book reviews on the summer i turned pretty

Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

**QUICK NOTE** YES, I know the TV adaption is out. YES, I am obsessed with it. Please note that this review is focused solely on the book.

It’s no secret that the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy by Jenny Han is one of my all-time favorite series ever, so over the summer, I decided to give one of the author’s earlier books a read. ☀️ Needless to say, I am so glad that I read TATBILB first because The Summer I Turned Pretty was such a letdown in comparison. This may have been a book I would’ve enjoyed when it was first released in 2009. However, the superficial dialogue, judgmental characters, and unnecessary girl-on-girl hate made the story difficult to love, and if you’re looking to pick up a Jenny Han story, I would 110% recommend reading the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series instead.

THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY by Jenny Han

PUBLISHED BY Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers ( Simon & Schuster ) on May 5th 2009

GENRES: Contemporary

PAGES: 276

ADD ON GOODREADS // BOOK DEPOSITORY

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.

Content/Trigger Warnings: terminally ill secondary character (breast cancer), marijuana use, ableist language, casual homophobic language, non-consensual kiss

The Summer I Turned Pretty follows the perspective of Isabel, or Belly, who has spent the past 15 years of her life spending each summer at the Fishers’ beach house in Cousins Beach with her mother, brother, and their close family friends, Conrad and Jeremiah. This summer, Belly has (you guessed it) turned ~pretty~, meaning she is finally worthy of the boys’ attention because she has achieved #hotgirlsummer. 🌼 The rest of the story follows her summer journey for love alongside some family and friendship struggles.

While I understand that teens in YA novels have every right to act as teens (because they should) , I just could not stand Belly as a main character—she was extremely judge-y and superficial with an internal monologue that made me cringe. Every single thought that goes through her mind is centered around “ME! ME! ME!!” I have never read a character who was more out of touch, throwing away close female friendships due to boy drama, disrespecting her parents, and always refocusing the conversation on her.

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

We’re supposed to fall in love with the oh-so-swoony Conrad because he drinks and punches walls and gets into fights…but this dude has as much personality as a brick. 🙃 Conrad was meant to be the brooding bad boy in this story, but he was equally as selfish and immature as Belly. There was nothing swoon-worthy about him!! The “romance” was difficult to support because it was riddled with miscommunication and love triangles. The characters would consistently use one another with ulterior motives, and none of the couples felt like a cohesive partnership.

“It was a summer I’d never, ever forget.It was the summer everything began. It was the summer I turned pretty.”

If you’re looking for a girl-next-door summer romance type of book, I would recommend you go with On the Fence by Kasie West, Small Town Hearts by Lillie Vale, or Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson instead. 💌 While I’m glad to see that Jenny Han as improved as a writer over time, I would still recommend her To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy over this one.

Have you read The Summer I Turned Pretty?

What were your thoughts.

Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han – review

‘Jenny Han takes you to carnivals, midnight swimming, broken hearts and first kisses. Best friends meddling, brothers and sand that just won’t settle’

Is romance in the air or is it just the sea salt?

Summer. The one season every girl wishes for, for her secret romances to come true. Jenny Han places all of our longings and crushing desires into a beautiful trilogy starting with The Summer I Turned Pretty. Idyllic coastlines, a thousand memories and a conflicted heart. The Summer I Turned Pretty will be your new obsession; even you will be torn between the Fisher boys.

Isabel is the shy girl who has been in love with the boy-next-door, Conrad, for the whole of her life. Every summer, being the only girl, she competes for her place among the boys’ antics, fighting to get in a little trouble and be a little naughty. She lives for every summer to be reunited with Susannah Fisher, her mother’s long-time best friend and her two sons at Cousins Beach. The only thing is, this year couldn’t be more different.

Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher always regarded Isabel with brotherly affection but this year it turns to flirtation and the affection may just turn into love. The constant reflections into the past reveal the dynamics between the trio and Susannah’s deep secrets that will without a doubt bring a tear to your eye. Jenny Han takes you to carnivals, midnight swimming, broken hearts and first kisses. Best friends meddling, brothers and sand that just won’t settle. Isabel is the innocent girl caught between the bad boy and the golden guy. Then the boyfriend comes along.

But what’s love without a little triangle.

How do you regret one of the best nights of your entire life? You don’t. You remember every word, every look. Even when it hurts, you still remember.

