Sisterhood Everlasting

Written by Ann Brashares

Goodreads Synopsis: From #1 New York Times Bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now 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 longtime 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 they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever--but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

My Confession: I couldn't pick this book up fast enough. First of all, I didn't know for months that it even existed. After reading Forever in Blue, the final book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, I thought these characters were done. I'd seen the movies, lamented their abbreviation of three-books-into-one method, and made peace with the characters I'd grown up reading. I'd accepted their ending. I was okay with where they were. It made sense to me. I moved on.

And then this book happened.

I wasn't ready for what I was about to read in these pages. All I knew was that I wanted to read about Carmen, Bridget, Lena, and Tibby one more time. I loved these girls. I, myself, am one of four friends who've managed to stay close after high school. I could identify with Lena's shyness, Bridget's occasional depression, Tibby's need to create something bigger than herself, and Carmen's compassion and maternal desire to keep everyone together. I was excited knowing that this book would take place ten years after the fourth book, putting all four women close to their thirtieth birthdays. I'm hedging on 22, so I can't say that I can relate completely, but I expected them to have stayed mostly the same. Characters so deeply ingrained in the hearts and minds of girls everywhere couldn't have changed much, right?

Wrong: I was so wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. There were moments where I felt like I didn't know these girls at all. Bridget was still restless? I couldn't believe that at almost 30, she was still poised to throw away her life with Eric (who she spent the entire series chasing, losing, loving, gaining, and taking for granted) to become the "wild child" she'd been at 16. For some reason, my tolerance for her antics reached a breaking point. I know it sounds cliche, but during her part of the narrative, I shook the book and wanted to yell grow the eff up! numerous times. Even worse, Carmen, the girl I probably related to the most throughout the series, was utterly unrecognizable. Now a big-shot actress, she's engaged to a decade-older, bald, cold-fish man who's everything the hopelessly romantic Carmen who fell in love with Win would never have given a second look. She's forced her voluptuous Latin body into a size 0, talks down to her mother, seems burdened by her newly-widowed father, and acts like a selfish, self-centered beeyotch. I hated her. And then I hated myself for hating her. She'd been my favorite. But, in this book, I didn't know her.

The only one who stayed the same was Lena. Lena, Lena, Lena. Still lamenting over never getting together with Kostos, which is, of course, her fault. She continually ignored his numerous overtures until, understandably, Kostos threw in the towel. But never fear! This star-crossed couple isn't finished. It was mildly satisfying to watch Lena grow something resembling a spine, and Kostos is as gentle and giving as he always was. But while the other two girls seemed forcibly altered, it was Lena who could have used the aging. She was still trapped in her nineteen-year-old mentality. Her insecurity, like it does in the previous books, gets old very quickly.

And then there's Tibby, the whole reason I cried continuously throughout this book. I won't tell you why--it's too big a spoiler. [If you want to know what happens but don't want to pick up the book, contact me and we can chat.] I was angry at Ann for changing the dynamic between the friends this drastically, in this particular way. I'm not sure that it was necessary. I felt a certain detachment from this book that I hadn't felt from the previous four. Maybe it was because I wish many of the events in the book hadn't occurred  or more importantly, that they hadn't occurred to these four people. I loved them too much. I was too attached. I wanted their futures bright, happy, open. This book wasn't where I pictured them ending up.

Recommendation: I won't be able to stop you from picking this book up if you've read the previous four and are just itching to read more. That's what led me to this purchase. It's what led me to crack the cover even though I had a feeling of trepidation. Just let me warn you: if you're looking for the girls you grew up with, you won't find them here. Not really. There are glimpses, cracked windows into the adults that could be the Sisterhood all grown up. The story is dark, the plot a vacuum that leaves you feeling drained, sad, and tired. It wasn't the future I wanted for them. In some ways, a few ends were tied up nicely. But there's a hole--a big, gigantic one--that forms in this book, and it's never filled. I ended up feeling a disconnect from this book entirely, and it felt like a stand-alone novel with characters who only happened to be named Bridget, Lena, Tibby, and Carmen. Read it if you can't stop yourself. Stop yourself if you're happy with the ending that Forever in Blue leaves you with. That's how I'd rather remember those girls: giddy, fun, close, and ready for the future.

Rating: 2.5/5

368 pages, published by Random House (June 14, 2011)