My youngest daughter and I read these books together during her high school years. Obviously aimed at the 13 to 18 year old female reader, Brashares pens the story of a close-knit friendship between four adolescent girls. She takes you from their backyards to their summer adventures apart, with a pair of fabulous jeans that magically fit (and flatter) each girl and serve as a shared reminder of their bond, even when they are on separate continents. They live, they love, and they grow, as girls do. It is an adventure of life, love, loss, and the bonds of adolescent friendship that warms the heart and tickles the funny bone. That said, I must now tell you that this is a 4-book series. We thoroughly enjoyed the first and second books, but found ourselves disappointed in the third. Our consensus was that Brashares was trying too hard in the third summer, and the story lost its impact in favor of a vocabulary that just didn't fit. Jessica did obtain the fourth book to complete her collection, but gave it such a horrible review that I've never been able to make myself read it. [I'll put this on my to-do list; how awful to give you only a partial review!)
As with most books-turned-movies, the big screen portrayal lacked the heart and soul of what made these girls so endearing in print.
Verdict: Every teenage girl should read at least the first and second books in this series. And, if you're brave enough to read it with your daughter, I hope you derive as many laughs as I did with my own.
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