The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

This was excellent. I guess my only complaint would be that it was slightly raunchy, especially in comparison to the other three. Yet, at the same time, I think this is the only one to compare to the first and maybe the second, because I was really disappointed by the third. I felt like the characters have grown up the same that I have, so for me the character development into adulthood was natural. At the same time, however, the audience just starting to read her books might be younger, and I'm not entirely sure that it was completely appropriate, then. I am stuck in a controversy. One part of me recognizes the importance of the slightly more sexual scenes in the book; this is the way most teenagers feel about sex, and the way most of America is living. It adds reality and gives the characters dimension and believability. At the same time, however, I am not sure it is a message that should be sent to younger generations. This might be personal, though. I know that whether or not it's the normal, I don't agree with the cultural perception of sex and when to have it or not. As a result, I'm going to disagree with sending that message of how commonplace it is to younger girls. So in this book, I'm conflicted on whether I would recommend it. It doesn't strongly affect me, but what about younger girls? And even if it doesn’t affect younger girls, is it really my place to decide what they can handle and what they can't considering everyone has different standards?

So in this book, I guess it is a little more controversial, yet at the same time it is definitely more believable and one of her better page-turners. The ethics of it is maybe up to the reader's personal values, though.

Chelsea Grimmer

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