Book Review #14: The Summer I Turned Pretty

Author: Jenny Han
Publish Date: December 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Summary:

"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."

Cover Opinion:

Everything about this cover is perfect! Whats wrong with two cute boys? Absolutely NOTHING. I love the way the title is written, all lower case and the "pretty" is cursive and orange instead of brown. I love that the cover is white, it just makes it seem open and welcoming, unlike dark colors.

Character Opinion-

Favorite:

Belly (also known as Belly Button, aha what a cute nickname!:D), the main character. Instead of being perfect, shes a dork (just like us) and very down to earth. She has emotions real girls her age would have. Her relationships with all the other characters (Conrad, Jermiah, their mom Susannah, Cam, her brother Steven, and her Mom), are also very interesting; the love/hate relationship with her brother, feeling close but also at the same time far from her mom, feeling closer to Susannah then her own mom, her feelings for Conrad, the time she spends with Cam, and the close friendship she has with Jermiah.

Least Favorite:

Has to be Belly's best friend Taylor. Belly decides to bring her to the beach house, when she was fourteen. She causes a lot of problems, and all she cares about is boys and getting their attention. She makes me really angry, especially when we found out that she kissed not only Jermiah just after Belly did, Conrad Belly's crush, but also her older brother, Steven. Taylor is just too outgoing to be Belly's best friend.

Storyline Opinion:

Loved it!:D It left me wanting more! So I was really happy to findout that its a series, and the second book was already in stores; I purchased it the day I finished The Summer I Turned Pretty. I really liked how it didnt just include romance, but also Conrad and Jermiah's mom, Susannah has cancer, her mom and her dad's divorce, and the different relationships she had with the boys, and having to pick between them. Basically I have very high expectations for the rest of the trilogy(;

Ending Opinion:

It almost ending too quickly, I just wanted to keep reading....but sadly ran out of pages! *SPOILER* Belly doesnt have a exclusive relationship with Conrad, but she did promise him that she'll always be there for him (AWWW!) and she finally gets a kiss from him. Belly doesn't reply to any of Cams calls (Yaaay!), shes best friends with Jermiah, and Taylor's out of her life. Rockin' ending!:D