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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
The book is a semi-continuation of Brashare's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, which drew me to it originally. The writing and character development are classic Brashares; the story and the girls felt very real and I wanted to keep reading. The girls are going into 9th grade, which is younger than I was expecting, but it's still a nice, sweet read.
Trashy teen reads are always exciting. This was no exception. However lacked the spark of the original sisterhood series...seemed somewhat like a poor effort to develop some new work. Essentially more of the same, but as with sequels never as satisfying.
I have come to the conclusion that I don't gel with Ann Brashares writing. I can recognise that she's good but I can never find my way into one of her novels (with the exception of Tibby). I could argue that the Traveling Pants series were easier for me to relate to as the characters were older and slightly more mature but then I should have enjoyed The Last Summer (of You and Me). I just didn't care enough about Ama, Jo or Polly and I should have.
The immaturity of the characters bothered me. The complete lack of awareness bothered me more. I think this shows that Ann was probably doing a very good job of showing how far I have come since I was fourteen. That being said, how many fourteen year olds do you know that will kiss a stranger on a bus? Even if he is cute. This rankled me.
I like books with alternating perspectives but I didn't find one interesting here. The only time I perked up was during the glimpses of the Sisterhood, particularly the scene with Polly observing Brian missing Tibby. This is a well written, plotted and executed novel. I particularly liked the depiction of growing apart as friends, something everyone experiences in life. That being said, I think the characterisation was a little lacking for me as none of them really sparked off the page. I do see that many people will enjoy this novel and the numerous sequels that are bound to follow.
The immaturity of the characters bothered me. The complete lack of awareness bothered me more. I think this shows that Ann was probably doing a very good job of showing how far I have come since I was fourteen. That being said, how many fourteen year olds do you know that will kiss a stranger on a bus? Even if he is cute. This rankled me.
I like books with alternating perspectives but I didn't find one interesting here. The only time I perked up was during the glimpses of the Sisterhood, particularly the scene with Polly observing Brian missing Tibby. This is a well written, plotted and executed novel. I particularly liked the depiction of growing apart as friends, something everyone experiences in life. That being said, I think the characterisation was a little lacking for me as none of them really sparked off the page. I do see that many people will enjoy this novel and the numerous sequels that are bound to follow.
This book was a good short read, and not as good as the original Sisterhood. Hopefully, Brashares will elaborate on this new Sisterhood in other books...
Maybe 2.5. It was just very ordinary. It didn't move along. I didn't feel for the characters. It just felt like very surface YA fiction.
3.5 stars.
Not nearly as good as the Sisterhood series, but cameos from characters in that book bump up the score.
Not nearly as good as the Sisterhood series, but cameos from characters in that book bump up the score.
I really liked this book. The first thing I have to say about it is that it had me hooked. For some reason I just couldn't put it down. I kept telling myself, ok I'll read until the end of this chapter but at the end of each chapter I just kept reading because I was dying to find out what happened next.
My next point, the characters. I have to say that I took a liking to all three protagonists. Although at times I felt that Ama and Jo were a bit annoying. But those annoyances dissolved as they took on the shape of character flaws. It was great that each character was an individual and they actually seemed human. Of the three I would probably say Polly was my favourite but at the end of the day I did really like all three girls.
Another thing I did love was how some of the characters in the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series showed up in unexpected places. It was really cool.
Overall, I found 3 Willows to be quite a warm fuzzy book that would best be read if you're in the mood for something light and fun.
My next point, the characters. I have to say that I took a liking to all three protagonists. Although at times I felt that Ama and Jo were a bit annoying. But those annoyances dissolved as they took on the shape of character flaws. It was great that each character was an individual and they actually seemed human. Of the three I would probably say Polly was my favourite but at the end of the day I did really like all three girls.
Another thing I did love was how some of the characters in the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series showed up in unexpected places. It was really cool.
Overall, I found 3 Willows to be quite a warm fuzzy book that would best be read if you're in the mood for something light and fun.