The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han Book Review!

 

Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1)
Author: Jenny Han
Publish Date: May 5th, 2009
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Source: Taken from my little sister's bookshelf lol

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.

Penelope's Review

Omigosh! This is such a fun, nostalgic summer read! I'm so glad I've started this series! With the TV show releasing Friday, I decided to read the books before delving into the show and I'm so happy I did.

Isabel AKA Belly is our main female lead, and she spends every summer at Cousins Beach with her mom, brother, her mom's friend Susannah and her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly is such a relatable girl! She's fifteen, turning sixteen and has the maturity level that I would expect for a girl her age. That is hands down the best thing about this book - the fact that every character acts their age (in my opinion) and I could 100% see myself in these situations reacting the exact same way. It just made me feel... young again! Granted, I'm saying this at age 27 LOL but still! You get what I mean if you read this :)

I loved Conrad and Jeremiah. As brothers, we get to see the good and the bad - the protective side of one, the adoration from the other, the arguments expected of a pair of teenage boys, and so on. They are both so, so different personality wise, and yet I loved them both!

Plot wise, this story is full of love and heartache, innocent fun, and a summer full of adventure! It hits every nerve, it'll have you laughing one page and crying the next, you'll relate to Belly and her struggles with first love.... I really just can't say enough good things about it. AND the writing is great!!! I cannot stress this enough - it DOES NOT sound like an adult trying to write a 16 year old... it just sounds like a 16 year old! That's one of my favourite aspects because I can't stand it when a book features a young girl and it's written the way an author THINKS a girl that age would speak. This one just flows naturally. Highly recommend to readers any age!

Rating: 5/5 Devils!