Helpful Score: 18
I have to be honest, I loved the Traveling Pants movie and was very excited when this book came out.....it was painfully difficult to read. SO boring, I only kept reading it to se if SOMETHING....ANYTHING would happen. It was a huge dissapointment for me, but maybe my reading tastes are very different............Her style of writing is unique to say the least, but not for me.........sorry all you fans!
Helpful Score: 8
I had a hard time getting into this one and at the first I had a hard time discerning when she changed from the present to the past and back again. After the first few chapters I did begin to enjoy the book and although it was somewhat predictable it was a very good story. I enjoyed the setting, the descriptions made you feel like you could actually see the places from the book. Certainly worth the read.
Helpful Score: 8
I had high hope for this book. I loved Brashares' Sisterhood series and was excited when she came out with a book for adults. The book was a disappointment, I read it over a span of a weekend and was happy when I got to the last page. The characters are supposed to be in their early 20s but they feel so much younger - they acted more immature than her teen characters in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It seemed that Brashares wanted to try to write something deep and meaningful, but it just was one hyperbolic paragraph after the other.
Helpful Score: 5
This is a wonderful book about how childhood feelings affect our adult life and relationships...paired with a beach setting...you feel like you are there with them. Her writing may not be for everyone, but this book was a pleasant surprise.
Helpful Score: 5
Started it really slow. But once I got into it I could not put it down. Ended up really enjoying it.
This was a beautiful book! It explores love, friendship, and the ties that bind. A very moving, thought-provoking book.
Helpful Score: 3
I have a policy of never quitting on books. If I start it, I finish it. With that said, I must admit that my policy has never been as tested as it was by this particular book. I had to force myself to finish. I kept hoping that SOMETHING would happen. Unfortunately by the time I read the last word, nothing did. Hands down: the dullest book I've ever read.
To fans of the "pants" series: beware, it's not of that quality.
To fans of the "pants" series: beware, it's not of that quality.
Helpful Score: 3
Having never read the Traveling Pants series, I had no expectations going in. I thought this was a beautifully written story. It starts off a little slow, but picks up fairly quickly. Loved the depth of emotion for the characters. I would definitely recommend this to a friend.
Helpful Score: 2
Ok. Disappointed in her 1st venture outside of the Traveling Pants books.
Helpful Score: 2
Ok, so maybe I'm a little bit biased, having fallen in love with The Sisterhood books, but I thought this book was fabulous. If you've read Jodi Picoult, you're most likely going to love this book. Laughing, crying: it's all in here. I think there's a season that any book is best read in, and I would have to say this is a summer read. It's not overly dense or dramatic.
Helpful Score: 2
When reading this story it was really slow getting through the characters and what their places in the story was. When I started to get toward chapter 15 is when things started to really happen and then on the story got to be more interesting, more detailed, and things started to happen. The story was about having fun, teasing, funny, joyful, loving, happy, and sadness. Once you get into this story you will find that you can't stop reading it. After I got to chapter 15 I just kept on reading and didn't want to put the books down. This story was very good.
Helpful Score: 2
I did not care for this book. I didn't attach to the story line or the central two female characters. It is very rare for me to say this, but I couldn't bring myself to read the end of the book.
I love the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series and wanted to read more by the author, but the style, tone, and content of the book was so different from the other series, I just couldn't get into it. I also need to clarify that I am a Lit major, so I am used to reading a breadth of books from authors, knowing that they will obviously have different reasons for different pieces of literature. This book: not so much.
Also AND REALLY IMPORTANT: If you have a child with a chronic disease, this may not be a good read for you AT ALL. One of the sisters has a congenital heart defect and (spoiler) she dies from it. My daughter was preparing for and undergoing one of her several open-heart surgeries when I was reading this book and it was completely inappropriate reading for me at the time. I had to go back and try it again later (still hating it...) just to make sure I was being fair. I wouldn't even leave it at the Ronald McDonald House for fear that another family with a very sick child would start reading it.
I would not recommend this book at all.
