Sequel to: The second summer of the Sisterhood. This is the best one yet. Brashares's writing definately has improved.Quotesp.88 [Carmen] There should be a law disallowing eight-year-olds from decorating their rooms, especially where stickers were involved. Why had her eight-year-old self saddled her seventeen-year-old self with so many dumb decals and see-through unicorn window appliques. They were impossible to get off.I thought this was a great statement illustrating how we change as we grow up. Brashares does a wonderful job stating this idea/reflection...p.155 [Tibby reflecting about the former Nanny] Some people spent their lives wallowing in resentments, and other people, like Loretta, let ill fortune wash right over them.Too often we focus on the negative and don't realize the positive.

What a contrast from the other novels in the series! It starts off somewhat depressing...with Carmen missing from the groups' summer kick-off and her chapters so depressing and it seems Carmen lost all of her self-esteem in her first year of college. How did it disappear?Quotes, Questions & Commentsp.43 [Lena observes Leo for the first time] Desire was just the dumbest thing. You wanted what you wanted until it was yours. Then you didn't want it anymore. You took what you had for granted until it was no longer yours. This, it seemed to her [Lena], was one of the crueler paradoxes of human nature.-Have you ever wanted an event to occur or to get something, but once it happened or you got it it didn't seem as desirable? What are your thoughts on this situation? Why do we feel this way?**SPOILER**A fitting conclusion, I suppose. A few loose ends were tied-up while a couple more were added, but not big enough to compell Brashares to write more in the series--especially since the pants are gone. A sad, but fitting conclusion.