We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

Title: We'll Always Have Summer
Author: Jenny Han
Published: April 26, 2011
Pages: 288/Hardcover
Series: Summer #3
Source: My Personal Library


Summary: It's been two years since Conrad told Belly to go with Jeremiah. She and Jeremiah have been inseparable ever since, even attending the same college-- only, their relationship hasn't exactly been the happily ever after Belly had hoped it would be. And when Jeremiah makes the worst mistake a boy can make, Belly is forced to question what she thought was true love. Does she really have a future with Jeremiah? Has she ever gotten over Conrad? It's time for Belly to decide, once and for all, who has her heart forever.

***This review may contain spoilers for the first two books in the Summer series***

Review: FINALLY! This is the book I have been waiting to read for this entire series. These are the characters that I've been waiting all this time to see.


If you've read my reviews of the first two books in the Summer series then you know I had a problem with Conrad and Belly, but they finally were the characters I wanted to see in this book. I guess it's because they're older and more mature, but Belly didn't bother me at all in this book, which is a big improvement seeing as how I couldn't stand her before. She was much more responsible in this book.


I loved loved loved that Conrad got some chapters to narrate in this book as well. I finally let me see inside that guys head and see why he was such a jerk to Belly in the first two books. Again, my other reviews show that he's a jerk who I didn't like because he was a jerk to Belly, but Conrad won my heart in this book. I got to see all of his reasons for what he did and finally saw that he wasn't the wonderful guy (emotion wise) that I thought he was.


I did notice that I had a problem with Jeremiah, who I previously didn't have a problem with. He just came off as a big jerk most of the time. 


Now in my review of It's Not Summer Without You I said that I couldn't see Belly being with Jeremiah because he seemed more like a friend/sibling or with Conrad because he was a jerk who supposedly didn't love her, but I loved the ending of We'll Always Have Summer and think that she definitely ended up with who she was supposed to. 


One thing I noticed was that this book didn't seem as beach-y or summer fun-ish like the others, but that's probably because of the wedding and newfound maturity of our characters. 


Overall I definitely think We'll Always Have Summer was the best in the Summer series. It wrapped everything up nicely and had a happy ending for everyone. 


More Books by Jenny Han
Shug
The Summer I Turned Pretty
It's Not Summer Without You 

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

Title: It's Not Summer Without You
Author: Jenny Han
Published: April 27, 2010 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 288/Hardcover
Series: Summer #2
Source: My personal library


Summary: Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach.

***This review contains spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty***

Review: The books in the Summer series may have their flaws, but they're still so much fun to read, and that also applies to It's Not Summer Without You.


The characters were still a big problem for me in this book. I didn't understand what was going on with Belly and Conrad. A lot of the book is going back and telling what's happened between Conrad and Belly since the end of The Summer I Turned Pretty. I was happy to see that they had actual interactions between books and that that's where they formed their "relationship" but then Conrad went on to confuse me. Throughout the book (in the present and flashbacks) I could tell that he cared about Belly. Little things like the necklace and remembering the cocoa at the end made me see that he really does care for her and possibly love her. But he still acted like a jerk half the time. I wouldn't have minded as much if I knew why he was acting like a jerk. I've read some early reviews of the final in the series, We'll Always Have Summer, and found out that Conrad's behavior is explained in it, so hopefully we'll soon see why he treats Belly the way he does.


Belly was up and down for me. I loved to see that she grew and matured after Susannah's death. She came to realize that maybe she should give other people the benefit of the doubt and it just might not be all about her. However, she still got under my skin quite a bit. At times she seemed to revert back to "old Belly" and became very annoying.


I couldn't really see any relationship between Jeremiah and Belly working out, simply because they seem better at being friends than a couple. As much as Conrad confuses me with his attitude towards Belly I really do think he would be better for her than Jeremiah. 


I loved that It's Not Summer Without You had two different first person perspectives. Jeremiah and Belly both narrate separate chapters in this one, and I thought it really helped with letting me inside Jeremiah's head to see how he felt about certain people and situations.


The plot itself seemed to mostly be back story and flashbacks from when they were all younger, but near the end came the meat of the story. I was so glad to see Conrad fighting for the beach house. Because of the way he was with people seeing him fight for something (even if it is a house) showed that he is in fact capable of caring. 


It's Not Summer Without You was a great continuation of the Summer series. The characters grew on me (a little) and the writing was as good as ever. Although I'm still not sure about some aspects of the overall story, the next and final installment, We'll Always Have Summer should clear things up, or so I've heard. 

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty
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.