I know; I usually don't do movie reviews. But, well, this one is a book also. I just happened to see the movie first, but I loved the movie and want to read the book as well.
The title--Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants-- is rather bizarre. It's about four girls who have grown up together. When they are 16, they spend their first summer apart. Anyway, the book and movie are so-named because the girls share a pair of pants that summer. Each one keeps the pants for a week, then sends them to the next person. With the pants, they each send a letter telling the next person the most interesting thing that happened to them while wearing the pants. Interestingly, the pants fit all of the girls, even though they aren't all the same size. From this they conclude that the pants have some sort of magic associated with them.
Each of the girls has a life-altering summer. One of the girls, Lena, goes to Greece to stay with her grandparents. There she meets a guy she is crazy about, but her grandparents aren't crazy at all about the idea of her dating this guy. It's sort of a Romeo and Juliet thing (no suicide at the end, thank goodness); they don't like his family.
Bridget, who just recently lost her mother to suicide, goes to soccer camp in Mexico, where she pursues one of the coaches, which is of course against the rules. She gets more than she bargained for in this.
Carmen, who narrates at the beginning and end of the movie, goes to visit her father, who lives near Atlanta. Her father displays a stunning lack of senstivity in waiting until she is actually there to spring his new Stepford family on her--perfect, blond fiance, with her perfect blond son and daughter, all of whom are living with him. Carmen is supposed to be a bridesmaid in her father's wedding along with her soon-to-be stepsister, and is humiliated at the fitting for her bridesmaid's dress. Carmen is somewhat overweight, and her father was ever-so-slightly off in guessing her size. It's symbolic; Carmen feels like she doesn't fit into his life anymore.
Tibby stays at home and works at a Wal-Mart-type store, which of course she hates. There she meets and befriends a younger girl (well, more like the girl befriends her) who has a serious illness. At first, the girl seems like just an annoying pest to Tibby, but they become close and Tibby learns a lot from this girl, Bailey, who has a remarkable strength of spirit. (I was trying to remember where I had seen the actress who plays Tibby, Amber Tamblyn. I think she is Joan of Arcadia, actually).
The movie is really touching. It is a tearjerker in spots. Since I enjoyed the movie so much, I definitely want to read the book, and will report on how it compares to the movie in a later entry.
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