3 Willows by Ann Brashares

3 Willows

summer is a time to grow

seeds
Polly has an idea that she can't stop thinking about, one that involves changing a few things about herself. She's setting her sights on a more glamorous life, but it's going to take all of her focus. At least that way she won't have to watch her friends moving so far ahead.

roots
Jo is spending the summer at her family's beach house, working as a busgirl and bonding with the older, cooler girls she'll see at high school come September. She didn't count on a brief fling with a cute boy changing her entire summer. Or feeling embarrassed by her middle school friends. And she didn't count on her family at all. . .

leaves
Ama is not an outdoorsy girl. She wanted to be at an academic camp, doing research in an air-conditioned library, earning A's. Instead her summer scholarship lands her on a wilderness trip full of flirting teenagers, blisters, impossible hiking trails, and a sad lack of hair products.
It is a new summer. And a new sisterhood. Come grow with them.

I've been wanting to read 3 Willows for a while now but being a Sisterhood fan, I wasn't sure how well I was going to take this book. But I've had it in my TBR list for a while, so I went ahead and picked it up.

Oh, wow, that shut me up. 3 Willows is a beautiful stories with wonderful characters. I started liking Ama more and then Polly. I was very reluctant about Jo, though, her attitude and her obvious desperation to be cooler and appear older. Somehow, this didn't rub me the right way in the beginning.

Ama is such a character! She's smart and nerdy but definitely cares about her appearance which made her un-stereotypical and rounded. I loved how she acted through the trip in the wild, it was very believable and the way I myself would have acted. I loved her relationship with Noah and how easy and natural it was.

Polly was okay for me. She wanted to be a model and went as far to do some really extreme stuff for that. She seemed the most childish of the three. I liked her enough to care for her but I don't really have much to say about who she is and her roundness as a character.

Jo was interesting. In the beginning, I didn't like her but she became my favorite character. She is the perfect example of really growing up and knowing how easy teens change and give up what they love to be something they are not. She's the most evolved character.

The different stories weaved beautifully. Ann is such an amazing writer, the book flowed easily and was such an enjoyment. It's a quick beach read that I'd recommend to anyone. This book is about friendship and growing up and finding oneself. It is definitely for a younger audience than the Sisterhood.

In one sentence:
"Flowing and heartwarming, a story of true friendship that evolved but never dies."

Plot: 5
Characters: 4
Cover: 3
Writing: 5
Overall: 4
Average: 4.2