Customer Reviews

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood

5 star:		(240)
4 star:		(73)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood is an engaging, entertaining almost addictive novel that will appeal to young adults, as well as people who haven't seen young adulthood in a long time. I fall into the latter category and I must say, The Second Summer was a fun, delightful novel that I read in one sitting. You should probably read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants first because the stories from that novel continue on in this one. A note to parents--this novel is fairly clean--so if the younger crowd is interested, you should feel comfortable with them reading it. The novel focuses on mother (or mother-figure)-daughter relationships--the secrets mothers keep from the daughters and vice versa, the problems in those relationship, etc. The resolution of all these problems is all positive and believable. Enjoy this one.

This book was absolutely amazing! I loved the first one and couldn't wait to get this one; when it arrived in the mail I ripped open the box and read it straight through.
This book takes place the summer after the first one (hence the title). Although Lena, Carmen, Tibby, and Bridget will be spending some of their summer together, they lives end up taking completely different paths.
Bridget, who was originally supposed to stay home for the summer, decides to go to Alabama to see her grandmother Greta. She wants to find out about her mother, and she also wants to try to rediscover herself after feeling lost as a result of her experiences the previous summer.
Lena stays in Bethesda and gets a job, but feels unhappy and a little lost. When fate puts her and Kostos together again, Lena's emotional strength is tested in new ways.
Carmen finally has a chance at love with a cute boy, Porter, but she can't help feeling pushed aside by her mother. Carmen's mom has got a new boyfriend, David, and things are not going the way she wants them to at all. Will Carmen's bad side from last summer reappear?
Tibby goes to film camp where she has to make a film about someone who has played an important role in her life. Will she make a shallow film or will she face her problems and do something that she can be proud of?
For those Kostos lovers out there (myself included), everyone's favorite Greek hottie plays a big part this summer. Some old favorite characters are back, like Brian McBrian and Paul and Krista. There are also new people to love or hate, like Greta, Billy Kline, Alex and Maura, and David.
The author provides more insight into the Septembers' mothers' relationships with each other as well, and we learn more about everyone.
Reading this book is like getting reacquainted with old friends. These girls are not fictional characters, they are real people! If you loved Ann Brashares's first novel, then this second book will blow you away!

This enchanting sequel to "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" is every bit as charming, wonderful, sweet and brilliant (to this adult's eyes, anyway) as the first book...and has a theme so true and so wise and so non-preachy that I recommend it as must reading for all teenaged girls AND their moms.

The girls are now one year older, and, as readers of the first book well know, they have not come through the past year unscathed. They are still mourning a death (Tibby), still conflicted over too much too soon with a too-old guy (Bee), confused over love and longing in a foreign country (Lena) and grappling with an out-of-control temper (Carmen).

As the new summer begins, each of the girls has an issue with her mother (even Bee, whose mother is long dead), and these issues come bubbling to the surface unexpectedly and often cruelly. We get to see the age-old mother-daughter conflict from the teenaged point of view, and how refreshing, if not painful, it is for a mother of a 20-year-old to see just what she may have been thinking at 17! What I love most about the book(s) is that the girls are good, decent and wonderful people--with all the human frailities and faults. And their battles with their respective mothers are so true, so heart wrenching and yet so real, that the solutions to each of the battles wring entirely true.

I can't wait for the next book in this enchanting series. I know this is a set of books for adolescent girls, but Moms, I'm telling you, there's good reading in here for you too. Maybe more than our daughters will ever know.

As a self-confessed unenlightened male, I'm a little late coming to the party that is The Sisterhood of the Pants, the acclaimed novel for young adults by Ann Brasheres. Truth is, I've only read Brashares' sequel, The Second Summer of the Sisterhood. But I highly recommend the sequel--for young adults on up--as a beautifully written, often entertaining, never less than touching look at girls growing up.

The premise of both novels is that a quartet of young females, whose mothers were close friends and who were born within a few days of each other, happen upon a single cheap pair of jeans that miraculously fits all of them, despite their differing body sizes. The girls thus regard the Jeans as magical and decide that they will share the Jeans amongst themselves each summer--wearing them for a while, passing them on to the next girl, and then recapping, at the end of the summer, the events that happened while they wore the Jeans.

That probably sounds pretty silly to the uninitiated. But the Jeans are merely a taking-off point for four close friends to share their growing experiences (and often pains) and to continually renew their bond of friendship. Even as the girls grow up and apart, they continually return to this bond as unique, special, and not something to be taken lightly.

