3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares

3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows
by Ann Brashares


There are just TOO many words to describe this book. I had high expectations, and they were, uhm, whaddya call it. FULFILLED! I wouldn't do the book justice if I just chopped it up into paragraphs. And of course, this is my very first review, so I need to put in 110%!

So, let me start out with a summary. Ama, Jo, and Polly have been best friends since the third grade, when they met because their rides were late. They all received small willow plants that day in class, which they all later plant three in a row on Pony Hill on the last day of school. It's a tradition to them now that after school they stop by the 7-Eleven and get blue Slurpees, Cheetos, and Butterfingers.

But now it's the end of eighth grade and it seems they're not nearly as close anymore. Jo seems as if she would rather be with the popular kids she started hanging out with since the beginning of seventh grade. Polly seems withdrawn and lonely. She gives me a vibe that she's just following Jo. Lastly, it seems as if Ama would also rather be somewhere else. Maybe with Grace, her science partner?

*SPOILER ALERT!*

Anywho, it's summer and it looks like these girls have plans! Jo has a job busing tables near her family's beach house. She also finds out her parents are getting a separation. Ama was planning on going to camp (coughcough ACADEMIC!), when she gets a letter saying she was picked to go into the wilderness. Polly discovers her grandmother was a model, and decides that maybe she has model potential. She slowly goes into a bout of slight anorexia while her mom is also slowly becoming an alcoholic.

I want to reveal absolutely everything, but that would be like making this whole review a whole rewrite of the book. So let me start with the review.

It was so relatable. I could connect with Polly with her insecurity about her body. I could connect with Ama with the pressure to get perfect grades every semester. I could connect with Jo with her thoughts about her little romance with Zach and the complications that came with it.

AND THE TITLE! I actually came up with three different ways it could be interpreted.

A. The three willows Ama, Polly, and Jo planted on the last day of third grade on Pony Hill.

B. The girls - Three strong willows who weathered the storm.

C. The friendship of the girls. Although it was challenged, it found its roots again and now they're a happy family again. [:

Wow. I think this is one of the most horrible reviews I have ever read. But hopefully I'll get better with time ;) This book was so amazingly good (to me) that I finished it in one sitting. Well, I read Infamous, part of the It Girl series, right after I finished this, so in total, it took me about 6 hours ish? I started around 11, and ended at about 5. In the morning. And then I fell asleep and woke up at 11:30. Oh what I do for this blog.