NEW RELEASE
Sisterhood Everlasting - Ann Brashares (2011)
This fifth novel in the Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants series is by far the best. The Septembers - Lena, Bridget, Carmen and Tibby - are all now 29 years old and living lives filled with sadness and longing. Bridget is as restless as ever; Carmen is an acclaimed actress who is marrying a man she doesn't love; Tibby has taken off to Australia suddenly and barely keeps in touch; and Lena is still pining after Kostos, 15 years later. When Tibby invites all of the girls to get together in Greece for an impromptu reunion, they all believe this is exactly what they need to reignite the spark in their lives. Then tragedy strikes, breaking apart the bond they have shared so deeply for their entire lives. Within one week, the girls find themselves drifting farther away from each other than they ever could have thought. But, through carefully written letters and instructions, maybe everything will finally find its place in their lives. Sometimes the road we don't want to take is the only road that will bring us happiness. That's exactly what these girls find after avoiding the truth for so long. Written in alternating accounts by each of the characters, this is a heart-wrenching and tear-jerking novel. It's definitely more than was expected and is guaranteed to make the reader see the friendship that the Septembers share in a new and awe-inspiring light. (AS)
If you loved Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, you will be delighted to hear Ann Brashares is revisiting her characters 10 years down the track. The summary of Sisterhood Everlasting says: "Tibby, Lena, Carmen and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting. Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn't take. Bridget lives with her long-time boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can't seem to shed her old restlessness. Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever - but in ways that none of them could ever have expected." Sisterhood Everlasting is out in June. (XT)