Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty ( Summer 1#)

By: Jenny Han

Published: June 3rd 2010

By: Puffin

Genre: YA – Romance – Contemporary

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.

Goodreads

Rating

4.5 / 5 Stars

“Moments, when lost, can’t be found again. They’re just gone.”

This book was so sweet and romantic, it’s a great read for valentines.

I’ve loved this one guys,again I’m trapped by the incredible Jenny Han writing style , really is one of those authors who know how to put together a catchy story that will make you feel many things, I think her books are so easy to read, I’ve just flow through the pages, was great.
My first experience with Jenny was with Burn for Burn and Fire with Fire books that I have loved very much, they’re original and again, easy to read, I still need to finish this trilogy but I think I’ll do it soon because I’m very interested on it.

Back to “The Summer I Turned Pretty”, this book is about a girl named Belly who loves summers, so much so that she basically tells her life through summers, which happens in the beach house of her mother’s best friend, along with her mother and her brother, there also are Conrad and Jeremiah who are the children of this woman. This is like a tradition that their families have and runs every summer since Belly has about 10 years old I think.

“When you walk on the beach at night, you can say things you can’t say in real life.”

The plot is told in first person by Belly that in addition to telling us her present and what is happening, also tells us her past, so we have chapters of the past and others of the present, that I liked very much because it puts us very well on the situations and understand more the behavior, the decisions and thoughts of the characters.

I really like Belly as a main character, I was not 100% according to her behavior during the story but I can get to understand the why and I also think it’s a stereotype of a “normal” girl with which everyone can feel Identified, so I like her and I think that surely will have time to mature and grow in the following books.

“It’s the imperfections that make things beautiful”

Speaking of the other characters, I love Jeremiah so much, he is super sweet, attentive and funny, I really liked him from the beginning is a warm person, it’s pleasant to read about him, his dialogues are always honest, fun and great to read.
On the other hand we have Conrad, who is the typical miterious guy, who keeps everything to himself and treats others like shit without explanation, lol, the truth is that I really liked him close to the end , when you understand the things that he had to been through , it’s like if you can feel more stuck to him, but most of the book I thought he was an idiot, so I still don’t know where to go with him.

In addition to the obvious romance in the plot, the love quartet in which I suddenly see myself immersed, in addition to all that, this book touches other issues such as the importance of family, friendship despite everything and a disease as serious as cancer is, so they will surely be on a roller coaster of emotions just as I was.

“Best friends are important. They’re the closest thing to a sister you’ll ever have.”

We have fun moments, serious moments also, sad and emotional, I think the variety of emotions that made me feel were so strong, and at the same time you don’t stay stuck in reading ever, and I could go on to the next topic quite well, and that’s why I emphasize with the writing style, because it’s super fluent and unique :).

I recommend it a lot for those who want to enjoy a summer reading, romantic, with a lot of friends and fun times, for those who don’t have afraid to shed a couple of tears too, because the experience is quite complete and you will feel many things, consider yourself advised and enjoy! 🙂