Ann Brashares

May, 2003

Ann Brashares follows the huge success of her bestselling first novel, THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS, with THE SECOND SUMMER OF THE SISTERHOOD, which continues the adventures of four best friends and the magical pair of jeans that fits each of them perfectly. In this interview, Brashares talks about the success of her debut novel, the themes addressed in the sequel, and what the future holds for her main characters.

Q: THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS, your debut novel, received much critical praise, awards, and adoration from readers of all ages. What are your thoughts on its success and why do you think it resonated so heavily with readers?

AB: Its success has been a wonderful surprise each step of the way. From the outset I tried to keep my expectations very low. I know how hard it is to get a book published let alone have it succeed. I've read many excellent books that did not succeed commercially. Here I give credit to the publisher, Random House, and to the booksellers. They supported the book wholeheartedly.

To the extent that it has resonated with readers, I am grateful for it. I sense that they have responded, more than anything else, to the unconditional love and loyalty that the Sisterhood represents.

Q: Has the success changed your writing process and expectations for THE SECOND SUMMER OF THE SISTERHOOD?

AB: I tried not to let the success change anything, but it kept creeping into my consciousness anyway. I worried that I wouldn't live up to the hopes of my readers. I worried that I would forget how to write. I worried that I never knew how to write in the first place. I worried a lot and I wrote very little.

When I finally forced myself back to my computer, I worried I had fallen out of touch with my characters. They felt to me like friends with whom I'd been intensely close, but hadn't seen in a long time. It's painful, in a way, to have to ask clunky, anonymous questions of people you used to know in an intimate, hour-by-hour way. Luckily, though, when I started to spend real time with Carmen and Bee and Tibby and Lena, I relaxed. I grew close to them again and enjoyed being with them so much, I forgot all the things I was worrying about.

As for expectations, I still try to keep them in check. But I do allow myself to hope. I hope that readers who liked the first book will like the second one too.

Q: Did you plan for the girls' relationship with their mothers to play a stronger role in THE SECOND SUMMER OF THE SISTERHOOD? Does your relationship with your own mother resemble any from the book?

AB: It didn't start out that way exactly. As I was working out stories for each of the girls, I realized that most of them involved their mothers to some degree. So I just went with it. The mother-daughter bond is about as rich a subject as any I know. And I felt those relationships could give a center of gravity to a book that otherwise ran the risk of going in too many directions at once.

My relationship with my mother doesn't resemble any of the ones in the book precisely. There are some thematic similarities to Carmen, though, in that my parents were divorced and I had to come to terms with my mom having a romantic life of her own.

Q: As the mother of three young children, do you find that you relate more to the girls or their mothers?

AB: Even though I'm closer to the age of the mothers, I related more to the daughters. I think that's because I wrote the book from the girls' points of view. Although I tried really hard to imagine how the mothers would feel, I didn't actually spend my days thinking their thoughts the way I do when I'm writing in a character's point of view.

Also, my daughter is only one and a half. When she gets to be a teenager, then I'll really understand what those mothers go through.

Q: Female friendship remains a central theme in the second book, do you have your own sisterhood? In your writing, you seem to have a real understanding of the importance of those bonds, how have you come to know that?

AB: I have a few very good old friends from childhood and some more recent friends whom I love dearly. But truthfully, I think the sisterhood is more fantasy than reality for me. I grew up in a house full of boys (wonderful boys, I should mention), and always dreamed about sisters.

Q: Do you have a sense of where the girls will be "next summer"? How do you see their growth continuing?

AB: Next summer will be the girls' last before they split up to go to college. That's going to be a big deal for them. I suspect Tibby is going to fall in love for the first time. I have a feeling Bridget might encounter Eric, the soccer coach, again. I have a few other plans up my sleeve, but I think I better keep them secret.

Q: What do you hope readers will take away from this second book?

AB: I don't really write with the idea of trying to teach any lessons. I want to tell a story as truthfully and engagingly as I can, and then let the chips fall where they may. But I realize when I get to the end of the story, I care very much that my characters evolve and grow. In spite of their torments and their selfish impulses, I care that they are guided by a spirit of goodness. I want them to set a high standard for compassion and for friendship.


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