The Arts
07.13.11

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Phaedra

Everlasting

'Sisterhood' novel a worthy successor

By Justine McDaniel


The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants became a classic coming-of-age story for the current generation with the series' four girls—always growing up one step ahead of us—and their legendary pair of pants.

Four and a half years after the fourth and final book in the series, Ann Brashares has released a surprising fifth novel of the Sisterhood. Picking up 10 years later, Sisterhood Everlasting finds the four friends grappling with tragedy. Shaken and confused when a drowning ruins their reunion, the friends scatter.

Following mysterious left-behind letters, the girls struggle through parallel journeys as they search for answers. Their geographical travels—from Greece and New York all the way to Petaluma—mirror their emotional journeys.

The girls search for different things—lost love, new life, careers, forgiveness—but seek one conclusion. Brashares turns an incredible trick by not only resolving the seemingly irresolvable in the final chapters, but by successfully returning to a bestselling series without any cheap shots or rushed plotlines.


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