THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS BY ANN BRASHARES

This is the fictional story of the intense and loving friendship among four teenage girls. They remain connected during their first summer apart through a connection with a pair of used jeans that seem to magically fit each of them perfectly, though their bodies are different. The pants are sent around the world during the summer to each of the girls. They each experience love, loss, and all the other elements of the teenage experience.

KEY LITERARY ELEMENTS

SETTING

Present day Suburban Washington, D.C., specifically Georgetown and Bethesda (including such places as WallmanÂ’s Pharmacy and the 7-Eleven); Baja, California; Oia, Greece; and Charleston, South Carolina

LIST OF CHARACTERS

Major Characters

The Pants

Although an inanimate object, the pair of blue jeans that becomes so magical to the four girls can be called a character. Many of their choices and the events that impact them came about only because of the confidence that the Pants brought them.

Carmen

She is the narrator for the opening and closing chapters of the novel and one of the members of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She is overly sensitive about her dadÂ’s move to South Carolina and her Puerto Rican heritage. She is the one who purchases the Pants.

Tibby

She is the only one of the four girls to remain at home for the summer. She works at WallmanÂ’s Pharmacy and becomes friends with Bailey, a twelve year old with leukemia.

Bridget

She is the athletic one of the group and one of the prettiest. She goes to soccer camp where she loses her virginity and finds herself unable to deal with her choices.

Lena

Born of Greek heritage, she spends the summer in Oia, Greece with her grandma and Bapi. She is the most beautiful of the group, but finds it difficult to socialize, especially with boys.

Lydia, Krista, Paul Rodman, and Albert Lowell

These four are CarmenÂ’s father and his new family. She is angry at them all, because she is blindsided with the news about the upcoming wedding, but she is most angry at her dad whom she doesnÂ’t want to be angry with, so she applies the majority of her hatred to the Rodmans.

Bailey

She is the twelve year old girl with leukemia and a wisdom beyond her years who befriends Tibby and leaves with her new friend an unforgettable legacy.

Eric

He is one of the coaches at BridgetÂ’s soccer camp. She falls totally head-over-heels in love (lust?) with him and loses her virginity to him.

Kostos

He is the American-born grandson of LenaÂ’s grandparentsÂ’ best friends. He is introduced to Lena in hopes that love will bloom, but through an unfortunate mistake on LenaÂ’s part, they donÂ’t discover how they both feel until her very last day in Greece.

Effie

LenaÂ’s younger sister, who doesnÂ’t have LenaÂ’s beauty, but has such an effervescent personality that she is much more popular than beautiful older sister. She is also the one in the end who makes Lena recognize that must face her fears of committing her heart even if that means rejection.

Minor Characters

Duncan, Margaret, Angela, and Brianna

These four are TibbyÂ’s co-workers and learn to love Bailey, too.

Tucker Rowe

He is the really good-looking boy on whom Tibby has a crush. Bailey helps her see that he is really shallow and not worth TibbyÂ’s effort.

Brian McBrian

He is the young “wizard” player of Dragon Master whose attitude on life comes to impact Tibby greatly. He believes that happiness is just a series of small pleasures and when looked at from that perspective, life is so much more enjoyable.

Diana, Ollie, & Rosie

These three girls are BeeÂ’s friends at soccer camp. They follow her lead and often encourage her in her quest for Eric.

Mollie Brevin

She is BeeÂ’s coach who had tried to teach her that playing soccer was about being part of a team; instead, she made Bee feel for a time as if she werenÂ’t good enough.

Kelly, also known as “Skeletor”

She is Paul RodmanÂ’s girlfriend and fears Carmen may be her rival. Carmen nicknames her that, because she has the exact opposite body to her, and Carmen is overly sensitive about her own body.

Mrs. Graffman

She is BaileyÂ’s mother and the one who explains to Tibby why they decided to stop treatment for BaileyÂ’s leukemia. She also tells Tibby how special she is to Bailey and begs her to come see her daughter before itÂ’s too late.

Grandma and Bapi

They are LenaÂ’s grandparents and stand up against their best friends in support of her when they believe she has been molested by Kostos. They are also the ones who wait patiently until she is ready to explain what really happened that day at the pond.