The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

I read this book as part of the Banned Book Challenge and the A to Z Challenge. I found it on a banned book list with no explanation about why it was banned or where the incident occurred. I tried researching it on the web and could only find the title on a number of lists. I suspect that it was challenged in either a public or school library by parents afraid of the sexuality in the book. This is a book marketed for teens and young adults.

It is the story of four life long friends: Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen. They are teenagers who are spending a summer apart. They find a pair of old jeans in a thrift store. Magically, the jeans fit each girl perfectly, even though they are very different body types. These become the Traveling Pants for their magical qualities. Throughout the summer, each girl wears the pants for two weeks and then sends them on to another girl. The novel goes back and forth among the four girls documenting their summer and their time with the pants. It is the first of a series that I have seen many teen girls reading. It was also made into a movie.


STRENGTHS OF THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS: It is a very positive story of friendship among these girls. They are supportive of each other and do not put each other down. Each girl has a crisis while wearing the pants, but the others are supportive. Tibby's crisis is especially heart-rending as she meets, and spends time with, a younger girl who is dying of leukemia. I think that the sexuality in Bridget's story is probably the reason for the banning of this book. However, I found it to be a strength of the book because it was not graphic, and the author dealt extremely well with Bridget's emotions and her feelings of loss and regret. I thought it would really open the door to an honest discussion with a teenage girl about sexuality. I also liked how the author moved between stories so you were kept in touch with all four girls over the summer.

WEAKNESSES OF THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS: I was not really fond of Lena's summer story. She spent the summer in Greece with her grandparents and feel in love with a local boy. Through a misunderstanding, her grandparents thought the boy had assaulted her. I felt this part was a bit contrived and didn't match with the strength these girls displayed throughout the book.

Overall, I'd give this book four stars. I would absolutely allow my daughter to read it when she's a teen. I think there's a lot of positive messages in this about the value of girls' friendships. It could also lead to some excellent discussions of values and choices. If anyone has more details on the banned issue, I'd love to know. I'd also be interested in knowing how teenagers have reacted to this one. So if you are, or have, a teenager, let me know.

Booking Through Thursday - Format

This week's BTT question is a short, but sweet one. This is a hard one for me because I don't tend to keep a large library of books, as many of you already know. Anyway, here's the question:

All other things (like price and storage space) being equal, given a choice in a perfect world, would you rather have paperbacks in your library? Or hardcovers? And why?

I think in a perfect world I'd want two copies of all my books. One in hardcover (autographed, of course) for the shelves of my cozy reading room. I'd want the paperbacks for bathtub and travel reading. I also prefer to read paperbacks in bed because some hardcovers are just so heavy.

If this is truly a perfect world, I'd be able to leave my paperbacks behind in my travels for others to read. I'd also get to pick up other people's paperbacks, and have the corresponding hardcovers waiting for me in the home library.

I guess I'd need either magic or a personal book assistant for that one. Actually, that sounds like a great job. Personal book buyer for a voracious reader who loves to share. Anyway, that got a bit off track, and I'm not sure I really answered the question.

I'd love to know what other people thought so leave me a comment.

Six Unimportant Things About Me

I got tagged for this one by Brie at Cupid's Chokehold.

I guess I've already done numbers 1 and 2 so on to number 3!

Rules:


1. Link back to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog

3. Share six unimportant things about you

4. Tag six random people at the end of your blog entry

5. Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blog.



1. I am a coffee addict. I always have coffee with me in the morning. I carry a cup to work, my students give me Starbucks gift cards, and my husband has bought me numerous travel mugs because I leave them everywhere.

2. I hate white walls. I think every wall in my house is some color. I can think of blue, purple, green, clay, tan, and a variety of stenciled and sponge painted treatments.

3. I can reupholster simple projects like dining room chairs. I'm a whiz with a staple gun.

4. I love Disneyland. My personal best is 35 rides in one day (leaving at 7:00 not closing) and never waiting in a line more than 30 minutes.

5. I have heard my name called across Las Vegas casinos, Disneyland, California Adventure, and a variety of airports by numerous students both past and present.

6. I have been in the first ten rows of a Bruce Springsteen concert, dancing on the chair the whole time, and have been to an acoustic Bruce concert - just the man and his guitar.

