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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Honestly pretty enjoyable. The book is good. If I’m being picky I’d say 3.75!
It’s cringe at times because it’s from the early 2000s and it’s about a bunch of teens lol but it made me SO nostalgic for the movie. The movie follows the book so precisely and the casting for it is 10/10. The main 4 made that movie magic and truly brought the book to life. I really enjoyed this on audio and it was pretty quick!
It’s cringe at times because it’s from the early 2000s and it’s about a bunch of teens lol but it made me SO nostalgic for the movie. The movie follows the book so precisely and the casting for it is 10/10. The main 4 made that movie magic and truly brought the book to life. I really enjoyed this on audio and it was pretty quick!
I was craving a summery, nostalgic, coming-of-age novel so naturally this was the prime choice. I devoured this in like 3 sittings over 14 hours and it absolutely scratched the itch. I'm also a sucker for comfort rereads so I think that was also a factor in making this super satisfying to read - so much so that I changed by initial rating of a 4 to a 5!
This book had better writing than I expected and some really raw and beautiful moments. Each character is very well defined and makes decisions that perfectly align with their personalities. Tibby's plotline always stands out in my mind as the most tender and heart-wrenching arc, but Bridget's plotline particularly surprised me upon my reread because of the delicacy with which its darker themes were handled. A lot of her trauma was alluded to more than explicitly wrought in the story, which makes sense considering the target audience are preteens. I think this is also why I didn't appreciate her storyline when I was 11 as much as I do now. I also recalled her relationship with Eric (who is 19 and in a position of power over her as her coach) as being romanticized in the novel, but wow, was I wrong! Her reclusive and depressed emotional response to that formative sexual experience coupled with her grief of not being able to share it/be guided by her mother rings so true. I also think I compliment this in every applicable book but I'll say it yet again.... long term female friendships are the key to my heart <3.
The one caveat I have is that there were a few recurring lines/images throughout the book that really started to bother me regarding the way the girls talked about their bodies/compared themselves to each other. At the same time, it feels like an accurate depiction of how Y2k era beauty standards affected young women and their perceptions of themselves so I just kind of took it as a product of its time.
This book had better writing than I expected and some really raw and beautiful moments. Each character is very well defined and makes decisions that perfectly align with their personalities. Tibby's plotline always stands out in my mind as the most tender and heart-wrenching arc, but Bridget's plotline particularly surprised me upon my reread because of the delicacy with which its darker themes were handled. A lot of her trauma was alluded to more than explicitly wrought in the story, which makes sense considering the target audience are preteens. I think this is also why I didn't appreciate her storyline when I was 11 as much as I do now. I also recalled her relationship with Eric (who is 19 and in a position of power over her as her coach) as being romanticized in the novel, but wow, was I wrong! Her reclusive and depressed emotional response to that formative sexual experience coupled with her grief of not being able to share it/be guided by her mother rings so true. I also think I compliment this in every applicable book but I'll say it yet again.... long term female friendships are the key to my heart <3.
The one caveat I have is that there were a few recurring lines/images throughout the book that really started to bother me regarding the way the girls talked about their bodies/compared themselves to each other. At the same time, it feels like an accurate depiction of how Y2k era beauty standards affected young women and their perceptions of themselves so I just kind of took it as a product of its time.
I’m so glad I finally took the time to read this book! It was a better than average friendship story of 4 best friends who go 4 different directions over the summer but still take care of each other. I thought the magical pants were useless and I totally forgot about them except for during what felt like obligatory mentions of The Pants. I generally don’t like series but I might try the next book just to see where the girls go. I found the characters super relatable snd the story was enjoyable.
It's been so long since I've read this series, it's not even listed on my Goodreads yet lol. I'm surprised I didn't reread the whole series when I read the last/newest one (all the tears!!) but I'm ready to now. Maybe.
Honestly I was not that impressed maybe it was just because I saw the movie before the book, I don't know. But i didn't not enjoy it as much as I thought i would. It was weird how they switched viewpoints between the 5 characters. They would just switch without warning or marking or anything just start a new paragraph in the middle of the page and it would be a different person talking. so that got very confusing at times. I really liked Bridgett & and Lena's story line but not so much Carmen or Tibby's. If it was just Lena and Bridgett I would give it 5 stars but unfortunately that is not the case. too bad.
Did I reread this because I’m in Greece? Yes. Is it still as wonderful as it was in middle school? Also yes
Definitely a book for teenagers...but I still enjoyed it. I'll call it a guilty pleasure.
This is a hard book for me to rate. When I originally rated it in 2014 I gave it 4 stars; however, after listening to it on audiobook I realized that I wouldn't rate it as high and here's why. I found a few of the girls to be difficult to relate to and in turn found them quite annoying. I think this is due to the fact that I'm older and handle situations and my emotions differently. If I had to pick my two favorite characters I would definitely say Bridget and Tibby. They went through the most during the summer and truly dealt with some difficult topics. I'm not minimizing the experiences of Carmen and Lena; however, I found that their situations were more in relation to their maturity. Due to my age and my perspective of their situations, it was hard for me to relate to them as characters. What I did enjoy was the relationship between the girls. It was phenomenal to see four teenage girls bond so easily together as they experienced the ups and downs of life. Their varied personalities were a contributing factor to how they were able to balance each other out. This is something that I love about books like this. It's the power of illustrating positive female relationships. I know that teens that grow up now face a lot more complex issues than I've had to face as a teenager so positive images related to female relationships is always a great asset in any book.
I honestly loved figuring out the differences between the book and the movie because I love the movies. They are completely and totally different. I think I may even go back and watch the movie again to see if I can figure out more differences. I would recommend this books for teens ages 11-14.
I honestly loved figuring out the differences between the book and the movie because I love the movies. They are completely and totally different. I think I may even go back and watch the movie again to see if I can figure out more differences. I would recommend this books for teens ages 11-14.