The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Books

Who here has read Ann Brashares’ Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series? (*Proceeds to raise hand*) The concept is really quite simple: four friends are preparing to spend their first summer apart when they discover a pair of jeans that happens to fit each of them perfectly. The friends decide to share the pants over the summer. Each time a girl mails them to the next friend, they send an accompanying letter about all of the adventures the “traveling pants” have blessed them with. This summer, three friends, Hayley, Natalie, Caroline, and I decided to do something similar and formed The Sisterhood of the Traveling Books. Each of us selected a book and wrote a letter detailing our reasons for picking it. On the tenth of each month, we rotated books, so I shipped one to Natalie who shipped one to Caroline who shipped one to Hayley who shipped one to me. At the end of each book, the reader also wrote a new letter about how the book has influenced her, just like in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.


The book I selected to send was Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The edition I sent is older, from the early 1900s. Carroll is an inspiration to me, especially in terms of overcoming writer’s block. If Lewis Carroll can invent all of these fantastic, if not wonderful, characters and creatures, certainly I can figure out a name for the father of my main character. An escape to Wonderland is also perfect for our first summer home. Maybe someone is missing school and, like Alice, is tired of doing everything that her parents require. Run away to Wonderland with Alice.

I received The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides from Hayley. Her letter describes the book as “not your typical summer reading.” But she felt that the language is beautiful and that we would all appreciate it. I found myself admiring the language while I read but struggling to truly dive into the story. I’m not quite sure what some of the other girls thought since I was the first to receive this particular book.

Caroline sent us John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. In her letter, she assured all of us that we would fall head over heels for Augustus Waters, which definitely happened. If I had to pick a favorite among the group, this would probably be it. Hayley got it first and absolutely adored it! I also absolutely loved TFIOS, as did Natalie. The book seemed to elicit a very emotional reaction in all of us. I know that there were some tears shed by everyone. We’re all very excited for the movie to come out and will probably see it together as a result of having, in a way, read it together.

Finally, Natalie’s book was a collection of anecdotes, Close Encounters of the Third Grade Kind. The author was a former third grade teacher. The book was sweet and short—the ideal summer reading. It was also nostalgic in a fun way to read about these third graders as a rising sophomore in college.

Hopefully, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Books becomes a tradition and a means of keeping in touch over the coming years. I would love to do it again next summer. I also suggest it to anyone reading this.

By: Kaitlyn Coddington