The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1)

Belly\’s life has always been measured in summers. Of course she and her brother have school the rest of the year, she has friends, she has an entire life. But summer has always been the important thing because summer means it\’s time to return to Cousins Beach and the house her family shares with the Fishers. Belly\’s mom and Susannah Fisher have been friends for decades and Belly can\’t think of anything more natural than spending every summer in Cousins with Susannah and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. As the youngest, Belly is used to being left out or made fun of by the boys. But that\’s never made her love her summers, or Conrad, any less. Almost as soon as they arrive, Belly knows that this summer is going to be different. She can feel it in the air, see it in way Conrad and Jeremiah look at her like she\’s someone totally new. But every summer, even what promises to be a perfect one, has to end in The Summer I Turned Pretty (2009) by Jenny Han. The Summer I Turned Pretty is the first book in Han\’s Summer trilogy. Han\’s prose is as gentle and comforting as a warm summer breeze as Belly narrates this story and shares flashbacks from some of her favorite summer memories. The Summer I Turned Pretty is an emotional roller coaster as readers join Belly on all of the ups and downs in what becomes a pivotal summer. This book does double duty laying the groundwork for the rest of the trilogy while also offering a contained story as Belly tries to make sense of growing up, her ever-present (painfully obvious) feelings for Conrad, and the fact that summers may not stay the same for her family or the Fishers for much longer. The Summer I Turned Pretty should be required reading for anyone who is a fan of contemporary fiction, romance, and summertime. If, like me, you first discovered Jenny because of her Lara Jean books (which begin with To All the Boys I\’ve Loved Before), be sure to loop back to this series because it is just as sweet, just as romantic, and maybe even more epic with one of my favorite love triangles of all time. Highly recommended. Possible Pairings: Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian, Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum, Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo, Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen, I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo, Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland, The Museum of Heartbreak by Meg Leder, The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart, When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon,Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

I ordered this book after reading Jenny Han\’s other series To All the Boys I\’ve Loved Before, which I loved. This book is really poor in comparison. The characters are flat and seem very cliche. I didn\’t feel connected to any of them or really care what happened to them at all. I usually don\’t mind a slow plot in novels, as long as the characters are well-drawn and engaging. But this book had almost no plot, as well as flat characters, so by the time I got to the end, I didn\’t care what happened. I had planned to read the whole series, but I\’m so glad now I waited to order the other books. I won\’t be reading more.

i got this book because it sounded good and i had read jenny han\’s other book, to all the boys i\’ve loved before, and i thought it was amazing. but this book was definitely not her best work. first of all, the main character, belly (i hate her name too) annoyed the crap out of me. she was a whiny immature uptight brat who was always way too sensitive. someone would joke with her and she would yell at them and then go sulk. she literally got mad and stormed off when a guy didn\’t want to go skinny dipping with her. i didn\’t feel like i could relate to her at all. second of all, the plot was so boring. i honestly didn\’t even care what happened at the end. i was so bored with the book i could barely finish. the plot could\’ve been really good, but it was way too slow and it didn\’t even have a resolution. there was barely even an ending. i was really confused half of the time, because she liked one guy, and then she liked another guy, then she didn\’t like him anymore, and then she did again and it was really tiring to keep up with. also at one point she starts \”dating\” this guy, who is nice, but really uptight, nerdy, and lame, and half the time she acts like she\’s embarrassed of him and she doesn\’t even like him. and then all of a sudden she likes him again. also, she\’s 15 and practically in love with this guy who is 18.. um that\’s a little weird. and then he ends up liking her back?? also i feel like its kind of offensive how the book is centered around them all of a sudden liking her because she turned pretty and got boobs. they never paid her any attention until she turns pretty and has a nice body. that\’s pretty offensive to women. just don\’t waste your time with this book please.

I bought this book after reading the \”To All the Boys I\’ve Loved Before Trilogy.\” I didn\’t like Belly\’s real brother, Steven, or her pretend brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad. I did like Cam. The others didn\’t treat Belly right at all. I hated Steven calling her Smelly and giving her deodorant for her 11th birthday. Made me glad I\’m an only child. I liked Belly although not as well as Lara Jean from the other series. I loved Susannah for always getting presents for Belly. That\’s something I would do. I also didn\’t like the boys throwing Belly into the pool. I thought that was just plain mean. I hope they grow up! I did love the writing especially after Conrad and Jeremiah\’s fight.

This book was a pleasant surprise to me. I was recommended to read this back in college, and I just kept putting it off. I am not sure why, but I did not know what this was truly about and wished I picked it up sooner. I really enjoyed the characters and the plot. I am not a huge fan when stories jump from past to present, but it did not bother me too much in this one. It might have helped that I listened to the audiobook. I figured out the heartbreaking scenes from the beginning, but I still ended up tearing up during the big reveal. Overall, I really enjoyed this and will definitely pick up the next book….especially with that ending.

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