3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows

Reviewed by Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen for TeensReadToo.com

The Sisterhood may be grown up, but their legend lives on.

Meet Polly, Jo, and Ama, three girls who are now entering the very same high school the legendary Sisterhood attended. The three have been friends since third grade, but now with high school approaching, they find themselves being drawn in separate ways and spending the summer apart.

Ama is all about academics, extra credit, and schoolwork. She's signed up to spend the summer at a camp that will give her school credit. She's hoping to be in the library all day, but instead finds herself signed up for the outdoor wilderness hike. Ama is not an outdoorsy girl and can't imagine herself spending the summer hiking and sleeping in a tent.

Jo is spending the summer at her family beach house and working as a bus girl at a local restaurant. She's hoping to make friends with the older girls from the "in" crowd so she can start high school in the right group. But a fling with a mysterious boy threatens to change all of Jo's plans.

Polly is stuck at home babysitting until she gets the idea that she could be a model. She throws herself into the world of modeling camp and starts to lose herself - and only her friends can help bring her back.

One of Ann Brashares strengths is that she puts so much into her characters that readers can always find someone like them. The experiences the girls have never seem over the top or unrealistic, and their friendship will resonate with readers making the transition from middle school to high school.

Although reminiscent of THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS series, Polly, Ama, and Jo each bring something new to the story - and their stories are original. Fans will enjoy the appearances made by characters from the previous series, as well.

3 WILLOWS is a great pick for readers looking for a wonderful, charming book about the challenges of friendship and growing up.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

LOVE IT

Ann Brashares is a very gifted author! In this book, she uses realistic situations and makes them magic. I,ve always loved this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Mixed Feelings

I do not think that this book was as good as the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, however, it was a fun read. It is about 3 friends who grow up in the same town. As they grow up, they change as people, which causes their friendship to also change. I think that it's a great story about true friends, and I enjoyed the reference to the original sisterhood. I thought that the book was a litte slow starting out, but it got better and I found myself not wanting to put it down.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Great New Beginning reviewed by YABOOKNERD

Polly, Jo, and Ama just graduated eight grade. Now with summer looming before them, they're not sure how far high school will separate them. They used to be best friends, before they each started going in different directions. But this summer, they are still tied to each other. Their bonds haven't been broken yet. Polly starts a modeling class with her babysitting money. She wants to become someone, someone that people notice. But is modeling for her, or is she walking down a dangerous path? Jo's spending the summer with her mother at the beach. Her parents are trying a separation and she's not sure what to think. It's not like her dad's been around much these past few years. She's got herself a job at a restaurant and soon she's hanging out with high school girls. Could they be her ticket to the in crowd next year? Ama's spending the summer in a scholarship program. She was hoping for an academic track, but instead, she's spending her days hiking through the wilderness. She's not an adventurous sort of girl and this summer is killing her. In their times of troubles, each girl reverts back to her old friendships and wonder how weak their bond has become. If one of them reaches out, will the other two catch her?

This new book by Ann Brashares takes place in the same town as the Sisterhood. These three girls don't know the Sisterhood, but they worship the girls just the same. The book has similar connections with the Sisterhood books, but it's completely different at the same time. They both center on friendship, but there's a different tone to the new book. The Sisterhood books took their friendship and made it stronger during the time apart. The 3 Willows found their way back to friendship after spending time apart. The new book is also younger and perfect for middle schoolers. I breezed through this book and am eager for the next one...there is going to be one I hope.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book

You should so read it. It is very intereting. Ann Brashards is very talented.

I found this book to be very disappointing. I loved the travelin

I found this book to be very disappointing. I loved the traveling pants books, so much so that I bawled throughout the entire last book. However, this book was just blah. None of the characters grabbed me. It seemed like the author was trying to hard to create them and their situations. Overall, I was just disappointed.

