Ann Brashares
Perched on a stool in front of an obviously rapt audience at A Likely Story Children's Bookstore, Anne Brashares spoke in a quiet, conversational but confident voice. The author of the enormously popular series that began with The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was at ease discussing the messages that she brings to her writing for teens.
Her extensive experience as an editor led her to begin thinking of becoming an author in her own right. She had always worked happily editing and rewriting other people's words. Later, when she had the opportunity and courage to share her own thoughts and ideas she felt better prepared because of her perspective as an editor. She had learned that writing is not a "perfect profession" and that editors are essential in producing a finished project. This message of rewriting and reworking ideas for a novel was not lost on the listeners as they considered their own writing efforts. Teachers' requests for rewrites took on new meaning: "Ann Brashares has to re-write!?!"
Born in Alexandria, VA, Ann's family lived in the Maryland suburbs as well as in The District of Columbia before she went to college at New York's Columbia University. She and her artist husband currently live in Manhattan with their three children. Both of them work from home. Ms. Brashares spoke of time management and her efforts to be faithful to the development of her characters with their own distinct personalities in mind as they "grow" in each book.
Her writing represents a spectrum of human experiences expressed in her own voice through a variety of characters used to showcase the different issues she incorporates in her books. Relationships between family members, friends, and boyfriends are given a spotlight but divorce, separation, loss, and, facing new experiences are also present for the reader to make real life connections with the characters and their daily lives. Ann Brashares wished to be able to impart some "wisdom" with each book and so began to utilize quotes for each chapter to spotlight a particular truth. She has "collected" quotes since her own young teen years and felt that it was a way to have a "wise" voice as part of her novels--she has gotten her wish of sharing with her readers her own brand of wisdom as she speaks through her very well realized characters. The quotes are simply a bonus.
The audience felt her sense of humor as she described herself and rethinking the "rules for the pants" part of the book. "What was I thinking? Never wash them?" She "sort of" regrets including that particular rule but it is there to stay. She described the process she and her editor went through to formulate the "rules" and told of the fun they had "messing around with the rules" in a way that seemed to ring true with those who had already read the books and understood that the experience had translated itself directly into the storyline. The girls in the storyline also had a wonderful time making up the "rules."
Ms. Brashares strives for balance in her novels using favorite attributes of people she knows, a little bit of herself, and the traits she most admires in others. She works to keep the characters "believable and empathetic" but also "real."
While answering questions from her fans, she revealed that she really does listen to her audience. The jacket color of the third book, The Third Summer of the Traveling Pants, is orange at the suggestion of one of the attendees at an autographing. This awareness of her audience is one of the things that make Ann Brashares such a fine influence for the young readers she is attracting. Her attention to the sound of the dialogue and dedication to the ideals she holds as truths all ring out in each of the girls no matter what their particular situation. Her sensitivity is obvious but her writing is full of fun and very appealing to the intended audience.
Her readers are eagerly awaiting the fourth installment in the Pants series and looking forward to other work from this talented writer.
