Much of the advance publicity for "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" has been about cliff-diving in glorious Greece, but the sequel deals with some mature topics, although handled in discreet style befitting its PG-13 rating.

One of the girls is scared that she might need maternity jeans after spending the night with her boyfriend while another's tender heart is broken. A stalwart of the foursome rethinks the questions of home and career, and one discovers joy in her sorrowful past.

It's been three years since the movie adaptation of Ann Brashares' best-seller about four friends and a pair of pants that magically fit each of their very different shapes. The young women are still swapping the jeans, but they're scattered as they finish their first year of college and embark on summer adventures.

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'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2'

3 stars = Good
Ratings explained

• Starring: America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively.
• Rating: PG-13 for mature material and sensuality.
• Web site: sisterhoodofthetravelingpants2

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Soccer powerhouse Bridget (Blake Lively) heads for an archaeological dig in Turkey, while Lena (Alexis Bledel) takes a figure-drawing class that introduces her to a nude model (Jesse Williams) who is an excellent artist and cook, and handsome, to boot.

Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) is studying film and working in a video store, while Carmen (America Ferrera) feels so displaced by her mother and stepfather's impending move and baby that she opts for a summer theater program in Vermont, where she reluctantly steps into the spotlight.

The women face questions about love, sex, family, friendship, insecurity and "learning how to become ourselves without losing each other." It can be serious business -- a condom mishap, memories of a troubled parent and a duplicitous roomie -- although it brightens in mood, music and sunny setting by the end.

"Sisterhood 2" is largely based on the fourth book in Brashares' series, "Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood." It borrows a couple of developments, notably concerning Carmen's half-brother and Bridget's estranged grandmother, from the second and third installments.

It, smartly, jettisons some others, invents a wise professor (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and gives Carmen a romantic interest in an actor named Ian (Tom Wisdom), whose British charm had some girls at a preview swooning.

A lot has happened, both on screen and off, since the girls first shimmied into the jeans:

The fiercely talented Ferrera became an Emmy winner for "Ugly Betty," Lively was crowned part of Hollywood's Next Wave by Vanity Fair thanks to the teen soap "Gossip Girl," Bledel's "Gilmore Girls" fan base multiplied due to DVDs and reruns, and Tamblyn moved beyond her signature "Joan of Arcadia" series.

The movie, directed by Sanaa Hamri ("Something New") and adapted by Elizabeth Chandler, remarkably manages to give each actress her due and adds Rachel Nichols, Blythe Danner and Kyle MacLachlan to the mix.

"Sisterhood" isn't appropriate for very young girls but for tweens and up, it will give them plenty to think about as the "sisters" realize friendship takes more work than just overnighting a pair of pants with a hastily scribbled note.

Like the swimmers who joyously jump into the Mediterranean sea, the girls with the blue-jean bond are moving away from their homes and families in Bethesda, Md., and plunging into the scary, liberating, wide open world. It's not a perfect movie, but at a time when girls are starved for images of themselves on screen, it fits quite comfortably.