―Jenny Han, It’s Not Summer Without You

Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop

Want to tell the world about a book you’ve read? Join the site and send us your review!

Children's books
Children and teenagers
Teen romance books for childrens and teens
Friendship books for children and teens
children's user reviews

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

Book Review

The summer i turned pretty — “summer” series.

Coming-of-Age , Contemporary , Romance

Readability Age Range

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ALA Best Books For Young Adults, 2010; Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Children and Teens, 2010; and more

Year Published

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine . It is the first book in the “Summer” series.

Plot Summary

Isabel, nicknamed Belly, has grown up with Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher. Her mother, Laurel, is best friends with the boys’ mother, Susannah, so Belly, her mom and her older brother, Steven, have spent every summer for the past 15 years at the Fishers’ beach house in Cousins Beach. Belly has always been in love with Conrad and has always been pals with Jeremiah, but this year she is about to turn 16, and both boys begin to look at her differently.

Belly has blossomed into a lovely young woman, but her appearance isn’t the only thing that has changed at Cousins Beach. Conrad is acting moodier than usual, and Belly learns that he recently quit football, broke up with his girlfriend and began smoking. Since Belly still adores Conrad, it’s hard for her to see him acting so withdrawn.

Belly recalls when Conrad first broke her heart. She was 12 that summer. Conrad took her to the local boardwalk, which she had hoped was a date, but turned out to be a pretext for him to visit a girl he had a crush on.

Susannah, who is like a second mother to Belly, is worried about Conrad. Susannah’s health is frail because she went through a bout of breast cancer and chemo treatments. Belly remembers that she and Jeremiah bonded the summer when she was 13, because they both overhead Susannah talking to Laurel about her cancer treatments and crying over the possibility of a mastectomy. From that moment, Belly became a friend that Jeremiah could rely on for support during moments of family tragedy.

Belly’s 14th summer threatened to ruin her friendship with Jeremiah, however. Belly brought her best female friend, Taylor, to Cousins Beach, and Taylor immediately began flirting with both Fisher boys. Taylor decided to try to win Conrad’s heart, but Conrad wasn’t receptive to her attention. Jeremiah was, so she flirted a lot with Jeremiah.

During a game of truth or dare, Jeremiah kissed Belly in order to make Taylor jealous. It hurt Belly’s feelings because it was her first kiss, and she wanted the moment to be shared with someone she really liked, not with her close friend.

In the present, Jeremiah teaches Belly how to drive a stick shift, since she’ll be turning 16 and getting her license. Steven leaves the beach house to go on a college road trip with his dad, leaving Belly without her brother as a buffer between her and the Fisher boys. Conrad and Jeremiah get more protective of Belly when her new-and-improved appearance draws attention from other guys at Cousins Beach.

Clay, one of their neighbors, invites her to his Fourth of July bonfire. There, she meets Cam, a straightedge vegan — he consumes no alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, meat products or animal products. Cam likes her. Belly tells Conrad that she’s going to leave the party and get a ride home with Cam.

Conrad forbids her to leave. Belly feels that Conrad is treating her like a kid and gets so angry she nearly cries at the unfairness of the situation. Later, Jeremiah asks Belly to forgive Conrad for his bossy behavior because he’s going through a tough time emotionally.

Belly notices that Susannah is taking many naps and doesn’t socialize with the rest of the family like she usually does. Since Mr. Fisher has not visited the beach house even once, Belly speculates that their marriage might be in trouble. An impending divorce would explain Susannah’s reclusiveness and Conrad’s mood swings.

Cam invites Belly to a party at his friend’s house. Conrad and Jeremiah insist on also attending the party so they can protect Belly. Jeremiah sings a love song on the karaoke machine and dedicates it to Belly and Cam’s new summer romance, embarrassing Belly in front of everyone at the party.

Later on, the evening is ruined when Conrad gets drunk and tries to pick a fight with a bigger guy. Belly and Jeremiah manage to get Conrad away from the other guy before things get violent, ending Belly’s date with Cam in a very unsatisfying way. As Conrad and Belly wait in the car for Jeremiah to drive them home, Conrad strokes Belly’s hair. For Belly, the moment of close contact brings up all her old feelings for Conrad and she realizes she’s still in love with him.

