Girls In Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood

Brashares, Ann. Girls In Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood. 2005. 338p. ISBN 0-385-72935-9. Available at FIC BRA on the library shelves.

For a second summer in a row, the magical pants that four best friends share helped them survive being apart. Now that they have graduated from high school and are ready to head off on their own to four different colleges miles apart from each other, Tibby, Lena, Carmen and Bridget once again decide to split custody of the pants. From the last day of school to a day at the beach to celebrate their last day together, summer has never felt so short.

Carmen is surprised to discover that her mother is pregnant and expecting a child with her new husband David just as she’s leaving their apartment. Happy at having a little brother but fearing being replaced, Carmen considers changing her choice of colleges to be closer to home so she can help out. Tired of babysitting, she agrees to work with Lena’s grandmother, taking her to appointments and keeping her company.

Tibby is ready for film school, and works at the movie theatre this summer, but what felt new and exciting has become repetitive. Her relationship with Brian is complicated, and she still misses Bailey. Her three-year-old sister is on the move, and in a moment of inattention she falls out of Tibby’s window while reaching for the apple tree, and ends up in the hospital. Tibby experiences guilt and feels responsible for her sister’s accident.

Lena’s enrollment in a summer art program and her future projects at art school are threatened when her father walks in during a modeling session when a fully nude male model sits on a stool in the middle of the room for all to see. The death of her grandfather last year has led to her grandmother living with them, much to everyone’s discomfort. Grandmother would rather not be here at all, but back in Greece in her home, even thought it would be lonely. Plus, she still thinks of Kostos.

Bridget returns to camp, but runs into Eric who also happens to be there as a counselor. Worse, they both have to work together. She has pursued him relentlessly when she was fifteen, but now at seventeen she’s wiser. Yet, she retains the hope that maybe they will connect. But now it’s her turn to be pursued by one of the male campers, and she immediately feels bad for her actions two summers ago.

As the girls navigate their last summer before moving out, their relationships will change yet will remain as strong as ever.