Forever in Blue

**Book 1 * Book 2 * Book 3**

This book had a tinge of the bittersweet to it. Obviously the four girls have grown up. They're in college, but they have not spent time as a foursome since the end of the last summer. Mostly because of Carmen.

Carmen goes to school and withdraws. She becomes a quiet, shy, self-conscious girl. She makes one friend at school, Julia, but otherwise she remains invisible. Julia is an aspiring actress, so she convinces Carmen to help build sets for the theater department. She then gets her to go to a theater camp in Vermont. But what happens there is not what she expects, and she finds herself both coming out of her shell and learning what friendship really is.

Bridget takes an archaeology trip to Turkey for the summer as a retaliation to her boyfriend Eric going to Mexico to be an assistant director of the soccer camp where they originally met. She enjoys the work unearthing bodies and a house. But she becomes close to Peter, a married man who is one of the directors of the dig. In the end, she learns about herself and what she needs in her life.

Tibby is in New York taking a summer screenwriting class. She has been dating Brian since the last summer. One night they get drunk and have sex, which leads to scary consequences. Tibby breaks up with Brian, mostly out of fear. She almost immediately regrets it, especially after Lena's younger sister Effie asks her permission to date Brian. She really learns what love is over the course of this book.

Lena is at art school, trying to forget about Kostos, but at the same time, not wanting to forget about him. Carmen tells her that the moment that she forgets him will probably be the time that she sees him again. But she finds that she has a growing attraction to Leo, who is in her figure class. They both want more time with the model, but due to circumstances (not being able to afford her and not being able to work with her off the books) they decide to model for each other. This creates some slight confusion for Lena, but she does forget about Kostos...just to have him appear at her door. Lena is left confused for most of this book where the other girls are learning important lessons about themselves.

I think the big thing about this book is that the girls have to figure out how to maintain their friendship. They don't get together when they should and if something happens, at least one girl shuts everyone out for a while. It's sad and they have to figure it all out.