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Title: 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows (3 Willows (Hardback))
ISBN: 0385736762
Author:
Ann Brashares
Publicate Date: 2009-01-13
Publish: 2009-01-13
List Price: $18.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $12.91
Amazon Merchant Price: $12.91
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1: Excellent addition to the Sisterhood series
I am a HUGE fan of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book. I felt like those girls were telling my story about my teen years and that I sort of grew up with them. When the series ended, I was really disappointed but it was understood. When you go away to college, things change with your childhood friends. So I was very excited to hear that there would be another Sisterhood series with new characters. I was worried at first that it wouldn't be as good as the originals. Plus there were only going to be 3 girls this time. Well after reading this book, all my worries were laid to rest.
I feel as if I got to know the three girls very well throughout their stories. Their actions and thoughts were EXACTLY what I would have felt at their age. They acted like realistic fourteen year old girls. The author knows what it's like to be a teenager trying to change from being a kid to becoming more adult. I think my favorite was reading about Ama, who went from being someone determined to hate her summer to realizing that she needed this experience to help shape her. Plus all the wilderness adventure stuff was fun to read.
I liked seeing the cameos of the characters in the original books. It's like seeing old friends. It's cool to see that even in the book, the legend of the original Sisterhood lives on. I thought it was funny about how all the girls would try to imitate the magical jeans and how the clothes wouldn't fit on everyone. I'm pretty sure that probably happened in the real world as well. I'm actually glad that there is no magical clothing that ties the girls together this time. One thing I will say, I didn't like Effie in the original books and I still definitely do not like her after this book. There are many unkind words to be said about her. My only real complaint about this book is that Carmen is not mentioned at all. I mean for goodness sakes, Tibby's siblings get speaking time, but an original member of the Sisterhood isn't even named?
Since the characters in this book are younger than the original Sisterhood, nobody is having sex. There's kissing but nothing to hint anything stronger than that. It's a book about growing up and I have a feeling that a lot of girls will be able to relate to these three girls. It's very refreshing to read again about girls who can be true friends, having amazing summers and learn a lot about themselves without resorting to sex, drinking and cursing throughout the book. Fans of the original series will enjoy reading about the new set. I am eagerly waiting for the next book in the series.
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2: somewhat formulaic tale on friendships
Ann Brashares, author of the bestselling "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series, has come out with a new book about a new sisterhood.
The girls of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants have grown up and gone off to college. But to fourteen-year-olds Polly, Jo, and Ama, they are a legend and inspiration. Unfortunately for the threesome, they are nothing like the original Sisterhood: they used to be close, but when they hit junior high, their friendship fell apart. Now in the summer before they begin high school, they split up across the country for separate adventures. Jo heads to the beach for a new job that will bring her into contact with cool older students; Polly becomes obsessed with modeling and goes to modeling camp; and Ama spends her summer in Wyoming on a hiking adventure. Though miles - and lives - apart, the girls realize that their friendship, like the willow trees they planted as children together, is still strong and eternal.
I never read the original Sisterhood series, although I did see the first movie. It didn't stay with me, but the concept was cute: a group of friends who are connected in their summer apart by "magical pants." "3 Willows" takes that concept backward - Polly, Jo, and Ama are apart but their absence from each other brings them back together. And that's where I thought the book was weakest. Each of the girls' stories are compelling and interesting; there's a lot of hard situations that each of them have to face. But I found it hard to believe that by being apart they would want to rely on each other, when they hadn't talked in awhile. I think the book would have been more believable had they spent their summer together instead, so when the final crisis comes it makes sense that they show solidarity. They also never have a trio heart-to-heart, so when they renew their friendship I didn't quite believe it. Plus, since Brashares has already used the "summer apart" concept, the book felt rather unoriginal to me.
I also felt that some of the situations were a little too intense for the age group. There's a scene where Jo talks about having a "kissing hangover" - kind of a fun way to describe that heady, brain-scrambled feeling. The author goes on to say that Jo's first kiss was like drinking one beer, whereas the kiss with the summer guy was bigger than that. I know that underage drinking happens, and kids party, but I didn't necessarily like the implication that a 14-year-old already knew what a buzz (or worse) felt like. The target reading group I'm sure will know what a hangover is, but they don't need the inference that underage drinking is okay.
