Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood

Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood is the third in a series of four books The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, and Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood.

It is the girls' last summer before college. They all find themselves in different, but challenging situations. They all struggle with their identities, love, and relationships.

Following the death of Lena's grandfather, Lena's father convinced his mother, Valia, to move in with his family. Valia is homesick and sad, and, as a result, constantly complains and makes Lena's home life very tense. Lena's one solace is the figure drawing class she is taking at an art school, despite her parents' wishes that she choose a more practical interest. However, when her father comes into the class and sees her drawing a nude model, he forbids her from taking the class. Lena tries to fund the class herself, but is caught by her father, who then announces that he will not pay for Lena to go to the Rhode Island School of Design.

Shocked by her father's decision, Lena goes to the class's instructor, Annik Marchand, who advises Lena to try for a scholarship. Lena makes a portfolio of drawings of her family, as well as Paul Rodman, who comes to stay with Carmen and ends up visiting and posing for Lena. Through her drawings, Lena learns more about her family: her sister Effie's anger that Lena is leaving for college, her mother's struggle between Lena's wishes and her father's, her father's fear of Lena entering a world he is unfamiliar with, and her grandmother's wishes that someone pay attention to her misery instead of simply ignoring it.

At the end of the summer, Lena mails in her portfolio, and receives word that she has gotten the scholarship. She tells her father, and receives his permission to attend art school. She also manages to convince him to allow Valia to return to Greece.

Brian asks Tibby to go to the senior party with him, as his date. Although it is clear that she returns his romantic feelings, she worries about changing their relationship and opening herself up to him. She soon relents, though, and Brian kisses her and tells her that he loves her. The next morning, Katherine reached out the window to get an apple but falls out the window and injures her head. Tibby is thrown into depression, concerned for Katherine and blaming herself for the accident. She also feels as if she didn't love Katherine enough, having always resented her younger siblings. She begins to avoid Brian, feeling that the accident wouldn't have happened if she hadn't been thinking about him, and also believing that Katherine's accident indicates that taking chances will only end in suffering. Towards the end of the novel, Tibby becomes Christina's unwilling labor partner and helps Christina be brave enough to have the baby, even without her husband and Carmen's presence. This encourages Tibby to be brave herself and confront her feelings for Brian instead of shying away from them, and they begin a relationship.

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