Conrad tells Belly that his parents are getting a divorce but that his mom won’t admit it to the kids because she wants them to all have one last, perfect summer at the beach house. As July turns to August, Belly keeps meeting Cam and going on dates with him. Laurel and Susannah invite Cam over for dinner with the whole family, but it’s awkward because Conrad doesn’t come down for dinner and Jeremiah spends the meal making fun of Cam.

Conrad comes home drunk one night and turns on blaringly loud music. Belly wonders whether his sudden change in character will finally make her stop loving him. However, each time Belly meets Cam, her thoughts go to Conrad. Cam realizes that Belly’s obsession with Conrad is still ongoing, so he and Belly decide not to contact each other when the summer is over.

One night, while the family is watching movies together, Susannah falls asleep, and Jeremiah has to carry her upstairs. When the movie is over, Jeremiah and Belly are left alone, and Jeremiah confesses that he has feelings for her. He says that he hopes she’s over Conrad, but she tells him that she still cares for his brother.

Jeremiah’s confession gives Belly the strength to find Conrad and admit that she still loves him. He says he’s not the one for her, but she counters that she knows he likes her, too. Belly gets angry because she thinks Conrad is stringing her along, not wanting to return her love, but still wanting to receive the benefits of her admiration. They get into a verbal fight on the beach, and Belly is crying when Jeremiah drives up.

Jeremiah yells at Conrad for making Belly cry, and the two brothers have a fistfight due to their built-up tensions from a whole summer of unhappiness. Laurel breaks up their fight.

When Susannah arrives looking suddenly frail, it’s clear to Belly that the boys weren’t just unhappy because their parents are divorcing or because they both have feelings for her. Conrad and Jeremiah have been aware that their mother’s cancer has come back. Laurel tells Belly that Susannah’s cancer has now spread to her liver, meaning she will probably have less than a year to live.

The next day, Belly lies in bed crying, mourning over Susannah’s condition. She finally has a heart-to-heart talk with Susannah, who asks Belly to take care of Conrad in the future. Belly finds Conrad sitting out on the beach, looking heartbroken over his mother’s fate. She goes to sit with him as he cries. Belly kisses Conrad to comfort him, and he kisses her back. He indicates that he can’t really think about love and relationship issues at the moment, so Belly sits with him on the beach, holding his hand in silent support.

Summer draws to a close. Belly and Laurel start cleaning the beach house and packing up to go back home. On the last night, everyone sits around the dinner table and Susannah addresses her illness, saying that she wants to live life to the fullest, even if she doesn’t have much time left. After dinner, Belly invites Jeremiah and Conrad to come for a midnight swim with her in the pool. All three of them splash around and have fun together just like they’ve always had, though it’s clear that Conrad and Belly’s relationship has grown romantic.

Months later during the Christmas season, Conrad drives more than five hours to visit Belly in Boston. He arrives at midnight, and she goes outside to meet him. Happily together with Conrad at last, Belly feels like every summer of her life was leading her to this moment.

Christian Beliefs

Belly recalls visiting Taylor’s church and feeling like an outsider. Everyone there knew the words to all the songs and raised their hands in worship, while she didn’t know what to do.

Other Belief Systems

Authority roles.

Belly’s parents divorced a few years prior, and the divorce’s effects ripple through her life. Her relationship with her dad is distant, and even though he loves her, she doesn’t feel that he knows or understands her as a person.

Belly’s mom, Laurel, is a reasonable woman, supporting her daughter’s growing independence while encouraging her to be a better person. Belly wishes her mother would be more emotionally demonstrative and be more interested in talking with her about girly things such as dates and crushes.

Susannah loves her sons fiercely, easily expressing her affection verbally. Jeremiah has a particularly close relationship with his mom and hugs her frequently. Susannah is battling cancer and doesn’t have the strength to confront her son Conrad over his newly acquired negative behaviors — drinking and smoking. Susannah is exceptionally kind to Belly, offering a listening ear whenever Belly has something on her mind.

Mr. Fisher is an absent figure, known for his selfishness and his inability to support Conrad and Jeremiah. Taylor’s mother buys her expensive presents because she feels guilty over divorcing Taylor’s father.

Profanity & Violence

Profanity includes the terms a– , d–n , h— , s— and d–k . God’s name is used in vain a few times.

When Conrad and Jeremiah fight, they leave each other bruised and bloody.