As a new reader to Ann Brashares, I wasn't impressed. "3 Willows" will probably appeal more to the target age group (preteen to high school) or to fans of the original, and I'm guessing superior, "Sisterhood" series.
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3: Not as charming as the Sisterhood, but a still a good story
The 3 Willows is a story about three girls and their summer adventures before starting high school. Ama, Jo, and Polly met in elementary school and have been friends ever since bonding after school when none of their parents came to pick them up. They had willow saplings from school and took them out and planted them. Three little trees growing in a row. Three girls growing together in friendship and learning the quintessential life lessons.
Ama is a native of Ghana. Her summer adventure was supposed to be taking a scholarship course that would earn her credit. She was hoping for something academic, spending time studying and researching in a library. Instead she ends up traveling to Wyoming on an outdoor adventure trip. Needless to say, she is completely out of her element and hoping for a way out. (She reminds me of Lena. She has a quiet confidence in her abilities but doesn't realize all she is capable of.)
Polly is the daughter of an different sort of mother. Dia is a sculptor who experiments with her hair color (in the veins of pink, blue, and purple) and has a nose piercing. But all Polly wants is to be one of the girls. Popular, pretty, normal. With her family background- normal feels unreachable to her. Especially when most of her classmates think her weird. But when she finds out that her grandmother may have been a famous supermodel, she gets it into her head that that is something she wants too. Her summer adventure is going to a modeling camp. (Polly reminds me a Carmen. Carmen also struggled with her image and wanting to fit in more.)
Jo is reminiscent of Bridget of the Sisterhood books. She is hurting after the death of her brother. And then her parents start leading separate lives. She goes with her mother to the beach house and gets a job at the touristy restaurant on the shore. There she quickly becomes one of the "in-crowd". Even though as a mere bus-girl, she is able to ingratiate herself into the waitresses clique where other bussers have not been "allowed".
Over the summer the girls have some inner conflicts and opportunities for growth. They are young women and they have a lot to learn about themselves. Just like the Sisterhood series, Brashares introduces us to a new girl group- different girls, but the same sort of story. The interesting bit is how she is able to intertwine the two. They both take place in Maryland. These 3 live in the same town where the pants girls live. But instead of magic pants, they have their trio of growing trees. The roots entangle and grow together, just as they lean and learn from each other. Overall, a quick, breezy read. A good story for young girls and fans of the original Sisterhood. There's not the same charm as our pants-loving quartet but 3 Willows is still a sweet story. And we're just getting to know these three, maybe they'll be ones to grow on...
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4: 3 Willows
3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows (Hardback) by Ann Brashares is a friendship book written in the same manner as MS Brashares Sisterhood of the Traveling Pant series was written. There are new friends but the same spritual grow that takes place. I loved reading this authors first series and could see the positive influence these books have on young adults. It was very difficult not to compaare this book as I am a fan of the Sisterhood books, but these are different characters with different stories. Watchout for the 3 Willows and see if they become weeping.
I highly recommend
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5: The Sisterhood... again
I actually only read the first book of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants"... and I did love it. However, I'm not sure what kind of candidate that leaves me for judging this book. The original Sisterhood has moved onto college, though they have become a legend among the girls of the town. In comes three new characters: Polly, Ama, and Jo, fresh from junior high and with only one summer before beginning high school. They are separated according to the nature of the series. Polly is uncomfortable with her identity... and therefore wants to become a model. Ama's scholarship forces her on a backpacking adventure through the wilderness. Jo deals with her parents' separation as she works as a busgirl at the beach.
While I still ask the question "Why is Ms. Brashares doing this again?" I have to admit that "3 Willows" is a sweet, adorable, and properly girly book that deals with varios issues of growing up and the like. My personal favorite story was Ama's (I'm something of a wilderness woman, so I enjoyed watching her suffer--er, I mean grow). My actual rating is probably closer to 3.5 stars... but I suspect that a teenage girl will probably like this book better than a girl in her mid-twenties.
It is a lovely read, and I suppose the only wonder is if people will want to read about another Sisterhood.
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