Review The Summer I turned Pretty

Title: The Summer I turned Pretty
Author: Jenny Han
Release Date: May 5th, 2009
Series: Summer #1
Number Of Pages: 276
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Source: Bought
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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.

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I had heard a lot of good comments about this series, and I thought it would be a good series to start during my vacations. I read it within one day simply because I couldn’t put it down. I’m not usually a big fan of contemporary YA, even though I usually end up liking the one I read, but I’ve really enjoyed this one.

The story is set in a beach house during one summer, but it includes flashback to previous summers, which I thought was interesting. It helps us understand more the characters. The story revolves around Belly. She is looking for who she is, through her feelings for her family, and of course boys. There is a lot of stuff going on in the story, and even though there was sometimes events that made me want to scream at Belly, it kind of reminded me of the kind of person I was when I was 15-16, even if it isn’t that far. The ending made me smiles, but didn’t really surprise me.

The characters had their good part and bad part. I liked Belly, because I could identify with her, even if I found her immature at some points. Yet, she’s 15-16, trying to distance herself from her family, and trying to figure out her heart. Yes, it usually means that everything she did wasn’t always the brightest thing to do. Still, the most annoying thing about her was probably her name. What kind of name is Belly? Sounds like the nickname of a 5-years-old. Conrad got on my nerves at first, but the more you understand what he is going through, the more I liked him. I understood that what he was doing was a way to numb himself from the pain of what was going on, and to protect himself against the others. Sometimes, it can be easier to push people away than to open a door for more pain. Not right, but easier. I liked Jeremiah at first, but the more I read, the more he got on my nerves. Yet, I can’t really put words on the reasons why. The mothers were simply perfect. I love how they were so present for their children, without trying to be too much. Loved them.

I found Jenny Han books to be simply captivating. I love how she included the flashback. The only thing I would have like her to do is to have included Belly’s real name earlier. Really, she could have given her a different nickname. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good contemporary book for the summer. Simply enjoyable.