Sexual Content

Teens discuss the progression of their physical relationships in baseball terms, such as Conrad getting to second base with a girl and Steven getting to third base with his ex-girlfriend.

Cam and Belly kiss. Belly is disappointed that he only kisses her sweetly and respectfully, and she wishes he would try to go further. She invites him to go skinny-dipping with her, but he is uncomfortable with the idea.

Belly’s first kiss was at age 14 with Jeremiah. Jeremiah corrects Taylor for using the word “gay” to mean “uncool.” Taylor kisses Steven, which prompts Belly to call Taylor a slut for flirting heavily with three different boys in the same house.

Belly and Conrad kiss.

Discussion Topics

How does Belly measure her life in summers? What elements of her life during each summer make that season more significant than the rest of the year? Is there a special location or time of year that holds significance for you? What makes it special? How can you bring some of that wonder and joy into your daily life?

How many years younger than Conrad, Steven and Jeremiah is Belly? How do they treat her because of the age gap, and how does it affect her interactions with them? Have you ever wanted to fit in with older siblings or acquaintances? What did you do to help earn their approval? How did they treat you? How could you make your younger siblings or acquaintances feel respected and valuable?

When Belly starts spending more time with Cam, how do her mother and Susannah react? Why is it easier for Belly to prioritize time with Cam over time with her family and friends? Has one of your friends or siblings ever stopped spending time with you because they began dating someone? Explain how you felt. What strategies could you put in place to make time for the people who have been in your life the longest, no matter the new people you may meet?

What is Susannah’s health condition at the start of the novel? What signs are there that she’s not her usual self? Why does she attempt to hide the truth from Belly, Conrad and Jeremiah? When you were a child, did you ever feel like we or other adults obscure the truth to make you feel better? If someone close to you had a serious illness or traumatic event, would you want to know about it or remain peacefully unaware?

Additional Comments

Alcohol: Teens drink alcohol at parties. Laurel and Susannah let their teenage children drink wine with dinner.

Drugs: Laurel and Susannah smoke Susannah’s medical marijuana, which she keeps to deal with the nausea from her cancer treatments.

Smoking: Laurel and Susanna occasionally smoke cigarettes when they are together.

You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected] .

Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

Latest Book Reviews

Elf Dog and Owl Head

A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses Series)

Fog & Fireflies

The Minor Miracle: The Amazing Adventures of Noah Minor

The Eyes and the Impossible

Weekly reviews straight to your inbox.

Book Review of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ by Jenny Han

This post may contains affiliate links. If you click and buy we may make a commission, at no additional charge to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more details.

Today, I will be talking about a book where two brothers fall in love with the same girl and the big question of who she will end up with hangs in the air throughout.

Which book comes to your mind with this trope? There are plenty, I know!

But I am talking about The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. It’s a young adult contemporary romance book that is very popular, and recently, it has been adapted as an OTT series.

Trust me when I say people are going crazy over the series, but I personally preferred the books more (says every book reader), so I decided to review the first book of the trilogy.

Have a look at my book review of The Summer I Turned Pretty, as it might help with your contemplation stage of whether I should choose this book or not.

Synopsis of The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty is a trilogy written by Jenny Han. I will give you the synopsis of the first part, The Summer I Turned Pretty.

The book begins by introducing us to Isabel Conklin (Belly), the fifteen-year-old girl, also one of the main protagonists. Belly, with her mother, Laurel, and her brother, Steven, is going to Cousin’s Beach, where she has spent all her summers since she was a baby.

Susannah, Laurel’s best friend, has a beach house at Cousin’s Beach, and they all spend their summers there every year. Susannah comes with her two teenage sons, Jeremiah and Conrad.

Conrad is the oldest brother with a beautiful face and a reserved and brooding personality. On the other hand, Jeremiah is the fun brother with a cute smile, a charming personality, and the heart of a party.

Belly has always been a little sister to all three boys, whom they tease, play, and care for. However, this year, things are going to change.

Belly is all grown up now, and the moment she arrives, both boys do a double take when they see her. She feels different, kind of shy and happy, a normal feeling for a teenager.

She has been crushing on Conrad for as long as she can remember. But unfortunately, Conrad never paid attention to her that way. Jeremiah, the younger brother, is Belly’s best friend.

This summer, things felt different yet the same. The boys saw her as a girl who was more than just a little sister; she became the center of attention.

