with the other books in such an abrubt manner. In fact, the book fails more as a sequel and finale to the rest of the books, then it does as a book alone. Plotines, forshadows, themes, and mortifs are dropped, or hastily and badly resolved and characters act in ways which are extremely out of character of their own voliation- there is no concret reason behind there actions. For instance, in the 3rd book it seemed as if Lena was growing out of loving Kostos- he was her first love but not neccesarily her only. Yet then in this book he's suddenly reappers, so aprubtly I still have backlash? Or Carmern's newfound trust and belief in herself through her boyfriend Win is suddenly dropped, and Carmen is dull, lazy, and pathetic? WHAT?

I was truly disappointed in this book, because it felt like Brashares could have resolved it in a better way- and what's worse is that she is entirely capable of doing that. This book was decent on its own- for all its failings its not neccesarily badly written nor unrealistic, yet the book felt like it was inhabited with shadows of the characters, and was so out of sync and jarring there were times I honestly wondered if the same women who had written the first three amazing books, had really written this. At the end of this beforehand amazing series, I expected Brashares to go out with a bang, not a whisper.

I have enjoyed all the books in the series and liked to watch their characters develop. I felt that with "Forever" suddenly I was reading about different people. I think Tibby seemed in character...slightly different and removed from the group, not opening up. Carmen? Come on, that was more of a Tibby thing to do. I get that she was in college and all and may have changed, but she was so pathetic and out of it and detatched from everyone. That just wasn't her. Bridget, always the pretty one that gets in trouble with the guys. Lena went from being so reserved to just being all out there and naked. Anyway, I didn't feel it was her best work. Kind of like she just took some interesting, typical teen storylines and assigned each one to a character without regard to the past character development. As a stand alone book it was ok, but it was still hard to get through. The end did seem like the end (maybe even #3 or #2 should have been the end!) but still weird how they all found the time/money to go jetting off across the world.

I am a middle school teacher and began reading the series when my students first began loving the first book a few years ago. I was quickly drawn in and have looked forward to each novel as it was published. Many of my students have been waiting patiently for the next book, Forever in Pants. While I personally enjoyed the book and seeing how the characters changed and grew after their first year at college, I found their challenges to be very inappropriate for the middle school and junior high age group that worship these books so much. In the first three books, sexual encounters were less explicit than in the fourth novel. The physicality of sex is not detailed here, but the emotions and feeling of the girls before, during and after their experiences certainly is. Their friendships remains strong across the miles and there are good messages in the book, but this does not seem to be the focus of the novel until the end of the story. Again, I enjoyed this "next chapter" of the girls' lives but I am not comfortable recommending it to my students. I would advise parents to read the book first before allowing young girls to dive in.

To younger girls or diehard fans of the sisterhood, this book will be an appreciated addition to the collection. But to a pickier reader, the book falls short. It was definitely a fun read, and seeing how cherished book characters have grown up over the "years" is always a delight. But there were several disappointments for me.

First of all, as some reviewers have mentioned, the characters were not the same girls I'd accustomed myself to, and they felt a little hollow--I didn't feel the connection to Tibby, Bridget, Carmen and Lena that I did in their other stories, and they lacked their usual richness. I felt like they were a little more generic, their personalities secondary to their "issues"--losing virginity, rediscovering self. Even secondary characters fell flat: Carmen's dramatic friend dresses in long, flowing skirts and is one of the most "visible" people on campus. I have a lot of friends involved in theater, and none of them are as ridiculous as Julia.

Secondly, the stories themselves felt a little like cardboard cutouts. The art classes, the summer theater program, the archaeological dig--they all felt less like researched, personalized experiences and more like the idealized version you carry around in your head when you don't know any better. Bee has a deep "connection" with the dig. Lena cries at the sight of another artist's work. Carmen seems to emerge from herself on the stage. Little mention is made of the hard work that goes into these fields, just the emotional experience of being involved in one.

Thirdly, I go to one of the schools in the book. I was offended by the way Ms. Brashares threw around my school's name without doing the minimal research required to get the details right. There is no mention of any of the things that make the freshman year here particularly unique (understandable, perhaps, because including them would mean a character's situation was simply implausible), and there were downright inaccuracies about the simplest things. A little research never hurt anyone.

Finally...where are the pants? I actually forgot for the majority of the book that they still existed, right up until the implausible conclusion.

Overall, it's a sweet book, but not quite up to par with the three preceding it. It felt almost like the author put less effort into this one, which is sad, because the girls of the sisterhood deserve better.

The ending of a beloved series always deserves mixed reviews, and this book is no different. We have all watched Lena, Tibby, Carmen and Bridget grow together and apart for years now. We all connect to the characters, and we all want to see where their lives are going in hopes of receiving a little insight as to where our own lives will end up.

The themes in the fourth Sisterhood book varies little from the others--sex, self-identity, family unity--but the characters are more complex and dealing with more adult feelings. Tibby has a pregnancy scare, Lena begins to question why she is hanging on to her virginity, Bridget realizes she needs to do something to communicate with her family, and Carmen tries to regain her identity as a powerful woman.

I am still trying to figure out exactly how I feel about this novel, but I do know I did not find it as powerful as the first and second books, nor as entertaining as the third. I felt there were a lot of elements introduced in the other books that seemed to have no bearing on the events in this book, but I still felt satisfied with the final decision of the Pants in relation to the lives of the girls it had affected.

The books in general have made me more grateful for the Sisters in my life. We live all over the world and face our different challenges, but we are united by our past interactions with each other as well as knowing that someday, our paths will come together again. That is what the Pants have brought to my life.