Contributor: Sheilah Egan
Reviews
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
Ann Brashares
Lena, Carmen, Tibby, and Bridget spend the summer before college tackling their greatest challenge to date: moving forward and apart while maintaining the friendship that has been central to their identities. Carmen seethes with prenatal sibling rivalry and even considers abandoning Williams College for the University of Maryland to shore up her position at home. Lena searches for a way to attend Rhode Island School of Design after her increasingly conservative father declares that he will not pay for such a frivolous education. Bridget, now a soccer camp counselor, forces herself to face her past with Eric before she heads off to Brown, while NYU-bound Tibby struggles with her deep fear of change-in her family relationships and in her fledgling romance with Brian. As with the previous two Sisterhood books, this story is primarily about relationships, and Brashares's laser-like focus yields a satisfying emotional payoff. The girls have matured enough to work through the realistic, heady mixture of discomfort, joy, and anticipation that defines the in-between state of their lives. Between schools, between homes, and between romances, they are primed to tackle the likely problem of the series' next title: Will the power of the Sisterhood sustain them through a year of new friendships and independent experiences? Brashares cannot quite balance four narratives and juggle a host of secondary characters-love interests Eric and Win emerge as three-dimensional characters, Kostos appears only in Lena's daydreams, and Brian is largely a wordless cipher-but this minor flaw is unlikely to deter series fans. VOYA CODES: 3Q 4P J S (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2005, Random House, 352p., $16.95 and PLB $18.99. Ages 12 to 18. Reviewer: Sophie Brookover (VOYA, February 2005 (Vol. 27, No. 6))
Best Books:
Booklist Book Review Stars, Dec. 15, 2004; United States
ISBN: 0-385-72935-9
ISBN: 0-385-90919-5
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
Ann Brashares
Four best friends have one last summer before they leave for college. Tibby, Bee, Lena, and Carmen find out that their lives will dramatically change. The girls face some life-altering and emotional experiences. The magical pants they pass between them play an ever-important roll in this last summer. Readers can easily find themselves in the adventures of these fascinating girls and their lives. Tibby becomes a godmother and her cousin falls out of a window; Carmen decides to go to a college closer to home and her mother births a new baby; Bee finds love where she doesn't expect it; and Lena's parents refuse to pay for her art school tuition. All four of the girls face some tough decisions and learn a few life lessons in this third book of the series. However, the role of the pants isn't all that tight fitting. The pants seem to fade in and fade out. Perhaps it is symbolic of their lives changing. Brashares' descriptive writing threads the vignettes in a scenic story that will leave the reader satisfied. This fast paced story will keep fans and even reluctant readers interested in what happens next. Readers don't have to worry if this is the first book they are reading in the series because Brashares outlines the magical pant rules and gives a prologue that provides background. 2005, Random House Children's Books, Ages 12 up, $16.95. Reviewer: Kelly Grebinoski
ISBN: 0-385-729-35-9
Linus Torvalds: Software Rebel
Ann Brashares
What is Linux? Is it a cartoon character? Some kind of foreign food? A facial tissue? Although the casual computer user may not know what Linux is, those interested in computer programming and free software know that Linus Torvalds is legendary. As creator of the operating system Linux and as a champion for the freeware movement, Torvalds has gained a place in the computer hall of fame. This succinct biography takes readers on a high tech journey into the world of computer programming and more importantly, a computer programmer. From his initial motivation up to his current work, this book gives insights into Torvalds' life, while also informing the reader about current movements in today's computer world. For older children who are glued to computer games or teenagers pondering what to be when they grow up, this informational book is highly useful in describing the life and work of a computer programmer. However, because of the highly technical nature of both the material and the vocabulary, this may only appeal to true techies. 2001, Twenty-First Century Books, $22.90, Ages 12 up. Reviewer: Leah Hanson (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 0-7613-1960-3
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
Ann Brashares
Ann Brashares has written a sequel to her first book that teens couldn't put down, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I didn't read the first book because it sounded shallow--four best friends connected by a pair of thrift-store jeans that fit each of them perfectly. After reading the sequel, The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, I had to read the first. I read each in one sitting. Both are fast-paced stories of girls who have been friends since their mothers met in a prenatal aerobics class. "The word friends doesn't seem to stretch big enough to describe how we feel about each other. We forget where one of us starts and the other one stops." Sound sappy? They're not. For one thing, the plot moves fast. In both books, each chapter switches rapidly among the four narrators' lively adventures. Though their voices are fairly indistinguishable, Brashares' style is brisk, bubbly, and peppered with pithy descriptions that don't let either book slide into sentimentality. I was glad to have read the second book first. The first centered on the girls' bonding and they seemed self-involved to a point of brattiness that bothered this adult. The Second Summer has much more depth. All four girls have matured and each takes on a life-changing challenge. For example, Bee, who never dealt with her mother's death, travels alone to Alabama to reconnect with her estranged grandmother and understand the depth of her mother's depression and dependency. The other three face heroic journeys just as intense and they all make a transition from fighting authority to appreciating maternal love. This theme is there for readers who want to see it, but it doesn't get in the way of those just looking for a beach read. 2003, Delacorte, $15.95, Ages 10 up. Susie Wilde (Children's Literature).