Susannah always joked that Belly would end up marrying one of her sons, and she, as a mother, would be happy with whoever she chooses.

But how can Belly choose between the two handsome Fisher brothers?

In between the love triangle, Susannah is hiding a big secret from everyone except Laurel. A secret that can shatter each of them!

It’s a story about complicated relationships, heartbreak , first love, loss, friendship , and more. It’s a lighthearted summer romance read.

My Review of The Summer I Turned Pretty

Overall Rating : 3/5

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the first series I read by author Jenny Han . I loved the series, which led me to explore more of Jenny’s books. That’s when I came across The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Although it’s a trilogy, and I’ve read all the parts, here I’ve only reviewed the series’ first book. So, let’s start with my book review of The Summer I Turned Pretty!

The whole plot of the book was a cliché, about two brothers loving the same girl, the complicated relationship between the three, and the ultimate question of who will she choose.

It reminded me of the Vampire Diaries series , though this one didn’t have any supernatural elements.

This young adult summer romance book is a lighthearted read, and I was happy as well as frustrated throughout the read. There were many cute moments, but the stupid decisions and unnecessary drama often irked me.

Belly has had feelings for Conrad for a very long time, and everyone knows about it except for Conrad. (Yeah, yeah, nothing new. The clueless person of every romance story)

Her character was relatable but also annoying at the same time. She was self-obsessed and thought nothing else mattered except her own feelings and hurt. Although her care for the people she loved was very touching.

Actually, she was a typical teenager, rebellious with her parents and selfish about love and pain.

Conrad’s character sometimes felt logical, but he was just plain rude at other times. I really liked Jeremiah’s character; he was fun. Apart from these two, I was looking forward to Steven’s personality and felt bad as the author didn’t highlight him at all.

The best part of the book was Susannah and Laurel’s pure friendship. It was one of the best! Jenny showed a genuine bond filled with love and care, which is very rare.

On the other hand, Belly and Taylor’s friendship was fake, a relation maintained only for the sake of ‘let’s be friends.’ The contradiction between these two relationships is shown within the story.

Jenny Han’s writing was good but not the best, and it is understandable as these are the books she wrote at the beginning of her journey.

The book ends with a cliffhanger, though not a big one, and continues to the second and third parts.

As I have said before, I read romance stories to comfort my heart, so keeping aside the deep evaluation of the book, it was a heartfelt read.

Overall, the book was good but will not leave you in awe. It’s a simple story with complicated relationships about teenage boys and girls and their introduction to the emotion of love.

If you are considering reading the book, I hope my review will help you decide. The Summer I Turned Pretty is also a TV series, so you can watch it before diving into the books. However, I will suggest you read the books first. It will help you better understand.

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? Share your views in the comments!

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han Book Review

“The thing is Susannah was right. It was a summer I’d never, ever forget. It was the summer everything began. It was the summer I turned pretty. Because for the firs time, I felt it. Pretty, I mean. Every summer up to this one, I believed it’d be different. Life would be different. And that summer it finally was. I was.” (pg. 21)

Author: Jenny Han

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Series: The Summer I Turned Pretty Book 1

Click to buy book

Click to read other book reviews

Other TSITP Book Reviews

It’s Not Summer Without

You We’ll Always Have Summer

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.

Spoilers Contained Below

To the summer lovers,

I read The Summer I Turned Pretty (TSITP) when I was probably when I was fifteen or sixteen—it was a long time ago—and I remember I enjoyed the series but I wasn’t obsessed with it. It had good summer vibes and I love Jenny Han, but I don’t know if it was because when I was fifteen or sixteen I wasn’t in a good place mentally, emotionally, and physically that I wasn’t really paying attention to the books because for the life of me I couldn’t remember what the heck happened in the series. All I remembered was a girl named Belly who fought over two cute boys. With TSITP series coming out on Amazon Prime this summer, I knew I wanted to reread TSITP to see what it was about again.

I have to say, I really really loved reading TSITP this time around 🧡.

I think it’s because it’s summer and I craved a summer read and this had all the summer vibes. I’m also in a much better place where I don’t feel like a storm cloud is hanging above my head, that I could really appreciate this story. I loved the lifetime friendship Belly had with the Fisher boys and between Laurel and Susannah. I also loved how this book captured the vibrant, infinite, and joy that is summer. I also loved the mystery and the heaviness because of how much love these characters have for each other. I also really enjoyed the authenticity in a teenage romance because when you’re sixteen or a young adult in general, I feel like that is when you feel every emotion tenfold because you are experiencing things for the first time. Every emotion, moment, and event is heightened in a beautiful or a messy way, but it is those moments that we remember for the rest of our lives and that change us. I appreciated how Belly was who she said she was—-a teenage girl who was in love and had always been in love with one person.

