Excerpt from The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"What, are you scared of them?" Carmen taunted. Stupid dares like that always worked on Bridget.

Bridget grabbed them from Lena. She took off her dark indigo jeans, kicked them into a pile on the floor, and pulled on the pants. At first she tried to pull the pants way up on her waist, so they would be too short, but as soon as she let go, the pants settled gracefully on her hips.

"Doo-doo-doo-doo," Carmen sang, hitting the notes of the Twilight Zone theme.

Bridget turned around to look at her backside. "What?"

"They're not short; they're perfect," Lena said.

Tibby cocked her head, studying Bridget carefully. "You look almost . . . small, Bee. Not your usual Amazon."

"The insult parade marches on," Lena said, laughing.

Bridget was tall, with broad shoulders and long legs and big hands. It was easy to think she was a big person, but she was surprisingly narrow through her hips and waist.

"She's right," Carmen said. "The pants fit better than your usual ones."

Bridget switched her butt in front of the mirror. "These do look good," she said. "Wow. I think I may love them."

"You've got a great little butt," Carmen pointed out.

Tibby laughed. "That from the queen of butts." She got a troublemaking look in her eyes. "Hey. You know how we find out if these pants are truly magical?"

"How?" Carmen asked.

Tibby jiggled her foot in the air. "You try them on. I know they're yours and all, but I'm just saying, scientifically speaking, that it is impossible for these pants to fit you too."

Carmen chewed the inside of her cheek. "Are you casting aspersions on my butt?"

"Oh, Carma. You know I envy it. I just don't think these pants are going to fit over it," Tibby explained reasonably.

Bridget and Lena nodded.

Suddenly Carmen was afraid that the pants that hugged each of her friends' bodies with loving grace would not fit over her upper thighs. She wasn't really chubby, but she had inherited her backside directly from the Puerto Rican half of the family. It was very nicely shaped, and most days she felt proud of it, but here with these pants and her three little-assed friends, she didn't feel like standing out like the big fatso.

"Nah. I don't want them," Carmen said, standing up and getting ready to try to change the subject. Six eyes remained fixed on the pants.

"Yes," Bridget said. "You have to."

"Please, Carmen?" Lena asked.

She saw too much anticipation on her friends' faces to drop it without a fight. "Fine. Don't expect them to fit or anything. I'm sure they won't."

"Carmen, they're your pants," Bridget pointed out.

"Yeah, smarty, but I never tried them on before." Carmen said it with enough force to ward off further questions. She pulled off her black flares and pulled on the jeans. They didn't stop at her thighs. They went right up over her hips without complaint. She fastened them. "So?" She wasn't ready to venture a look in the mirror yet.

Nobody said anything.

"What?" Carmen felt cursed. "What? Are they that bad? She found the courage to meet Tibby's eye. "What?"

"I . . . I just . . ." Tibby trailed off.

"Oh my," Lena said quietly.

Carmen winced and looked away. "I'll just take them off, and we'll pretend this never happened," she said, her cheeks flushing.

Bridget found words. "Carmen, that's not it at all! Look at yourself! You are a thing of beauty. You are a vision. You are a supermodel."

Carmen put her hand on her hip and made a sour face. "That I doubt."

"Seriously, look at yourself," Lena ordered. "These are magic pants."

Carmen looked at herself. First from far away, then from up close. From the front and then the back.

The CD they'd been listening to ended, but nobody seemed to notice. The phone was ringing distantly, but nobody got up to get it. The normally busy street was silent.

Excerpted from The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares Copyright 2001 by 17th Street Productions, an Alloy Online, Inc. company, and Ann Brashares.. Excerpted by permission of Delacorte Books for Young Readers, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.