In this 2004 special edition of the sequel to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, readers are invited to take a sisterhood quiz, read the opening pages of Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood, and enter a sweepstakes to win an advance copy of this third book in the best-selling series. During the second summer of the pants, Bridget, Carmen, Tibby, and Lena continue to believe in the power of their magical jeans but find that they bring unexpected results to each wearer. Bridget travels to Alabama to learn the truth about her troubled mother's past; Carmen experiences both jealousy and loss when her mother enters into a serious romantic relationship; Tibby travels to film camp and must face the demons that haunt her as a result of the death of a young friend; and Lena admits and pursues love only to lose it in the face of uncomfortable circumstances. Literally and symbolically, the jeans accompany the young protagonists on their adventures, nurturing understanding and awareness as they pass from hand to hand. They possess a power tied directly to the faith these young women hold in one another and, ultimately, themselves. As these characters work through their issues, they may feel lost and confused, but they know they are never alone. Although these teens deal with issues common to YA novels--identity, romance, parental conflict--Brashares' tale, with its lively characters, honest emotion, and wry wit, rises above the norm. 2003, Delacorte, $15.95, Ages 12 to 17. Wendy Glenn, Ph.D. (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
Kirkus Book Review Stars, April 15, 2003; United States
Senior High School Library Catalog, Sixteenth Edition, 2003 Supplement, 2003; H.W. Wilson; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
Book Sense Book of the Year Award Finalist 2004 Children's Literature United States
Teens' Top Ten List Winner 2003 YA Galley Group United States
Teens' Top Ten List Winner 2003 Teen Public United States
State and Provincial Reading Lists:
Blue Hen Book Award, 2005; Nominee; Teen; Delaware
Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award, 2004-2005; Nominee; Indiana
Teens' Top Ten List, 2003; Nominee; United States
ISBN: 0-385-72934-0
ISBN: 0-385-90852-0
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Ann Brashares
Any story that begins "Once upon a time..." has to be good, and this one is. It is hard to imagine that one pair of thrift shop jeans could play such an important role in the lives of four teenage girls. The story begins before the birth of four teenagers when their mothers meet in an aerobics class. Although the mothers drift apart, the girls become close friends. A trip to the local thrift shop and one non-descript pair of jeans become the catalyst for a summer of change. How can one pair of jeans look so incredibly good on four different girls with four dramatically different figures? Its magical, at least that is what the teens think. "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" is born when the girls decide to send the jeans to each other over the summer. The journey of the traveling jeans takes the denim talisman from Greece where Lena discovers herself, to California where Bridget learns a life lesson, to South Carolina where Carmen must learn about family, and finally back home where Tilly discovers the real magic in them--or is it life? 2001, Delacorte Press, $14.95, Ages 12 up. Rita Karr (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
Best Books for Young Adults, 2002 Top Ten; American Library Association-YALSA; United States
The Best of Book Sense From the First Five Years, 1999-2004; Book Sense; United States
Capitol Choices, 2001; The Capitol Choices Committee; United States
Children's Book Sense 76 Picks, Fall 2001; Book Sense 76; United States
Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2001; American Library Association-Booklist; United States
Kirkus Book Review Stars, August 1, 2001; United States
Los Angeles' 100 Best Books, 2001; IRA Children's Literature and Reading SIG and the Los Angeles Unified School District; United States
Parent's Guide to Children's Media, 2001; Parent's Guide to Children's Media, Inc.; United States
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, August 2001; Cahners; United States
