Author: Jenny Han
Published: April 6, 2010
Pages: 288/Paperback
Series: Summer #1
Source: My personal library
Summary: Some summers are just destined to be pretty
Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer -- they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.
Review: I had heard a lot of really good things about this book, so I was excited to finally be reading it. The thing I loved most about this book was that it took place in the summer time at a beach house. I'm a sucker for a good summer book. That alone had me hooked. I also liked the fact that this book had flashbacks. That made it a bit easier to see why the beach house was so appealing.
Although the plot wasn't that new to me - boys realize they like a girl more than they thought - it was still fun to read and see who Belly ended up with. The only problem I had was with the characters themselves. I couldn't connect with any of them. I didn't see what the appeal of Conrad was (he seemed like a jerk to me) and I have no idea how belly could fall in love at the age of ten.
I didn't understand the relationship between Belly and her mom either. At times it seemed like they were the cool/fun mother daughter duo, but then it would seem like Belly was annoyed and couldn't stand her.
The ending had me confused. Was she with Conrad or not? What had happened to Susannah?
Although I didn't feel a real connection to the characters and I was left with unanswered questions I overall enjoyed The Summer I Turned Pretty. It had it's light and fun moments but then managed to have some serious moments that dealt with tough issues surrounding families and illnesses. This could definitely be considered a beach read, but it also has substance and heart.
3 comments:
Some questions are answered in the sequel (and second of a planned three), It's Not Summer without You. But then, it raises some as well;-)
brenda
I loved this book, but I agree with you that it leaves you with some unanswered questions. Brenda is right, the next book (which is very good) answers some of those but it leaves you hanging with new questions. Still, I really love Han's writing style and I like Belly, Jeremiah and the whole setting. I waver back and forth between liking Conrad--but I think you're supposed to. Nice review!
"The Summer I Turned Pretty" was a very emotional yet great novel. The intent of the book was to let the reader get an idea of what Isabel's summer was like. During the novel, the author includes numerous flashbacks to tell how her summers were like when she was younger. The information you get from the flashbacks were Isabel wasn't the prettiest girl around. Conrad and Jeremiah were the people Isabel lived with during the summer for many years as well as her brother, Steve, her mother and her mother's best friend, Susannah. When she was young, she grew a liking for Jeremiah but she loved Conrad. Conrad never really noticed her when she was a kid because she was chubby and she wasn't very pretty.
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