Conrad Fisher.

“It wasn’t really a compliment to be noticed by Conrad. It was a matter of fact.” (pg. 57)

Conrad Fisher was Belly’s or Isabel Conklin’s first love.

I never grew up knowing a couple of boys who felt like brothers and who I could have developed those feelings for, but I could only imagine that if I had grown up with boys that felt like brothers where they were both so different but so sweet, I would have fallen in love with one of them too. I mean, how could she not. Conrad was the boy that had Belly’s heart because he was always kind to her and stood up for her when Jeremiah or Steven banded against Belly because she was the only girl at the house.

“I hated it being point out. I just wanted to be like them.” (pg. 26)

At the summer house, it was always the mothers—-Susannah and Laurel and the three boys and Belly. Belly always felt like an outsider to Steven, Conrad, and Jeremiah because they were boys and they naturally clicked better than with her because she had different interests. However, all Belly wanted was to be included with them and to feel like one of the boys. I understood that because she didn’t have another girl to hang out with, so she wanted to hang out with them. But they always treated her like a child because she was younger than them and a girl. They teased her for it, and that made her feel hurt and like even more of an outcast. I understood that too because growing up whenever I would go to family events, my brother would hang out with the older cousins and I would want to hang out with them because they seemed to have more fun than the girls who were just talking, they would make me feel excluded from their laughter or card games. But I wanted to be included. I sympathized with Belly because people do treat you differently based on age and gender and especially if they see you in a different way. So didn’t blame Belly for having those flashbacks where she would tattletale or pout because it sucks to feel like the odd person out, and there’s nothing to do besides tell your parents about it in the hopes that they force the other people to hang out with her. She was just a kid—-it was natural.

I liked how we had backslashes in Belly’s mind because it helped (a lot 😅) in giving me context as to whey she always liked Conrad more. Because you know, he’s a jerk now, but I’ll get into that later. But it was in those flashbacks where I could see all these small, but pivotal moments in Belly’s mind that made her feel the butterflies of first love because he noticed her and treated her with kindness.

There was the fact that whenever the boys would gang up on Belly, they would laugh about it, but later Conrad would be the one to tell them to back off. He would defend Belly and protect her in some way, and that made her feel like he cared.

Then there was the story where he won her Junior Mint—her polar bear with the scarf. I mean, the means by which he won it for her was pretty crude way he went about it. One day Conrad invited Belly to go to the pier with him and Belly felt all special that out of all people, Conrad invited her. They were eating cotton candy and having a nice time, and then she noticed how Conrad looked at the girl who worked at the ringtoss. Belly noticed how pretty the girl was and how short her shorts were, but she also knew that Conrad didn’t take her to the pier to win her a stuffed animal—that it wasn’t a date—but he brought her to the pier as moral support to talk to this girl he did like and Steven and Jere would have teased him relentlessly for his crush. I felt awful when young Belly realized that Conrad didn’t like her that way and how she still helped him talk to that girl. He did win her the polar bear like she hoped he would, but the way the win happened wasn’t as romantic. Cute. But not really a good moment for her.

I also loved the backstory of when Conrad taught Belly how to dance. Susannah was playing CDs in the house and was dancing and Belly joined her. Susannah asked Conrad to dance with Belly, and the boy back then who loved and listened to his mom, didn’t argue when he got up to dance with Belly. I loved how he taught her how to dance and was very patient even if Belly was off rhythm and stepped on his toes. It was just such a cute moment because Conrad didn’t strike me as a dancer, but yet he knew how to dance and he would do it for his mom. I also liked how encouraging he was towards Belly to make her feel like she was getting it.

There was also the flashback when they were twelve and Belly said she knew she would love Conrad forever when Conrad woke up early on Father’s Day and cooked everyone breakfast. He didn’t cook good, but she loved him for the care he had to do something like that.