OK .... now I'm supposed to tag people, but I don't like that part so ... if you're reading this and want to play along ... consider yourself tagged.

Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich

This is another one for the A to Z Challenge. It is one of the Stephanie Plum novels that are "between the numbers." This one reads more like an extended short story.

In this one, Stephanie is asked by her mother to find her grandmother who has gone missing. It turns out that Grandma Mazur has come into possession of stolen mob money, purchased an RV, and taken the cash to Atlantic City. Along for the ride are all the usual Plum characters: Lula, Connie, Ranger, Morelli, and Diesel.

I'm not going to use my normal format on this one. It's a fun light read. I think it took me about one hour to read. I enjoy the Plum novels. They are laugh out loud funny and a nice break in my reading. This one reads like an extended short story. It's funny but don't expect a lot of character development and Ranger and Morelli make very minor appearance.

Unfortunately, I have to give it three stars. It was fun, but I wish I had borrowed it from the library. I'm not sure it was worth the price of a hard cover book. If you've read it, I'd love to know what you thought.

Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

This is another book for the A to Z Challenge. It is the first one I've ever read by Picoult. I've read so much about her on other people's blogs that I had to try her out.

This one is the story of Jack St. Bride who comes to the small town of Salem Falls after spending time in prison for a sexual assault that he did not commit. He falls for Addie, the owner of the local diner, who is still mourning the death of her daughter. Jack is accused of another sexual assault by the teenage daughter of the most influential man in the small town. As the story unfolds, it is unclear whose story to believe.

STRENGTHS OF SALEM FALLS: Picoult is a great story teller. She doles out just enough information to keep the plot moving without giving everything away. In this book, she did a nice job of using flashbacks to tell Jack's back story. However, she did not make him a blameless victim. There are incidents in his past which lead us as readers to doubt him. The same can be said of Addie, whose back story is also slowly revealed. I did like the relationship between these two damaged and imperfect people. Picoult also held my attention through the trial sequence and really created doubt in my mind as the trial came to its ending.

WEAKNESSES OF SALEM FALLS: There is a whole subplot where Jack's teenage accuser is a practicing Wiccan (or witch.) I thought that part was a bit silly and demeaning to some people's beliefs. I totally understood the connection Picoult was making to the Salem Witch Trials of history, but it felt forced and unnecesary. I truly think she could have left that part out and the story would have still hung together and been riveting. This is especially true when she hints at the ultimate twist right at the end of the novel. That would have been a more interesting way to develop Gilly's character.

Overall, I'd give this one four stars. It was entertaining, and I'll definitely be reading more books by Picoult. I'd welcome ideas about which other books I might like.

Friday Fill-In

1. Snowdrops are annoying - can you tell I'm a sun and surf gal.
2. I'm going to write a book one day.
3. Let It Be and If God Was One of Us (are) is a song(s) whose lyrics have meaning to me.
4. Just one sip and my headache will feel better as long as it's Starbucks!
5. Any beach - local or Hawaiian is where I'm happiest.
6. I believe that laughter is a necessary part of life.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to SurferGirl's final practice before an ice skating competition, tomorrow my plans include the two performance ice skating competition and Sunday, I want to relax at the beach knowing there are still two more days in my weekend!

Booking Through Thursday - Valentines

Here's today's BTT question. It wasn't the one I was expecting, but it was quite easy for me.

Here’s something for Valentine’s Day.

Have you ever fallen out of love with a favorite author? Was the last book you read by the author so bad, you broke up with them and haven’t read their work since? Could they ever lure you back?

I recently fell way out of love with Patricia Cornwell. Her last book, Book of the Dead, was simply awful. I am still ranting about it. I really don't think anything could lure me back to this author. I know I won't read anything else she's written.

I also went through a period where I was hooked on Dan Brown. He's the author if The Da Vinci Code. I got to the point where all the books and characters started to run together. I don't think I could be lured back, because I don't think he can change. If he were to publish something that was remarkably different, then I might, notice might, be tempted to read it.

There are a number of authors where I've never been able to read a second book. E. Annie Proulx is a great example. I loved The Shipping News, but haven't liked anything else. I haven't even gotten to page 30 of anything else. But I don't think that really qualifies as an author I'm in love with. I took it to be an author I'd read a lot of and then became disenchanted.

I'm curious to know what other people picked!