The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

A few years ago, whilst on vacation in some city or other, I had enough time to enter a book store coupled with a desire to buy something for my children. We live in the boonies; three story bookstores, with coffee shops and moving staircases do not abound! Plus, bookstores of any size make my limbs tingle with anticipation. My eldest was 12 or so, and was wanting to read about romance. Hmm. 12 year old romance. Wuthering Heights? I went to the "young adult" section and found young patrons, asking them for advice. One suggestion was "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" ( don't know how to underline in this program, if Mrs. Lowe- 7th grade English teacher- is reading this, don't feel responsible. You taught me English, not word processing). I picked up this and several others, found a park bench without a sleeper and plopped down to read. I really liked this book. It was good fun. It has themes of deep friendship, loyalty, kindness and determination. But, it also has themes of early death, sex, divorce and searching for your identity as a teen. I think a good guideline is 14 years old before taking on "The Sisterhood". And, use it as an opportunity to openly chat with your teen about the sexuality, insecurities and independence the characters experience.