I love the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series and wanted to read more by the author, but the style, tone, and content of the book was so different from the other series, I just couldn't get into it. I also need to clarify that I am a Lit major, so I am used to reading a breadth of books from authors, knowing that they will obviously have different reasons for different pieces of literature. This book: not so much.
Also AND REALLY IMPORTANT: If you have a child with a chronic disease, this may not be a good read for you AT ALL. One of the sisters has a congenital heart defect and (spoiler) she dies from it. My daughter was preparing for and undergoing one of her several open-heart surgeries when I was reading this book and it was completely inappropriate reading for me at the time. I had to go back and try it again later (still hating it...) just to make sure I was being fair. I wouldn't even leave it at the Ronald McDonald House for fear that another family with a very sick child would start reading it.
I would not recommend this book at all.
Helpful Score: 2
It started out really slow. But it was a really good book!
Helpful Score: 1
Though the plot to this book was somewhat predictable, Ann Brashares made this book stand out by opening the heads and hearts of her three protaganists. Whether man or woman, the reader knows what it is like to be these three people and can find, in each of them, a sympathetic vein. At the end, the reader can see how misunderstandings, regardless of the intent of the people involved, can spiral out of control, or at least nearly out of their control.
Helpful Score: 1
A nice story about a very close relationship between 2 sisters and a neighbor boy who grew up together and the love they shared. It was a little difficult getting started, but I stuck with it and it turned out to be a good book.
Helpful Score: 1
I found myself skimming quite often, I really just wanted it to end. I was very annoyed with one of the characters and others just seemed to disappear for long periods of time. I think the concept of the story was good, but the execution was awful.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was horrifyingly bad. If I had the receipt I would have returned it for the money. The characters in this book are frustrating, uncommunicative, and boring. This review probably isn't going to help me get rid of this book any faster, but you should know what you are getting yourself into.
Helpful Score: 1
Having read and enjoyed the Traveling Pants series, I was eager to read the first adult book by
Brashares. While I enjoyed the underlying story quite a bit, it seemed a bit choppy at times.
Brashares. While I enjoyed the underlying story quite a bit, it seemed a bit choppy at times.
Helpful Score: 1
I read this book in a day. I seriously could not put it down. Having read Ann Brashares Sisterhood of the Traveling pants series, I was a little worried about how she would transition to adult fiction. She did wonderfully.
Excellent book!
BORING! Forced myself to finish it and basically skimmed the last third of it. Not even sure why I finished it, but I wanted to make sure at least it ended up the way I thought it should. Didn't seem to be a real storyline, "story" was about sisters, Riley and Alice, and their relationship with Paul; Riley's storyline - and that whole situation was handled very strangely - and then the relationship (or not) of Alice and Paul, and that got pretty weird too. Very disappointing and a waste of time.
The story itself is pretty good, but there are some entirely unnecessary sexual scenes that are kind of explicit. And the story gives the impression that a successful romance can begin as just a "friends with benefits" relationship.
I really liked this book. Although it had a little bit of a slow start, it was beautifully written. I love a book that can make me cry.
This was a good book. It brought back alot of memories that I have of the beach and the summertime and friends. I highly recommend it. First book for this author and I think she did a great job. Very emotional as well.
I've not read the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but I understand it is a young adult series. Ann Brashares does not do well writing for adults. Her style is plainly adolescent and she does not seem to think adult readers could handle anything more sophisticated- or maybe she just can't write anything more sophisticated.
Slow start. Just get through the first handful of chapters and it's a great read!
I would've liked this book in middle school...but since I'm in my early twenties, it just did not leave an impression on me. The story and the characters lacked depth. Some of the smaller plot points such as an affair and the Robbie/Lia relationship were much more interesting to me than the actual lead characters. It made me long for the beach though, the author did a great job describing the environment and what life at a summer beach house would be like.
Such a good read. Didn't expect much initially, but got drawn into the emotional story quickly.
A great summer read! The best book I've read in awhile.
This is the best book I have read in a long while...cannot wait for her to write more, and am even considering reading the pants series even though it is a YA catagory.
