Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood

By Ann Brashares

Review by Jamie

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The opening paragraph grabs the reader’s attention.

·Put reader right into the action

·Make reader imagine the unimaginable (ie. It’s not everyday that a 13 year old girl is accused of murder…)

·Don’t start with “the book I read was…” That’s way too BORING! Hook us into the plot!

Ever wondered what college is going to be like? Going away from home, leaving your friends behind, and entering the world of dorms and late night studying. We will all have to face this some day, and that some day is coming soon. The title and author are worked in naturally

·Don’t say, “My book was The Giver” when you can say, “Jonas, a twelve year old boy and the main character of Lois Lowry’s Newbery Award winning novel The Giver, must make decisions that impact his entire society.”

Lena, Bee, Tibby, and Carmen face the challenge of being apart in Ann Brashares’ Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood. They all attend different colleges and are forced to leave their family and friends behind. The only thing keeping them connected are the pair of blue jeans they like to call the Traveling Pants.

The overall idea and plot are discussed, without giving away the ending

·Keep it short and sweet, even if it’s a long book

·Just give the reader the gist of the book. Be clear, make sense, don’t give away the ending

Lena, Bee, Tibby, and Carmen aren’t too excited to split up and go to different colleges. They have been best friends since they were born, and going away is always hard for them. They plan trips during the summer, so they won’t get to see each other then. They are going through the stage where they really like guys, and they know that their friends will be there to help them through the rough spots. Lena sticks true to her drawing by attending an art school, Tibby goes to a film college, Carmen uses her brain to get into one of the top schools on the east coast, and Bee goes to school on a sports scholarship. Each girl stays true to what she really loves, and in the end they find out there is no match for friends.

Describe one exciting incident in detail

·Again, don’t give away the ending

·Be clear enough so that someone who HAS NOT read the book can follow

Lena is alone in her room at college when she hears a knock on the door. She’s a mess after being out for the day, and she doesn’t know who it will be. It turns out that it is her old love, who broke her heart by getting married. He lives in Greece, but attends school in London, and came to America to propose to Lena. She can’t believe her eyes and is very shocked. Kostos. After all those years of misery, he is back to see her. She says that she really doesn’t want to see him after he did such a thing, and she doesn’t know he was going to propose to her until she goes to Greece.

End the review with your opinion and recommendation

·Who might like this type of book? (Sports fans? People that love to laugh? History buffs? Late night readers that like to be freaked out?

·What did you think? Is it worth reading? If it won an award, is it worth the hype?

I think that this book is for most girls. If you can’t handle some mature subjects, you should wait to read this book. Since the characters are in college, there are some actions they take that are described in this book. Don’t read this book if you aren’t able to handle it, or your parents don’t want you reading this kind of material! Also, don’t read this book if you’re a guy, because you won’t enjoy it at all. I loved this book otherwise. Ann Brashares is a brilliant writer and she coveys the emotions the characters are feeling to the reader. I think that this book should have been a little more publicized, because I didn’t really know it was coming out, and I was very glad when I was told, because I absolutely loved it. I highly recommend the whole series. Also, the movie is one of my favorites.