This is a hard book for me to rate. When I originally rated it in 2014 I gave it 4 stars; however, after listening to it on audiobook I realized that I wouldn't rate it as high and here's why. I found a few of the girls to be difficult to relate to and in turn found them quite annoying. I think this is due to the fact that I'm older and handle situations and my emotions differently. If I had to pick my two favorite characters I would definitely say Bridget and Tibby. They went through the most during the summer and truly dealt with some difficult topics. I'm not minimizing the experiences of Carmen and Lena; however, I found that their situations were more in relation to their maturity. Due to my age and my perspective of their situations, it was hard for me to relate to them as characters. What I did enjoy was the relationship between the girls. It was phenomenal to see four teenage girls bond so easily together as they experienced the ups and downs of life. Their varied personalities were a contributing factor to how they were able to balance each other out. This is something that I love about books like this. It's the power of illustrating positive female relationships. I know that teens that grow up now face a lot more complex issues than I've had to face as a teenager so positive images related to female relationships is always a great asset in any book.

I honestly loved figuring out the differences between the book and the movie because I love the movies. They are completely and totally different. I think I may even go back and watch the movie again to see if I can figure out more differences. I would recommend this books for teens ages 11-14.