The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a series of five bestselling young adult novels by Ann Brashares. Released by Random House, the novels tell the continuing story of four young girls who acquire a pair of jeans that fit all four of them perfectly, even though they are all different shapes and sizes. The four main characters are Lena Kaligaris, Tabitha (Tibby) Rollins, Bridget (Bee) Vreeland, and Carmen Lowell. Carmen delivers the opening prologue and epilogue in first person and tends to play the role throughout the series of keeping the group of friends together.

The series begins with the four girls beginning the summer prior to their sophomore year in high school, and then follows them through four consecutive summers, finally ending with the summer break following their freshman year of college. During this time the girls develop in various ways, but their ultimate goal is to learn to become individuals whilst maintaining their childhood friendship that makes them whole. A fifth book was released in 2011 and picks up about ten years later, as the girls are about to turn 30.