17 Nov 2016

(SUMMERS OF THE SISTERHOOD #4): FOREVER IN BLUE.

Whoops! A book I reserved at the library thinking it was the October read for Kelly's Arkansas Book Club of which I'm an honorary member when the book being discussed at their November get-together was in fact the fifth book in the Summers Of the Sisterhood series, Sisterhood Everlasting. 


FOREVER IN BLUE by ANN BRASHARES.

BACK COVER BLURB: The travelling pants are back for one last, glorious summer!

Lena: Immerses herself in her painting and an intoxicating summer fling.

Carmen: Falls under the spell of a sophisticated college friend for whom the heritage of the Pants means nothing.


Bridget: Joins a dig for an ancient city on the coast of Turkey and discovers that her archaeology professor is available in every way except one.

Tibby: Leaves behind someone she loves, wrongly believing he will stay where she has left him.

It's a summer that will forever change the lives of four best friends with a bond far beyond their pair of magical jeans.

FIRST SENTENCE {Prologue}: Once upon a time there were four girls.

MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page}: Sorry, come the typing of this post I seem to have misplaced the piece of paper with my Memorable Moment written on it and, having already returned the book, am unable to share a Random Moment. TT

SOURCE: A library book.

MY THOUGHTS: A book that I'm led to believe is suitable for those aged ten to twelve years of age and upwards which surprises me.

A 'mature' reader myself at this age, I should think that certainly aged twelve I was probably reading books aimed at a slightly older market BUT with its sexual content (first time sex, a burst condom, etc) I'd personally question the suitability of this book for all but the most mature of pre-teens.

Not a novel I enjoyed. To give Forever In Blue the benefit of the doubt, I'd love to be able to say that not having followed the 'pants' from the beginning I found myself unable to engage with Lena and co, though I doubt very much this is the case. Characters I couldn't relate to (and I don't see my having read the previous books changing this) but more than this I felt quite saddened.

OK so a novel of strong friendships, largely lacking the 'frienemies' so typical of this genre, which I thought both refreshing and admirable ... but then the girls did spend more time apart than I had anticipated (perhaps a sign of them growing-up). However, whilst arguably something many young women will relate to, though not exactly promoting teenage sex, with so much pressure on teens, I felt a bit disappointed that the author chose to go down this route.

To see Kelly's thoughts on books 1 to 4 in the series click here and for her thoughts on book 5, Sisterhood Everlasting, here.


10 comments:

Kelly said...

Definitely not a book that is best read as a beginning. I'm just glad I had my daughter's copies of the earlier books handy or I wouldn't have enjoyed the final book as much as I did. (and it was probably my least favorite of the five) My daughter was in her mid to late teens when she read the books and is now the same age as the girls in the final book. I look forward to her thoughts on it once she reads it.

I hope our next selection is more successful for you!

Karen said...

I haven't read any of the book but I did see the movie years ago. I don't remember loving it but I did enjoy seeing the friendships between the girls.

Karen @For What It's Worth

Suko said...

Tracy, thanks for your honest review of this book. It does seem to be more suitable (due to the content) for more mature readers. I have only read one of the books in this series.

Brian Joseph said...

The incongruity between the controversial stuff and the age range that the book is aimed at seems odd. Perhaps young people these days are expected to be exposed to things that earlier generations were not.

Melliane said...

too bad that the story went a way you weren't expecting and didn't want. Maybe for older persons.

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

I only saw the movie of the first book and yea, I would think that 10-12 would be a bit too young for the series especially since it sounds like the movie was close to the book. Hopefully some of the older teens would find more value in it than we would. :)

Yanting Gueh said...

Not my kind of read but I remember watching the film (on TV) and it was relaxing (perhaps it was the Greek setting and the pretty lasses who made me wish I'd travelled more when I was their age).

Stephanie@Fairday's Blog said...

I remember seeing the film for the first book years ago and I read the first two books around that same time. I think reading the beginning books would probably develop the relationship with characters a bit more. I hadn't kept up with the series, so I am glad you shared your thoughts. Can't believe it has been 11 years since the movie came out (I just checked). :)

Barbara said...

Hi Tracy, your ‘memorable moment’ made me laugh, thank goodness I’m not the only one who forgets things. Having read your review I won’t be rushing to read it, which is excellent because I’m starting to feel overwhelmed by my pile of must reads.

Gina said...

Ah shucks. I really enjoyed the series! The only one I haven't read was the "years later" Sisterhood Everlasting (I think that's the title). Cie la vie, better luck next read! ^-^