The Summer I Turned Pretty: Book Review

Novel: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Release Date: May 5th, 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 276
Format: Paperback Novel
Source: Purchased at Barnes and Noble

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 terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

(Synopsis from Goodreads)

Willa's Rambles:

   At first I was a bit leery of reading a book where the main character is named Belly, but once I discovered her real name is Isabella, I got over it, and really got into the book. Belly is such an amazing character. She feels so real and rings true to the girls my age. Her confusion about her feelings is such a real thing that people have to deal with except she must choose between three people she cares about, which makes it even harder. 

   The characters were all great. My favorite of the boys was Jeremiah, simply because he was such a good friend to Belly. He remembered her birthday like any friend would and got her a great gift, he listens to her and stands up for her. He protects her from any danger he sees, and most importantly, he makes her laugh. I think that any good friend should make you laugh. A lot.

   On Conrad: He made me angry. I didn't understand why Belly liked him so much, simply because it was pretty darn obvious he didn't like her. He was so mean to everyone - his brother, his mother, Belly - everybody who cared about him. (You'll find out why at the end of the book!) I think that all of him anger definitely made it hard for him to figure out how he felt about Belly, which ended up causing him some problems.

   Oh Cam... I didn't like Cam. He wasn't that funny, he didn't seem like he cared a ton about Belly (although he was pretty great), I just had my doubts about him. Although I did think it was pretty cute what he said to Belly about the Latin competition at her Flavia-ness. I liked him more than Conrad, but Jeremiah was still my favorite. 

   The entire story was so amazing. It's a story of feeling, love, and friendship, and Jenny Han crafted a great book about Belly and her summer adventures. I loved this book, and it is a fantastic summer read!