Forever In Blue: The Fourth Summer Of The Sisterhood (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
I've read this series a couple times.I keep going back because despite what a part of my brain keeps screaming at me, I really do enjoy it. I've just re-read it again.I don't know why I do this to myself.At some points it always drags me in, and I'm convinced that these are great books, and I'm enjoying myself. Then Ann Brashares decides yet again to remind me that YES, BEE'S HAIR IS NICE.Sometimes I feel that so little of the girls' relationship is even detectable, which makes me think the pants are really just unnecessary. The girls seem to do quite fine on their own. In fact, I can barely imagine them having a normal, unrelated-to-pants conversation.So you know what I did, internet?I imagined it. I present to you, How the Sisters of the Travelling Pants Probably Talk When They're Together:Carmen: So I went out with this guy, and I'd like some help completely over analyzing everything he did, but in a charming, quirky way.Lena: I'LL HELP! After all, I have nothing else worth doing in my life now that the love of my life is living away from me, though he is still madly in love with me.Bee: I'M BEAUTIFUL!Tibby: I hate everything. Doesn't everything suck?Lena: I know what you mean. I'm really ridiculously gorgeous. It's such a burden. Also, did I mention a tall, dark, handsome, perfectly chiseled Greek boy is madly in love with me? But anyway, my beauty is blinding like the light of one thousand suns. Kind of like my boyfriends smile. I just want to cry with how bad everything is.Bee: I'M SO IMPULSIVE! ISNT THAT SO QUIRKY AND ADMIRABLE?!Carmen: Oh, have I told you guys how I aged my mother another 20 years this morning by being my short-tempered, explosive self? I felt bad about it later, but other than that, I see no reason not to do it again!Tibby: Good for you! My mother has her hands full with a job and 2 small children to look after, not to mention paying my university tuition! What a BITCH!Bee: MY HAIR IS LIKE TINY STRANDS OF PURE GOLD SEND DOWN FROM THE HEAVENS AND EVERYONE LOVES ME!Lena: I think you guys are missing the point. My gorgeous, exotic, god-like boyfriend lives far away. Isn't that the most tragic thing to ever happen in our lives?Carmen: My parents are divorced.Tibby: I befriended a child who died of cancer.Bee: My mother died when I was 8.Lena: But he's GREEK!Carmen: Well, at least we're all extraordinarily attractive, right?Lena: Yeah!Bee: Absolutely!Tibby: ...Why are we friends.Anyway, I give it 2 stars. No, 5 stars. Actually, 3 stars. GAH. I HATE IT. BUT ITS SO GOOD. 4 stars.
These girls, all four of them, pissed me off at some point in this book.First, Bee. Why can't she do anything but think about the opposite sex?! Seriously. She has this wonderful opportunity to visit foreign lands and do excavations, which admittedly she threw herself into, but she also threw herself at her married with children co-excavator. She already has one boyfriend whom she's having issues with but she adds this too. Why is she always looking for boy trouble.Boy trouble, as you'll find, it a big theme here.Tibby. I pretty much hated her in this book. She was way harsh with Brian when he's just trying to do the right thing. He didn't rape her. He didn't force her to do anything. He repeatedly told her that he was willing to wait. But first hint of a pregnancy scare and she cuts him out and blames everything on him. Then gets all huffy when another girl wants him.Whatever.Lena just can't make up her mind. Again, she has this great opportunity and she spends it focused on a boy. At least Leo is unattached. But she is taking this art class, which she really needs to work on, because even she says her work is slipping, but instead she's all about Leo. Wastes time she could have spent on her art with him just to decide she's still in love with Kostos.Then there's Carmen, who is my favorite in this story. Sure, she has some self-esteem issues, but overall, she is the only one who really accomplished something without having to have male approval or attention.
What do You think about Forever In Blue: The Fourth Summer Of The Sisterhood (2007)?
Forever in Blue will leave you feeling miserable and heartbroken. That much could even be suggested in the title. I really enjoyed the journey with these girls and although this one was much more depressing I still reckon this book was worth reading. I would've liked the characters introduced previously to stick around but they were so easily forgotten that I questioned why they were introduced to begin with. (view spoiler)[Billy? Win? Paul? C'mon. (hide spoiler)]
—Christina
I'm not going to lie.. this book I think almost took me a year to read.. It wasn't that I didn't want to read it though, it was that last summer was distracting, and then I find it almost impossible to read anything when I am back at school for the year. When I picked this back up over spring break.. I will admit I had to reread what I had already read.. but I am glad to say I finally finished it after being home for the summer for about a week! ... okay onto the actual book review. This installment of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants started out a little slow for me.. I don't know if it was because I was in the same state Carmen was in at the beginning of the book.. or what, but I didn't quite get hooked in until about a little under half way through. Then the book I thought picked up in an awesome way. I was very happy with the second half of the book, it embodied all of the reasons why I love the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series... and gave me all les feels... I probably would of been more emotional if I didn't have Sisterhood Everlasting to pick up next. I'm kind of nervous with what the epilogue book will have in store. But anyways.. In conclusion I think the sisters have always said it best, Pants = Love.
—Bobby
I guess the Traveling Pants series couldn't go on forever, especially once the girls started growing up and starting college. As a whole, I would rate the series 4/5 stars. I liked each of the 4 girls for their unique merits/weaknesses/struggles, and the concept of a magical pair of jeans that fit each one of them was special. The collection of memories in the way of scribbles, patches and whatnot on the pants seemed like a cool 3D scrapbook. It reminded me of a journal that 3 other high school friends and I would trade amongst each other, taking turns to write in it between class periods and homework. We actually had 2 versions of this journal, one started earlier by another friend and returned to her and the other later, me. When I go through the journal that I have, I wish we had treated it a little more like a scrapbook with magazine clippings and photos to preserve more of the visual culture from back then.In any case, going back to the book... It was definitely more adult than young compared to the previous 3 books, dealing with identity, boundaries, and premarital sex. But I think Brashares tried too hard to make the book relevant to contemporary teen themes that I felt like I was reading a book version of Seventeen. The writing still remained effortless and enjoyable but honestly, I was disappointed with it being as the ending, and the actual ending felt too innocent to reflect the recently past events. However, the movie version may be more fitting for the story since the girls are and look older than their book age.
—Jean