Senior High School Library Catalog, Sixteenth Edition, 2003 Supplement, 2003; H.W. Wilson; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Award Winner 2002 Young Adult Readers United States
American Booksellers Book Sense Book of the Year (ABBY) Award Winner 2002 Children's Literature United States
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Winner 2003 Young Adult Maryland
Eliot Rosewater High School Book Award Winner 2004 Indiana
Evergreen Young Adult Book Award Winner 2004 Washington
Garden State Teen Book Awards Winner 2004 Fiction Grades 9-12 New Jersey
Gateway Readers Award Winner 2004 Grades 9-12 Missouri
Heartland Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature Winner 2003 United States
Iowa Teen Award Winner 2004 Iowa
Rhode Island Teen Book Award Winner 2002 Rhode Island
Sequoyah Book Award Winner 2004 Young Adult Oklahoma
Volunteer State Book Award Winner 2004 Grades 7-12 Tennessee
Young Hoosier Book Award Winner 2004 Middle Grades Indiana
Young Reader's Choice Award Winner 2004 Senior Division Pacific Northwest
State and Provincial Reading Lists:
Arizona Young Readers' Award, 2005; Nominee; Teen Books; Arizona
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, 2002-2003; Nominee; High School; Maryland
Blue Spruce Award, 2004-2005; Nominee; Colorado
Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award, 2004-2005; Nominee; Colorado
Evergreen Young Adult Book Award, 2004; Nominee; Washington
Iowa Teen Award, 2003-2004; Nominee; Iowa
Land of Enchantment Book Award, 2004-2005; Nominee; Young Adult; New Mexico
Nevada Young Readers' Award, 2003; Nominee; Young Adult; Nevada
Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award, 2003-2004; Nominee; Grades 6 - 8; Pennsylvania
South Carolina Book Awards, 2003-2004; Nominee; Young Adult Book; South Carolina
Tayshas High School Reading List, 2002; Texas
Virginia Young Readers Program, 2003-2004; Nominee; High (Grades 10-12); Virginia
Volunteer State Book Award, 2004; Nominee; Young Adult, Grades 7-12; Tennessee
Young Adult Reading Program, 2003; Grades 7-12; South Dakota
Young Hoosier Book Award, 2004; Nominee; Middle Grades (Grades 6-8); Indiana
Young Reader's Choice Award, 2004; Nominee; Senior (Grades 10-12); Pacific Northwest
ISBN: 0-385-72933-2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Recorded Book)
Ann Brashares
Read by Angela Goethals
Four girls, four behinds, and one pair of highly unlikely jeans that not only fit each friend perfectly but manage to connect and console them during their first summer apart. Narrator Goethals has the perfect voice to convey the fluid world of teenage emotions, having mastered the upturned end to a sentence that is and is not a question, the chatty, catty clash of personalities, and the genuine sentimentality of a group of girls intent on leaving adolescence behind. The real audio appeal, however, comes from the overlapping plots-each story ending at a crucial moment only to be replaced by another girl's story picked up in midstream. 2001, Listening Library, 4 cass., $32.00. Reviewer: Kristi Beavin (Horn Book Audio Reviews, May/June 2002).
ISBN: 0-8072-0590-7
Steve Jobs: Thinks Different
Ann Brashares
This fascinating, fast reading, brief (77 pages) biography of the founder of Apple Computers recounts his successes as well as his failures. Readers will learn about the early history and development of the computer from the time when Jobs attended meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club, a group that gathered once a week to brainstorm and discuss their homemade computers. They will marvel at the combined foresight and abilities of Jobs and Steve Wozniak, from the time they saw the "office of the future" at the XEROX Palo Alto Research Center to the incorporation of those ideas (such as computer networking, the use of a mouse and the laser printer) in their computer for ordinary people, the Macintosh. Steve Job's ventures when he left Apple and his return to the company he founded are also included. The black-and-white photos of computers provide reference points for the reader. There are blue pages called "Tech Talk" that give simple explanations to technical terms. Part of the "Techies" series, there is an index and a bibliography that also includes the sources. 2001, Twenty-First Century Books/The Millbrook Press, $21.90 and $6.95, Ages 10 to 15. Reviewer: Sharon Salluzzo (Children's Literature)
ISBN: 0-7613-1959-X
Added 04/01/05
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