This book was recommended to me by a younger cousin, and I figured, it'll be a fun young adult book, which would be a pleasant distraction from most of the reading I've done this year. Also, I was planning on reading a young-adult book for the Take A Chance Challenge #9. Figured, by the challenge's name, I should try a book I wouldn't normally pick up.
At the outset, I might as well say that I didn't really enjoy this book. The characters were shallow, the plot not that great, and I couldn't really sympathize or relate to any of the characters. Considering there are four characters, this is slightly depressing.
Reviewing haiku-style:
Not recommended
Shallow characters, dull plot,
Summer! Says it all.
Reviewing limerick-style:
Apart during the summer for the first time,
Four best friends deal with this so-called crime,
A pair of pants they swear to share,
Through the summer, post it to one another to wear.
And, in the end, it's all sublime.
Reviewing free verse-style:
'Tis the story of four friends, who spend a summer apart,
In Greece, at camp, at home, and at dad's.
They learn, they grow, they mature, make choices,
Write letters to each other, echoing their head's voices.
Lena at Greece, with her grandparents who she's never met,
They trying fixing her up with a boy - she starts to fret.
Things blow out of proportion on a misunderstanding -
Lena, filled with guilt, spends her summer repenting.
Then there's Carmen, excited to spend the summer with her father,
Unknown to her, she's about to meet her step-mother,
Anger and fury at her dad, leads her to break a window pane,
She runs away back home, on the first plane.
Bridget is away at a sports camp, where she makes new friends,
Meets an older boy, an instructor, who she wants as a boyfriend.
They're attracted to each other, but can't really date,
But an impulsive decision leads them to await their fate.
Finally, there's Tibby, who's at home, working at a store,
The manager's mean, the job a chore!
She befriends young Bailey, dying of cancer, full of life,
Turns out the relationship they form leads to strife.
As each of their summer takes a turn for the worse,
Almost as though things were cursed,
The pants are in the hands of one of the friends,
Gives them courage to make amends.
And when the friends meet each other at the end,
They remind each other of how the pants were a godsend!
Rating: 1