Meet 4 best friends in the summer of their lives before their junior year in high school and a pair of magical pants. The story begins way back in a prenatal aerobics class where the mothers, all from vastly different backgrounds, meet and become friends. In reality all they had in common was being pregnant and giving birth with a few weeks of each other late that summer. Their friendships die but the girls grow each year until they are inseparable - and this is the first summer they have been apart. One girl has an old pair of jeans she has bought at a used clothing store and is planning on getting rid of. On the night before they all leave another friend sees them and asks her to give them to her as a keepsake of their friendship. Noting that her body size is vastly different than hers she told her she should try them on. Of course the pants fit and as they go around the group they fit everyone. They are the most beautifully cut pair of jeans each girl could imagine having (and as a woman you know how impossible that is!). They decide these must be magical pants and the "sisterhood of the traveling pants' is born. Ten rules for the pants are proclaimed and the pants are to travel to each person this summer. Afterwards they will get together and tell each other what the pants did and what was learned.

A wondeful coming of age story filled with laughter, fear, heartache and the reality of death. This was shelved in the kids section of the library book store but I think is geared more toward late teens and adults. One of the girls has her first sexual experience and regrets it immediately. Although not explicit it's more than I'd want my 12 year old reading right now.

One girl who stayed home and was extremely unhappy due to her job, family life and pesky 12-year-old friend says this:

Maybe happiness didn't have to be about the big, sweeping circumstances, about having everything in your life in place. Maybe it was about stringing together a bunch of small pleasures. Wearing slippers and watching the miss Universe contest. Eating a brownie with vanilla ice cream. Getting to level seven in Dragon Master and knowing there were twenty levels to go.

Maybe happiness is was just a matter of the little upticks - the traffic signal that said "Walk" the second you got there - and downticks - the itchy tag at the back of your collar - that happened to every person in the course of a day. Maybe everybody had the same allotted measure of happiness within each day. Maybe that was all you could ask for.

Putting this under reserved status as my older daughter will enjoy it.

Released on Sunday, January 09, 2005 at about 5:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at Panera Breads, Vista California in to a fellow bookcrosser, Bookcrossing Meetup Controlled Releases.

RELEASE NOTES:

Released at a meetup this afternoon.

Rec'd/Caught at a BX Meeting we had this morning at Panera Bread in Vista, from Lginder. Thanks for the book, looking forward to reading it.

I tried to read this book and couldn't get into it at all.Passing on to someone else who might enjoy it.

Mailed this one out to Sasscass79 today

Thank you for the trade. Looking forward to reading this. :)

This was a nice light book to read on my vacation. I just might have to read the rest of the series now.

RELEASE NOTES:

Released in the biggest food court in the city center.