This book was great

I think this book inspire young readers to be the best they can be I beleve Ann has done it again

ehh

looks good i might buy it

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

luv it!

this is one of my all time favorite books i would recommend it to everyone

Quick read

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was cool that the Traveling Pants girls were mentioned.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Very very good

i reallyy liked this book it was very good!!!!!!!!

Very nice read - don't have to read the Traveling Pants to enjoy this!

Ok, I will admit it. I have never read the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I've seen the movie, and I guess I thought that if I read the book then I wouldn't enjoy it as much.

So, when my friend lent me 3 Willows, the first question to come out of my mouth was "Do I have to read The Sisterhood to understand this?" And the answer is nope. You don't need to read the original Sisterhood to fall in love with Ann Brashares novel.

3 Willows takes you into a slightly younger world, to three girls who are - no secrets - growing apart. However, they don't exactly want to face the facts. They still, somehow, want to stay close forever.

Heartwarming novel, fast read, nice read. Hope you enjoy as much as I did.

New story

When I heard about this new book, Brashares had written. I got really excited. I have read all of her past books and enjoyed them. I knew this was a new story and new sisterhood.
Three new friends, Polly, Jo and Ama, figure out if their friendshihp is worth it, as they are on their new journey to highschool.

Jo, is worried that she won't fit in with her new friends she has at her new job in a restaurant, so she's trying to pull away from her old friends. While her parents are in progress of a possible divorce. After the death of her brother. During this summer she'll try to find out what she wants in life.

After being send to an enrichment program during the summer, Ama, considers being imperfect. When she doesn't get things she wants, she finds herself upset and frustrated. She also has trouble with her new roommate, who Ama thinks likes her crush.

Polly tries to find out who she is, and what she wants to be. While on the other hand, her mother is having problems with alcohol. She finds herself lost, but helps her mom get through her problems.

This book is well-written. I enjoyed reading this, and recommend this book to anyone, who is lost in finding true friendship. You will learn that true friends are hard to find and will stand by you no matter what.

3 Willows

For those who liked Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, this was a fun easy read that takes one back to their childhood and childhood friendships. Brashares does a great job chroniciling these teen girls's journey into high school. I would recommend this to many of my mom friends who have teen age girls and to the teen girls. This would be a great movie. For a lazy afternoon or reading at the beach. I liked the willow references since I like nature.

REALLY GREAT!

I loved this book. It was cool how they look up to the sisterhood. It is a great book to share with friends.

Fast Read

I really liked this book. It took me little time to read once i got about 90 pages in. It was a good story, set in the summer, telling about three friends who had drifted apart. During this summer, though, they come back together when they need each other most. Romance, family problems, and even some rock climbing adventure, this book has it all.

Book was good.

I really liked this book, and it came in on time :)

A story of friendships

This book is by the same author as "Traveling Pants" group and I liked those. I enjoyed the 3 different characters in "3 Willows". I bought the book for my teen granddaughter and she read it and said it was okay. It didn't have enough suspense for her.

AWESOME!

These girls are like any girl you could find in the world! They could be so real! I love this book!

Great Read

3 Willows by Ann Brashres is a book that tells us about the lives of three girls; Polly, Jo, and Ama. They used to be best friends but as time went on they grew apart. The summer before high school will change this all. Polly wants to be a model. She is changing her self for the bad, even though she thinks it's for the good. Jo is spending her summer at the beach working as a bus girl. She begins to fit in and then an incident ruins it all. Ama is at her summer scholarship program, trying to find out how to survive the stupid camp. She finds out who she is along the way. The girls also find that they will be friends no matter what happens. I enjoyed how Brashres made the Sisterhood a legend in this book. It is kind of like it will never die. 3 Willows is a book that most teenage girls would probably read. Brashres will not disappoint any readers with this new book. Those who loved the Sisterhood will love this. I thought this book was very good. I hope she writes a follow up but she shouldn't make it exactly like the Sisterhood. The characters in this book are nothing like the ones in the Sisterhood. Read this book! You will love it. You will not want to put it down.