I'll admit that when I finished the third (and supposedly final) installment of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I shed a few tears. Over the years, Bridget, Lena, Tibby and Carmen have grown up alongside me, and I was sad to see them go. I like to think that we have become friends, or perhaps even sisters.

Needless to say, I was very excited to learn that Ann Brashares was writing a fourth novel for the series, entitled Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood.

I shouldn't have been. Just like the original series of 7th Heaven and the 12 The Land Before Time movies, some things simply need to end.

The premise of the story follows that of the previous novels. The girls are separated for the summer and urge to stay connected by passing along the magical jeans to each other in their respective whereabouts across the country.

However, the story begins differently since the girls have just finished their freshman year of college. It is here that the real discrepancies became apparent.

The girls appear to suffer identity crises, adopting new personalities and behaviors as the story slowly turns from a heartwarming tale into a cliché and dramatic soap opera.

The old fearless and independent Tibby becomes weak and panicky as she awaits the results of a pregnancy test.

The usual upbeat Carmen allows herself to slip into a depression after being separated from her friends for the entire school year. Eager to cure her loneliness, she anxiously throws herself into the first friendship that lands at her feet. Unfortunately, it's with a girl who doesn't care about her or her feelings at all.

Former shy and uncertain Lena engages in a wild and very uncharacteristic fling with a guy from her art class before realizing her heart is really leading her in a different direction.

Only Bridget sticks to her bold roots, but she still goes a bit overboard. She pursues a relationship with a 30-year-old husband and father while she is on an archaeological dig.

When the friends finally reunite at the close of the novel, I expected to finally see the familiar close bonds between them. Instead I was greeted with cold and lifeless conversation. I actually found myself closing the book to look at its title to ensure I was reading the right book.

Yes, much to my dismay, it was really Forever In Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood.

However, despite the incongruent plot, Brashares' signature flair and impeccable writing style shines through. New readers may delight in the tale, but longtime fans will surely be disappointed. Grade: D