**Spoiler Alert: There will be spoilers from the book discussed in this review.**
I have always been a fan of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants novels. I had an idea in my head of how I wanted my friendships to turn out in my teenage years, and I always imagined I would have three best friends to last me for life, just like Lena, Tibby, Carmen, and Bridget. When I learned a fifth book was coming out very soon, (it was released on June 14th), I hopped on over to the Barnes and Noble website and pre-ordered it right away.
During a weekend up north at my husband's parents' cottage, I thought this would be the perfect time to read my book. I was excited to see where the four girls had ended up in their lives 10 years later. I assumed the book would be happy, and that even though they had drifted apart, they would be reunited and everything would end up just how it used to be and as it should be. I couldn't have been more wrong.
I finished the book within a couple of days, but that didn't stop me from feeling depressed and cranky throughout the two days. The book brought down my mood, and I honestly just kept reading it in the hopes that things would change or somehow get better. Truth be told, by the time the book finally ended, I was relieved. I was slightly satisfied with the endings that came about for Bridget, Lena, and Carmen, but I could not get over the fact that Ann Brashares actually killed Tibby off in the book.
What bothered me the most about this is that enough people have died throughout this series. Even to start this book, Carmen revealed that her father's wife, Lydia, had passed away. In my opinion, there was enough death up to this point in the books. Bridget's mom, Bailey, Lena's grandparents, now Lydia...but to add Tibby to that list? It just seemed ridiculous and completely unnecessary.
I was mad at the characters for just not picking up the phone and talking to one another and for assuming Tibby had killed herself, when (to me, anyway), it was obvious that there was more than likely something wrong with her. I felt frustrated that the four girls never got to say good bye and that they came so close, but it just didn't happen. I was annoyed at the change in Carmen's personality, I was annoyed with Bridget for just running away, I was annoyed with Lena for never doing anything and being so incredibly passive, and I was annoyed with Tibby for not reaching out to her friends sooner and having a complex about telling them everything in person. Most of all, I was annoyed with Ann Brashares for writing this book the way she did.
There were some good moments...oh, maybe in the last 10 pages of the book. I was happy to see Lena and Kostos end up together, to see Carmen break off her engagement, for Bridget to finally come clean and tell Eric the truth, for everyone to finally know the truth and get all the misunderstandings cleared up about Tibby, and for the whole gang to have a place to share together. The one thing that would have made this better is if Tibby could have been there to share it with them.
Overall, I just didn't like this book. It brought down my mood, the characters were frustrating, and this was not the ending I had in mind for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants girls. I almost would prefer this book was never even written so they could have remained in my head how I imagined, and not down a member of the Sisterhood. It was an incredibly disappointing book.
What do you think? Do you agree with me, or am I being to harsh? Did you read the book? Did you like it or hate it? Will you read it in the future if you haven't already? Feel free to discuss by leaving a comment below!
