YA Friday: 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares

Title: 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows
Author: Ann Brashares
Genre: YA, middle grade, contemporary
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2009
Source: Borrowed from my sister-in-law
Read for: Fun

Polly, Jo, and Ama were the best of friends, supporting each other through every hiccup and struggle. They once planted three willow trees and cared for them diligently every day. However, lately things have changed -- they have different interests, different friends. However, as their lives change, they realize that maybe the people most able to support them are still each other.

3 Willows is supposed to be a continuation of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Books. While the three main characters are unique and new, they all have ties to the members of the original Sisterhood -- Polly babysits Tibby's younger siblings, Jo works with Effie Kaligaris at a restaurant, and, apparently, everyone knows about the Sisterhood and wants to be just like them. I really enjoyed getting sneak peeks of the original characters, but I found the idea that all the girls in their high school looked up to and sought to emulate the older girls a little far-fetched. First of all, why would they know about the pants? And second of all... why would they know about the pants? I also found the willow metaphor to be a bit odd. While Brashares did a good job at incorporating the willow with the story, it also seemed too far-fetched.

However, aside from the premise of the book being unbelievable for me, I actually enjoyed the story quite a bit. Something about Ann Brashares' writing always pulls me in. Her style is personable and conversational, describing emotions and experiences that I can relate to in phrasing that is creative and vivid. She squeezes little gems of life wisdom into the everyday experiences of her characters, and the way the characters experience and discover those gems is realistic and raw. I remember feeling a strong connection with the characters in the original books when I was in high school, and it was good to see that I can still relate to Ann Brashares' characters several years later.

In short, I enjoyed the characters created by Brashares and the story; however, I think she tried a little too hard to relate them to the characters she created in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Once I was able to suspend my disbelief a little bit, I really loved 3 Willows, but it did take me a few moments to get over the all-too-convenient coincidences.

3.5 stars

Warnings: Some drug/alcohol use, making out, moderate language

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

Title: Sisterhood Everlasting

Author: Ann Brashares

Genre: Contemporary fiction

Publisher: Random House, 2011

Source: Library

Although Carmen, Bee, Lena, and Tibby grew up wrapped up in each others' stories, now that they are nearing their thirtieth birthdays, they seem to have lost touch. Carmen is a successful TV actress with a fiance in the business, Bee is with Eric, leading a nomadic life, Lena is still drawing but seems to be growing more and more isolated, and Tibby is in Australia and seems to be unreachable. However, when Tibby sends the girls tickets to Greece, they all feel a sense of hope that they can patch up the distance. Events take a surprising and tragic turn, and it is left to the sisterhood to determine if they can still be whole even when they can't all be together.

I grew up with the Sisterhood. I read the first book my freshman year of high school (with the Moulin Rouge soundtrack blaring in the background, naturally), eagerly awaited the publication of each new book, and saw the movie on opening day, the first day of my senior summer. I copied down the quotes at the beginnings of the chapter copiously in my journal. I cried in the books and the movies. I am invested in this series.

Many fans were disappointed in this final and unexpected installment. I will admit that at first I didn't know what to think. Was I saddened by the turn of events? Yes, of course. However, a story's sadness does not diminish its value or meaningfulness. Most of the Sisterhood books had some element of aching sadness - the point of the books is the way the girls use their friendship to buoy themselves up and overcome difficulties. In this final book, this is achieved. Friendship is still the defining factor in the characters' ability to overcome a crushing tragedy, and they are able to overcome. However, this tragedy is more of a focus in the book than the previous installments - while earlier books had many subplots and foci, this one plunged downward for hundreds of pages before any sort of redemption is achieved. This made the book more depressing and at times, more dragging than previous books.

I was still impressed with Brashares' distinctive prose and the way it captures emotions that I don't know I have until she drives them into my heart with her mightier-than-the-sword pen. "Whether or not he had ever wanted to marry her, he seemed to know the right way to care for her at a deeply fragile time, and that in itself was something like love." While the writing was still just as beautiful and powerful as the books I grew up loving, the story did lack some of the magic. I think this is partly because of the reasons I listed previously - the more narrow focus of the story and the increased tragedy. I also think that part of the allure of YA literature in general is that it captures a time where everything seems new and fast. As we grow older, we settle into routines. Life still possesses beauty, but I think it is steadier and quieter. It was this way with Sisterhood Everlasting - beauty and discovery were still present, but they blossomed slowly and were more bittersweet.

Don't let my criticisms keep you from reading the book. It was beautifully written and I loved entering the Sisterhood's world again. However, it isn't my favorite book of the series by any means, and the way the girls' lives play out is at times frustrating.

3.75 stars

Warnings: A few f-bombs, a few non-graphic "scenes"