It's been a year since the Septembers discovered the magical travelling pants and spent their first full summer seperated and a lot has changed. 

Bee has dyed her hair and quit soccer. Long distance was too much for Lena and she's ended things with Kostos. Carmen has a date. Tibby won't process the events of last Summer.

The thing that struck me about this book was how clearly any one of our protagonists could be wrong or making a poor choice and they were still treated with graciousness. You don't hate

Carmen for imploding her mother's happiness or Tibby for humiliating her mother

. It isn't preachy. The girls grow, they acknowledge their own shortcomings. Especially as a teenager, making mistakes is inevitable. They don't make you irredeemable. 

I enjoyed getting hints at more of the parents lives/relationships. 

There are some terms used that have aged very poorly. Phrases that are frowned upon 20 years later. Throw away lines that are slut shame-y, ableist or fatphobic.

To see most of my grievances with this book, read my review of the first one. I only carried on with this series because the characters are lovable and real. I liked finding out what happened to them this second summer. Overall, decent, but bad writing. Not a book to write home about.