In the summer depicted in Second Summer, Tibby begins college by attending a film class in which she must create a documentary about a close relative. She makes an ironic movie about her flighty mother that ends up having devastating effects, both on the mother and on Tibby's view of life. Bridget spends the summer bonding with a grandmother from whom she had been cut off by her bitter father. Lena bemoans that she had broken off a relationship with the love of her life, only to have the boy unexpectedly return. And Carmen, the daughter of a divorced mother, resents when her mother begins a rewarding relationship with a new man and seemingly leaves her out of the picture.

In synopsis, this sounds like a bad soap opera. But it is all written in delicate, soaring prose that lovingly depicts each girl as a believable, heartfelt individual. In their efforts to keep from being hurt by life, the girls do a lot of irritating things, to themselves and those around them. But while their actions often alienate their loved ones, they never alienate the reader. Instead, the book offers some rare insight into what it means to grow up female in an often scary world.

It must be noted that the book often deals with what movie ratings euphemistically refer to as "adult language and situations." Is that a bit startling for a book that is being promoted for its young female friendships? Perhaps. Are said situations out of the realm of possibility for young females these days? Sadly, I think not.

As such, the book will probably be a comfort to girls who want to know that they are not alone in negotiating the landmines of a male-dominated society. Any other readers can simply appreciate a book that depicts young girls in full-bodied, intelligent prose. I can't recommend the book enough.

This excellent sequel to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is as charming, sweet and brilliant as the first book. But, it's also more mature and deep and emotional, and we can only thank the author for taking the story a step further, transforming what was a little but honest story into one of the most engaging book series of this decade.

One year after their first summer apart, Lena, Tibby, Carmen and Bee are about to begin a new summer, but each girl is still bearing a different scar from their past actions. Now, as the summer begins, we see the girls confronting their past fears, and well as also some unresolved issues with their mothers. The book explores the emotions of these girls in such an honest way, it's impossible not to feel a little related with all of them.

The Second Summer...is a deeper book, maybe a little serious, but also more satisfying, because we see our girls mature and face their joys and tragedies in such an admirable way, one can't help but get involved emotionally in their lives. We care about these characters, their fates, we want them to know the real life and the sadness that sometimes comes with it, but we also want them to come out victorious in each one of their battles.

This is a book I recommend to daughters and mothers. It will help you understand each other more. It will work magic just as it did in the sisterhood's lives!

This book is quite arguably the best book I have ever read. Brashares is a fantastic author, and her use of language brought vivid imagery to the entire book. I have read a lot of books, including all of the Harry Potter series, Lord of the Rings, etc., and i'm not quite sure, but I think this book is the best of them. I laughed, and cried. Each of the four girls has very distinct personalities and problems, and each brings a certain something to the book. It is very hard not be be drawn into this book, and to feel the characters' emotions. I would strongly recommend this book to any girl between the ages of 13 and 18.

Three of the four Septembers have a really rough summer in this Second Summer of the Sisterhood. They have much to learn about what it means to be their respective mothers. The fourth embarks on an odyssey to find out more about who she is and who her deceased mother was as a person. She finds an endearing love in the grandmother she scarcely remembers. Once again, the pants travel back and forth among them, though I felt their significance less in this book than in the first one (and they must be getting really filthy, too).

Lena, Carmen and Tibby remain in Maryland, while Bridget goes to Alabama. She has had a difficult year after events last summer, and all are greatly concerned for her. She has put on weight, dyed her luscious blond hair brown and has retreated into a cocoon of emotional agony. The loss of her mother when she was eleven has cost her more than she can understand or realize. Bee's (Bridget's nickname) father is an emotional cripple, unable to ease the way for either of his children. Carmen's mother, Christina, has a new boyfriend. You can imagine what Carmen and her self-righteous temper can do with that! Tibby is attending a summer film class at a nearby university. She learns about true friendship, the hard way, of course. Young friend, Bailey, who died last summer, comes to her rescue, posthumously. Lena and Kostos...oh my, oh my.

These stories can be very helpful to teens, both boys and girls. While I find it hard to believe most teens are as disrespectful toward their mothers as these characters are...at least I don't remember it that way myself...there are wise lessons to be learned within the pages of the Sisterhood series. Ann Brashares writes beautifully, and the sayings at the beginning of each chapter add much to the book's interest and value. One of the most thought-provoking ones this time: Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed. Think about it...hard.