It was in all those backlash moments or the way Belly just knew Conrad that made me believe that he was a good guy and he had his moments. Belly knew that Conrad liked football and was good at it, he loved school/academics and was kind of a cute nerd, and he was organized. But the Conrad now was a WHOLE different person that it was hard for me to see why she liked him unless we had some context 😂

And here’s the thing, as someone who did this a lot growing up, I know where Belly was coming from 😅. When you have been treated like shiz from so many other people, and someone treats you right—gives you the right attention, the right respect, the right kindness—-you can’t help but like them or develop deeper feelings for them because they were the first person to treat you good. And that’s something I have been a sucker for. I mean, I have had multiple crushes where a guy treated me nice like he opened the door or he went out of his way to pull out my chair, and I was like, “Gosh, this guy is so cute!” And then in came the influx of a crush 😅. But I always knew that it wasn’t because I like liked this person, but I liked how he treated me. And sometimes I wouldn’t have even caught myself in my crush and I would feel these emotions for a person and then realize that the only reason I liked that person was because he was the first guy to notice me when no guy had noticed me—he made me feel seen and special. And when you’re not used to attention from someone, when someone does give you that attention, it feels like the only attention you will ever get, so you grasp onto it and convince yourself it is a crush. Or that’s how it felt like for me. Because to be honest, I don’t think in all my crushes that I have ever been in love. Not the way I have seen love described or portrayed, but I did really like the person. I liked the idea of the person and the idea that someone could notice me because I wasn’t the type of person people noticed. I just could really relate to Belly in my inner teenage self with how crushes are so monumental at sixteen and it feels like the world. And maybe she did love Conrad because she grew up with him and she genuinely just knew—you know the saying, if you know, you know—-but I feel like that is so rare and special to feel.

So some part of me got the sense that even if Belly loved Conrad her whole life, was it because he was the first person to treat her with kindness and make her feel special when she was young? Because if Jeremiah had treated her the same way a lot more when they were younger, would she have said that Jeremiah was her first love rather than Conrad? Jeremiah was kind to her growing up, but. I didn’t feel that he made her feel special or like they had a special connection until they were best friends.

“Jeremiah was nicer. Maybe because he was somebody’s little sibling too, or maybe just because he was that kind of person. He was nice to everybody. He had a talent for making people feel comfortable.” (pg. 62)

When I say, I would CRY for Jeremiah, I would SOB 😂.

But I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jeremiah 🧡.

I am a Jeremiah girl through and through. No ands, ifs, and buts.

He’s just the sweetest human being with a kind heart that feels everything and he just gives good energy. I know there’s a part of him that feels like he has to bring levity to a situation by making everyone laugh—that he’s the peacemaker and jokester—but Jere has some depths that we start to see later in the book. But him taking on the role of making everyone happy is a testament for how much he feels and how much hope and joy he wants to share with others. I just really love Jere and how much positivity, radiance, and love he had to give. He’s just the best.

I loved the flashback moment where we saw them become best friends. It was the summer Belly was thirteen and the moms had been smoking pot because Susannah used it for her chemo, Susannah battled breast cancer and the boys were very aware of it, and my heart went to them because their mother battled a very serious and terrifying illness that it was hard not to be worried or scared about their mom. They loved her and didn’t want to lose her. Seeing her smoke pot and talk about how she would rather die than lose a breast, really got to Jere because no child wants to see their parent not be okay or to talk about passing away. Susannah started to cry after she said she would rather pass away than lose her breast, and Jere had to watch that—to see his mother speak so vulnerably and fearfully that I really wanted to hug him. In that moment, Belly squeezed his hand.

“He didn’t look at me, but he didn’t let go either. This was the moment we became true, real friends.” (pg. 59)

I was really emotional reading this scene because with everything Jere and Conrad were going through with their mom, he needed someone to be there with him through the painful and fearful moments. Jere needed a friend, and Belly was that friend for him. They were best friends now. She understood what he was feeling—-the love, the sorrow, the ache, the pain—as her own and she bared those emotions with him, she took his hand and said I am here to bear it with you. And that is what a true, real friend does 🧡.

At dinner that night, Steven was teasing Jere for being moody or not like his usual self, and Conrad stood up for Jere by telling Steven to back off. Conrad knew what his brother was feeling and didn’t feel it was okay to tease Jere for the worry and melancholy he had. This was one of the moments I saw the special connection between Conrad and Jere as brothers and how they would fight and get under each other’s skin about different things, but when it came down to it—-the real important moments—they knew how each other felt and knew when to be a brother rather than a friend.