Can't compare to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, of course, but it's not that bad of a beach read for the days when you have nothing else to read. The place descriptions are lyrical, the characters appealing but lacking a certain something--oomph and memorability, perhaps?
I really liked this author so I thought that I would read this book. I was definitely not disappointed when I started to read this book. It is about two sisters and a boy that grows up next to them. The book starts out with them being children and ends when they are in their late 20s, early 30's. The oldest sister gets sick, and the younger one somehow blames herself because she was with the boy when it happens. She doesn't talk to the boy after that. Both the girl and the boy are too stubborn to talk about what happened. The book is so wonderfully written, you will not be able to put it down until it is finished. I definitely recommend this book for people who like stories that follow the lives of the characters. You really get a feel for the characters as you read about them growing up and growing together.
I'd have to say, I was really expecting a lot from this book because I am a HUGE fan of the Traveling Pants books. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. The characters had no real meaning for me and the style of writing felt forced. I can appreciate when the author wants to write in an abstracted style sometimes, but I felt that she went way overboard on this one. Nothing about this book felt like an adult book, mostly because her characters acted like emotionally undeveloped children. That isn't to say that the entire book was a waste, but it's not something that I would recommend to anyone anytime soon.
Wonderful book!! It shows how life can really take a turn, but close friends can make everything better. I recommend reading all the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants first.
Nice story that will stir memories of long days on the beach, homes by the shore and sharing times with friends. Not the first book by this author, but rather her first book for adults. She is the author of the popular young adult novels; Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Girls in Pants and Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood
You will also enjoy the books in that series since the four main characters age from teens to adults in the 4 books. Many adults enjoy YA titles nowadays.
You will also enjoy the books in that series since the four main characters age from teens to adults in the 4 books. Many adults enjoy YA titles nowadays.
An easy summer read for when it's too hot or raining outside. I enjoyed it
couldn't get past the first 5o pages
A slow but fun read. There are lagging times in the book, but overall a fun book to read for pure enjoyment. I read while on a vacation and traveling and it was an easy read to put down and pick back up.
The theme centers around the relationship of three main characters, two are sisters and the other is their guy best friend. The setting is New York, mostly Fire Island beach. The setting mostly makes it a good read for the summer. The first half of the book details the history of the interpersonal relationships between these three characters, which does become a little dull and boring. It takes patience to get through the first half of the book. The middle of the story becomes more interesting with a bit of steamy, coming-of-age romance. The climax intensifies a bit more as it builds up to a rising tragedy. The end is as expected and satisfying. Can be an emotional read for some, but I found it extremely predictable. Since I loved the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, I had high expectations for this novel, but was very disappointed, and almost put it down during the first half of the book. I'm glad I stuck with it, though, although it still isn't my favorite or the best novel I've read. I hope Ann Brashares' other novels will have some of the elements that I felt this one lacked in such as a little more suspense, interest, and more substance in the first half.
laughter, tears, sad middle, happy ending...well, i don't know about happy, but it did end the way it should have
Well written story that made me feel like I was there at the beach observing the story unfold.
This book is appropriate for all ages! It's a wonderful story of sisters growing up together & everything that comes with it--boys, school, work, parents, and life.
This book was so boring. It just dragged on and on. I loved the sisterhood of the traveling pants and the characters in that series were so lovable. This story was nothing like that and I was barely able to finish it. It was just missing something...
Bizarrely the 2nd "sister" story I've read in just a few days... not knowing the exact topic. Sweet, Sad, romantic, a Great summer read... I flew through it!
This book starts slowly. I didn't think I would continue reading, but I did and am glad I finished it. Definitely a good beach read, would recommend book for easy summer reading.
THIS WAS A GOOD STORY ABOUT TWO SISTERS....WHO WERE BEST FRIENDS...LOVE ,FAMILY,TRUTHS,BETRALES.....
Unfortunately, very predictable...knew the ending within the first few chapters. If you have nothing else to read, this might keep your attention...maybe.
I really enjoyed this story from the author of the 'Pants' books. It is a good summer read with a little more bite to it than her previous series.
My daughter is currently reading this and seems to be really enjoying it. So far it's gotten rave reviews.