Carolyn Rowe Hill

I loved the first book, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I also think that anyone who liked it will also love reading about the second summer.

Lena's story, I believe, is by far the most interesting story in the book. What happens between her and Kostos at the end is so sad and so good that you can't stop reading.

Bridget's adventure is also quite interesting. You find out a lot about her past, but you also get to see Bridget transform into the girl everyone knows and loves again.

Tibby's story, in my opinion, is the most boring story in the book. All you see is that she makes a movie she, gets a friend and mother mad at her, then realizes her mistakes and makes the biography about Bailey she should have been making from the beginning.

Carmen was a bit of a brat. I mean, she ruins the only relationship her mother has because she was jealous of how happy her mom was, drags along a boyfriend she doesn't like to show she can be happy with a guy, and then complains about being unhappy. This is what made the story, for me, not as good as the first book.

All through these stories though, you see a fifth story taking place. You get to see the mothers of the Septembers start their friendship once again.

These stories ,pieced together, make and final product that ,other than some minor problems, something everyone will love.

After reading Ann Brashares first novel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I pounced to the library to check out its sequel The second summer of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. This novel is an enchanting story of four best friends Tibby , Lena ,Bee and Carmen and each chapter seizes the passionate sentiment of each girls stressful situation. From the start their mothers went to a pregnancy aerobics class together and became great friends, and all four girls were born a few weeks apart. So, naturally they became very close. These girls marked there lives by there summers, and one summer Carmen found the Traveling Pants. You may wonder, what's so special about an unembellished pair of pants? Well these pants, all though they were cheap, and plain did something that no other garment has been able to do. Perfectly fit on all the girls, this is amazing considering the fact that they are all different shapes and sizes. And from the day they tried the pants on, they decided that these were magical pants and symbolized there friendship. Not only did these pants look amazing on them, they also gave the girls a sense of support, an extra prick of confidence because the girl wearing them knew that she had a sisterhood behind her that will always be there through thick or thin. Unfortunately the girls could not be together all the time so they took turns keeping the pants and recapping their memories at the end of the summer.

What intrigued me the most though, was how much I could relate to the novel. The girls problems were real things teens stress about, such as family problems, boy mix-ups, and most importantly the scary transformation from a child to a young adult. In the Second Summer Bee whose mother died when she was young goes off the find, and bond with her long lost Grandmother hoping to discover some of the mysteries of her past. Tibby, decides to start of college with a sleep away film class, where she is required to make a video about a loved one, she makes a humorous video about her mom which instead of a comic masterpiece turns out to be a total disaster, she learns how important her mom is to her and not to juggle with people's feelings. Now as for Lena, she is spit into a romantic whirlwind with her dreamy boyfriend Kostos, which she met at Greece last summer. This summer Lena, sees that love can be dangerous and growing up is much more of a burden than she expected. Carmen doesn't really have as much of a romantic summer, in fact instead of going on dates she is trying to murder her Mom's dates with her new boyfriend. It hurts her to see her very responsible mom making a fool out of her self for this man.

But even as the girls get older and move on they still have a feeling of unity and love, thanks to the sisterhood formed by the pants. The theme of this novel is friendship, a very sacred thing that each of these girls cherish. If the world is harsh, school is cruel, or anything else that hurts them, they always have each other to turn to.
This novel is brilliantly written and tells a story that I assure you will never forget. It is a page turner, and each word is delicately woven together in this touching story.

Ann Brashares does a great job in this sequel to "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants". I enjoyed all the new twists, turns and surprising events in the book. Lena is suffering from love, Bridget is overcoming slight depression, Tibby is off at college learning really who is important to her and Carmen starts to date along with her Mom and she has to deal with that. The pants at first didn't have their magical fit like they did last year right away. But through the summer the pants eventually sprang back into their action.

The girls have known each other since they were all babies, but remember the toddler days, as their Moms did a pregnancy workout class together and were all due in the month of September. After the girls' births the Moms found ways to have play dates and have fun as Moms. As the mothers stayed in touch through their years so did the girls. Even now as they are all about 17 they are closer than ever.

In the first book, it was the first summer of their separation; a summer where they were all apart. Last summer they found themselves in new ways and discovered new things. This is the second summer of the sisterhood and how the adventures live on and change.

The book leaves you with just as many questions as the last. I recommend this book to girls 13-18 years old and I also recommend that you read the first book before this one. The book mentions Brian, Kostcos, Bapi and Bailey from the first book. I can't wait to get my hands on the third book!