Another girl-bonding novel turned major motion picture.
The bonds in the story are so strong that the actresses portraying Lena, Bridget, Tibby, and Carmen have their own group chat that has been going strong for nearly 20 years. (I'm still trying to figure out what Blake Lively did that cancel culture zeroed in on her. Maybe I'm not reading enough Entertainment Weekly. I do know that she wasn't invited to Taylor's wedding.)
In the story, the four girls have been friends for life, having been born within days of each other, their mothers meeting at a birthing class. Before going their separate ways for the summer, they went shopping and found The Pants, a pair of jeans that somehow fit all four of them perfectly, even though they are all different sizes and shapes. The novel tells the tale of their summer and how the pants tie it all together.
Lena spends the summer in Greece with her grandparents and falls in love with Kostos, a neighbor boy who brings her out of her shell.
Bridget goes to California for soccer camp, falls in love with, and aggressively pursues a coach. He rebuffs her, and Lena comes to her rescue.
Carmen goes to North Carolina to stay with her divorced father and is shocked to see he is engaged, and she will have new step-siblings. Feeling like she's been replaced, she returns home, only to be encouraged to mend the rift and celebrate her family's expansion.
Tibby, left behind in their hometown, befriends young Bailey, who frequents the drugstore where she works. Bailey has leukemia, and Tibby, an aspiring filmmaker, chronicles Bailey's spirit for life as her days are ebbing away.
The jeans are the item drawing the stories together; each time they are worn, the girl discovers something new about themselves - be it love, courage, compassion, or healing.
