_________________________________________________________________
A book that has influenced my life is The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Anne Brashares. The first story of a five book series is about four best friends who find a pair of jeans at the thrift store that magically fit each of them, despite their varying body shapes and sizes. The plot follows each of the girls through their summer vacations as they embark on different adventures, and soon realize they need the pants to help give them the confidence to face a struggle.
This was the first book I can remember being totally consumed by. I can remember lying out in the sun, reading that book and being so wrapped up in the story that it felt as though these girls were real and were my friends. The fact that three of my closest friends had also read this book made the Travelling Pants girls an even bigger reality because we would chat about the stories as if they were girls who lived just down the road.
Leisure reading is one of my favourite activities, and generally I do get into the story and think about the characters and consider their options in the plot, but The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants provided such a positive reading experience that I feel I should give credit to Anne Brashares for my love of leisure reading.
Learn more about The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
__________________________________________________________________________________
What I didn't mention in my post for Children's Lit. was exactly how real the Sisterhood became to me and my friends. Although we couldn't find the same pair of jeans to fit us each, we had the personalities of the four girls in the story. Our bond (for a while) was inseparable, our first year away from home we rented a house together and had some of the most fun of our lives. As we grew into adults and explored our different paths, we found we were headed in different directions and although these memories are a little bitter-sweet, they will forever be fond and vivid.
To the Sisterhood!
(Although we called ourselves the "Fab Four")
Summer 2006 (L-R): Meghan (Bridget), Emma (Tibby), Emily (Carmen), Katrina (Lena) |