Backtrack to year 2004. It wasn't like at first sight when I first saw The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. But Carrots must have felt otherwise that she decided to give it a try. It was her copy then that Kulit and I borrowed. It was a surprise to find the book more than I thought it would be - just one of those young adult books. Now to year 2005. I recently read the third and last installment of this series (Carrots being the owner would seem to be the last one to read it) and it was saddening to finally bid these 4 girls we got to know and love. It's actually like saying goodbye to Sex and The City and Friends.
What is it that makes the Traveling Pants books special? For me it's because:
1. it's about friendship. It takes on what friendships are about - being there for each other whenever and wherever no matter what. That physical presence sometimes isn't the be all and and all to assure someone that they're there for you.
2. it's about love. Basically there always has to be romantic angle in every story right? Obviously, this here has that as well - from first love to lost love to rekindled love. It's like you're actually there because one way or the other you've felt what these girls felt when they were too afraid to love, or when they finally decide to risk it only to find themselves in a situation they were afraid of in the first place.
3. it's about relations. There's the mother-daughter bond, sibling relationships, the grandchildren-grandparents relationship, the first and second families, the strangers who amazingly touch your life.
4. it's about identity. These are four girls with four different personalities you get to know. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses. But truth be told, I guess i see me in them (many probably would see themselves in these fictional characters as well). It's not about Bridget being athletic that I can relate to but it's her running away and moving fast when she doesn't want to confront things that eventually catches up on her. Then there's shy and timid Lena and her playing-safe-attitude. Tibby with her I-don't-care-what-the-world thinks and aren't we all like that sometimes? And Carmen who doesn't like changes at all and who wouldn't want to risk her comfort zones.
5. it's about feelings. I love the writer. She knew what words to use and knew how to describe perfectly how the girls were going through that i find myself giggling, being excited, and (most of the time) crying too.
And since we liked the book so much, it's a given we wouldn't miss seeing the movie. I can't say I was disappointed nor was i satisfied. Sometimes I think it would be best to just stick to reading the novel or just stick to watching the movie adaptation (which I did for A Walk to Remember) so that there wouldn't be space for disappointment since it usually leads to that. My main reason was just curiousity anyway. Having seen and heard Lena say this on screen was different when I read it straight from the book. It was deeply moving when I read these words, and it uh wasn't when it came out from the movie. Still, it's not like it's not worth our enthusiasm.
On a last note, here's some of my fave lines/quotes/whatever you may call it from the said book series:
Bee couldn't outrun her troubles, so she'd entered her own version of the witness protection program..
The trick Bee always had was to keep moving, moving at a pace so fast it was thrilling and even reckless. But after last summer, she'd paused for a bit and the painful things - old, supposed-to-be-forgotten things - had caught up with her.
How did you separate attraction from love? (Lena on thinking about Kostos)
But there were times when you feel miserable and you wanted to feel better, and other times when you felt miserable and you figured you would just keep on feeling miserable.
There are two kinds of people in the world. The kind who divide the world into two kinds of people and the kind who don't.
I want you to leave me alone, but not ignore me. I want you to miss me when I go away to college, but not be sad. I want you to stay exactly the same , but not be lonely or alone. I want to do the leaving, and not have you ever leave me. That's not really fair, is it? (Carmen on her mother)
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