Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, Book 3) [Mass Market Paperback]

Ann Brashares (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 22, 2007

The Pants first came to us at the perfect moment. That is, when we were splitting up for the first time. It was two summers ago when they first worked their magic, and last summer when they shook up our lives once again. You see, we don’t wear the Pants year-round. We let them rest so they are extra powerful when summer comes. (There was the time this spring when Carmen wore them to her mom’s wedding, but that was a special case.)

Now we’re facing our last summer together. In September we go to college. And it’s not like one of those TV shows where all of us magically turn up at the same college. We’re going to four different colleges in four different cities (but all within four hours of one another—that was our one rule). We’re headed off to start our real lives.

Tomorrow night at Gilda’s we’ll launch the Pants on their third summer voyage. Tomorrow begins the time of our lives. It’s when we’ll need our Pants the most.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ages 12 and up. Best buds Tibby, Carmen, Lena and Bridget are back with their magical pair of shared jeans in Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood. Each summer brings new and difficult challenges, as the perennially separated friends discover afresh this last season before college. Tibby struggles with the idea of close friend Brian becoming her boyfriend, and their fragile relationship is soon tested by a tragedy in her immediate family. Carmen doesn’t know how to react when she finds out that her middle-aged mom is pregnant, and Bridget is unpleasantly surprised to be reunited with the boy who broke her heart two summers ago. Finally, Lena, still coming to terms with the loss of her first love, tries to convince her strict father that art school is a better career path than Greek restaurant management. But through every crisis, each girl is assured of the love and support of the created sisterhood when she pulls on the denim armor of the cherished, and by now, a bit fragrant ("Rule # 1. You must never wash the Pants.") Traveling Pants.

Full of homey platitudes about life, love and the pursuit of perfect jeans, Girls in Pants occasionally reads like a lengthy Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul entry. But often that’s precisely the kind of friendly reassurance female readers are looking for, and fans of the wildly popular series who’ve journeyed every summer with the "Septembers" will find much to laugh and cry about in this volume. --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up - Four friends embark on their third summer of adventures, beginning with their high school graduation. Tibby ponders the change in her relationship with a male friend who now wants to date her. She is devastated when her little sister is seriously injured after falling out a window that Tibby accidentally left open. Lena's plans to attend art school are disrupted when her conservative father discovers her sketching a nude male model during a summer class and refuses to pay the tuition. Carmen takes a job looking after Lena's cantankerous grandmother. She decides to attend college locally when she discovers that her mother and new stepfather are expecting a baby. Bridget goes to summer camp and is surprised to learn that her ex-fling is also a counselor. As in the previous books, the pants move from girl to girl weaving their special magic, but they are mentioned only briefly and it is easy to forget who has them when. The multiple story lines abruptly switch within chapters, building suspense. However, reluctant readers may miss having more solid transitions. The novel will appeal to those wanting light fare as the girls spend most of their time fretting about boys and all of their tribulations end happily. Fans will clamor for the latest in the series. The story stands alone, but references to the previous summers will attract readers to the other books. - Linda L. Plevak, Saint Mary's Hall, San Antonio, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Dell Books for Young Readers (May 22, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553495046
• ISBN-13: 978-0553495041
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (202 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #750,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ann Brashares is the bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Girls in Pants, Forever in Blue, The Last Summer (of You and Me), and My Name is Memory.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great book! July 11, 2005

By Tonya Speelman VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This book was so great. It dealt with the girls growing up a little and realizing what each of them has inside plus the support of each other and family, they can make it in the world.

They all are sad because they know at the end of this summer they will have to separate and make a way for themselves in the world, but are hoping to still stay close. Wish it was this way but for many of us, we know that life gets busy and friends grow apart.

This book however the girls lean on each other a bit, but are a bit more independent. They learn to rely on themselves a bit more. Like Lena, who wants to go to art college but her dad forbids it. He won't pay for her to, so now she must work to get a scholarship. Carmen must deal with her mom and David having a new baby, just as she is ready to leave for college. Tibby must deal with her siblings and what she really feels about Brian. Bee is coaching a soccer camp and must deal with the past.

It all went so fast you won't want to go to sleep until you read the last page. I do hope there is another book, but this one was the best!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommendation, By: Julie Shives Ü December 11, 2005

A Kid's Review

Format:Hardcover

Having recently read The Third Summer of the Sisterhood, I highly recommend this and the three before it. Actually, I mostly recommend this and the other books to mature girls because of it being about teenage girls who demonstrate how real teenage girls act. As a matter of fact, whenever one of my friends asks me what books they should read I always first mention this series. If they say they have already read it, we end up getting of topic and start talking about how great the book is.

One of the reasons why this book is so great is because of it being so real, but yet it still has the romance and fun that every girl dreams of. For instance, when one of the girls mother is getting remarried, then having to deal with that would be like a real life situation. Or, since one of the girls gets to hang out with her biggest crush the whole summer, then she gets to experience some true romance. So, although the book shows wishes coming true, it also demonstrates that not everyone and their actions are perfect.

All in all, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series are the best books that I have ever read. I'm hoping that Ann Brashares will write a fourth book, but I having a feeling that the third one will be the last.

45 of 59 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Character Growth February 1, 2005

By R. Chaffey VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

"Girls in Pants" is the third installment in Brashares' 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' series. In this novel she demonstrates the fact that she knows her main characters inside and out, giving voice to the plights of teenage girls on the verge of adulthood. The third installment is a worthy addition to the prior novels.

Brashares' novels tell the story of four girlfriends, whose mothers were friends before their birth. Even though their mothers may have lost contact, the girls have remained friends through thick and thin. And they've seen and experienced enough trouble for more than double their lives. "Girls in Pants" finds them in the final summer before they embark for college, when they'll truly be apart for the first time in their lives. Once again, they pass the magical pants back and forth during the summer, always exactly when one girl needs them the most. While two of the girls face new and frightening experiences, the other two must encounter past problems and deal with the ghosts that haunt them.

Brashares crafts a good story. She has developed these characters consistently throughout all three novels, and takes their lives in different, but satisfying directions. Although an adult, she infuses their young voices with the wisdom of teenagers-on-the-cusp. Perhaps their stories are complete, but readers know that there will always be more summers for these magical pants and this diverse group of girls.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Growing out of the pants October 31, 2005

By Amanda Richards HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The third installment of the Traveling Pants saga brings the girls ever closer to adulthood as they head off to college, and their lives take off in new directions.

As entertaining as the previous books, this one pushes the believability buttons a little too hard, and some of the scenarios just don't quite sound like real life. The pants begin to fade into the background, yet continue to magically hold the friendship together.

Tibby is the last to discover that Brian has somehow morphed into a hunk, and is blind to his utter devotion for her. She finally makes peace with the memory of her friend Bailey, and helps Carmen's mom through one of the most frightening episodes of her life.

Carmen has to cope with her mother's new life, and make her decision about which college she should attend. She also has the responsibility of looking after Lena's grandmother who's not very pleased to be in the United States, and on top of it all, there's a cool guy that she keeps bumping into, whom she feels is seeing her as someone she's not.

Lena has it pretty rough, as she battles with her father about attending art school, and tries to forget Kostos. She learns to see people as they really are through her drawings, and gets a new impression of Paul.

Bridget has achieved All-American status and is returning to soccer camp, this time as a coach. Things get complicated when she realizes that she knows another of the coaches a little too well.

This book touches on a lot of issues in the growing up process, and although not the best in the series, you'll want to finish it in one sitting.

Amanda Richards, October 30, 2005