The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
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: This was such a fun and easy read. Despite loving Jenny Han's other series, this series was not really on my radar until the TV show blew up. But I swore I wouldn't watch it until I read the book! I blew through book one so quickly! I was surprised how reeled into the story I felt.
This is such a quintessential summer read that sucks you into long beach days and the privilege of being a teenager with nowhere to be for endless summer days. For Belly, "it was almost like winter didn't count. Summer was what mattered" (5). Because she never sees Jeremiah and Conrad in the winter, she has a hard time even picturing them in winter clothes or by a Christmas tree. Summer is the main event.
I think Jenny Han does such a good job in all of her books of centering the focus on things that are supremely important to teenagers. Belly is socially conscious, trying to figure out who she is, and tormented by her unrequited crushes. She is navigating a world that feels increasingly socially complex. The chapters that are flashbacks to earlier summers function so well because we get to see the simplicity of earlier childhood years, when Belly, her brother, and the other two boys have a simpler dynamic. At the same time that her own life is feeling more complicated, she also is navigating very adult issues with the grown-ups in her life. That being said, I do think these are best suited for older teenagers. They are free from explicit content and language but there are a lot of references to drinking and dating.
This does a great job of leaving you hanging. I am more than ready to dive into book two.
Stars: 4
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