I was stuck in a mini book slump so I decided to throw it back to a summer classic with The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I remembered a good amount of what happened from when I read the book and watched the movie when I was younger, but after reading it now, it really made me want to go back and finish the series. 
 Even though this book is about a magical pair of jeans shared among friends, I really enjoyed how realistic it was. Carmen, Lena, and Tibby have my favorite story lines. Carmen's phone call with her dad has always been a scene that stood out to be in the book and the movie, and even after reading it again, the whole situation still had me in tears. I appreciated Lena's story and how she found a connection to her grandfather. I also liked that Ann Brashares didn't push the romance for Lena and Kostos. They liked each other, but (view spoiler)[it wasn't an annoying instalust story. It took the whole book before they actually admitted their feelings for each other and kissed (hide spoiler)]. I would've liked for them to have more time to actually get to know each other, but even the small scenes where Lena is just observing him and noticing things about him are sweet and I'm hoping we see their love story grow in the second book. Tibby's story was heartbreaking. I think Bailey is a great character and I loved seeing Tibby and Bailey's friendship grow over the summer. Bailey really opened Tibby up to seeing the world in a new way. Things get a little conflicted when it comes to Bridget's summer. I think Brashares has given Bridget some interesting character traits. She is manic and headstrong and has high highs and low lows. It makes me wonder if she deals with (view spoiler)[mental illness in the rest of the series, or if this is just a story of a high school girl who lost her way and is trying to find herself again (hide spoiler)]. I didn't like Eric and Bridget's storyline together and think he acted inappropriately in a position of authority. I'm also not a huge sports person, so for me the soccer camp plot was the least appealing. 
 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was a quick summer read that shows just how important friendship is. Tibby, Bridget, Carmen, and Lena support each other through everything they go through that summer and prove that even distance can't shatter their bond. It had me feeling all the feels, wishing for magic pants, and praying I win the lottery so I can go to Greece. Now I want to read the rest of the series and re-watch the films. 
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