I loved how later that same night, Jere choose to hang out with Belly and the moms and that whole summer, they spent more time together collecting shells or sand crabs, riding their bikes, and eating ice cream. It was the summer they became best friends and he treated her with more kindness.

Jeremiah genuinely feels like he would be the best best friend ever 🧡.

I loved the backstory of when Taylor—Belly’s best friend came when she was fourteen—and they were playing chicken in the pool. Steven made a joke about heavy Belly would be to carry in the water, but Jere was all like, “You weigh, like, nothing” (pg. 76). He didn’t make her feel insecure about her weight like freaking Steven 🙄. I know Steven didn’t mean it and that it was typical brotherly goading, but making fun of a girl’s weight is never funny. Conrad was also Belly’s partner in the game when Jere switched out for Conrad. I liked how both boys were nice to her and didn’t make her feel weird.

That same summer, Belly also had her first kiss with Belly.

Typical kids they were, they played truth or dare and Taylor had a crush on Jeremiah because he was nice and more flirtatious (but he was flirty with everyone). Also, Conrad rejected her and was too broody for her liking. But Taylor dared Jere to kiss someone in the room, thinking it would have been her. However, Jere planted a kiss on Belly’s lips. I will say, I’m not for a first kiss being done through truth or dare because it doesn’t even feel like a real kiss. So I felt for Belly because it did feel like her first kiss was robbed from her and robbed from being a special moment with someone who actually liked her and wanted to kiss her. I think Jere shouldn’t have gone through with the dare, let alone kiss Belly. I think it was easier for him to kiss Belly because she was his best friend and he thought to her it wouldn’t mean anything, but it shook her. Also, Jere probably only kissed Belly to make her Taylor jealous. That was the only thing I didn’t agree with Jere with, but they were young and dumb. Also, the way that Conrad teased her about it later and said, “Oh, I notice everything, Belly. Even poor little you.” Darn right she said, “Screw him,” because what kind of demeaning comment was that 🙄.

I liked how Jere treated her throughout the entire summer now.

I loved how when they went to the movies and someone tall sat in front of Belly’s seat—honestly, the worst feeling—Jere was such a sweetheart and offered Belly to trade seats with him 🥺. He would rather tolerate sitting behind a tall person at a theater than Belly not being able to see. I also loved how they had a fun, cute moment where he bought Twizzlers to use as straws in their soda and they shared it. Conrad and Steven had bounced from the movie because it was boring, but Jere stayed and it really did feel like a date, and I wouldn’t have been mad if it was.

I also liked how he was the one who taught her how to drive. He was teaching her how to drive stick shift. I loved when he also took her to the Go Kart place to take her mind off the bonfire night and waiting around for Cameron to call. He saw how nervous and worried she was, and wanted to make her feel better. Later on in the book when things were complicated with her and Cameron, he also invited her to the country club pool where he lifeguarded. I liked how he invited her to take her mind off the things with cam and I liked how they had a nice, sweet conversation where he reassured that Belly had a good one with Cam and that Conrad was a dick 😂. Glad we all agreed on something. Just the way he picked up on her feelings and always knew what to say or do to make her feel better, made my heart swell 🥺🧡.

“Jeremiah was a good friend. He’d always been a good friend to me, watched out for me.” (pg. 62)

He just never failed to treat her right or be kind to her.

That’s more than I can say for someone else 🤪.

“Susannah told me that when I was born, she knew I was destined for one of her boys. She said it was fate.” (pg. 62)

So obviously, here in lies the dilemma . . . Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah?

Because again, if she grew up with both boys, it would make sense that she would develop strong feelings for both. That’s inevitable, but which one did she love more.

Obviously, I’m Team Belly first and foremost, but to be quite honest, I’m Team Jeremiah 😆🧡.

I mean, wasn’t it obvious when I said I LOVE LOVE LOVE him 😂?

I just have to say, get you a person who treats you nice, sweet, with respect, and kindness 👏🏼!!!!!

Don’t you dare like someone who treats you like garbage and like you mean nothing to them just because you loved them when you were younger or you love some parts of them. don’t make excuses about loving them when they aren’t treating you the way you deserve to be treated 👏🏼.

Don’t you DARE tolerate less than someone who treats you right.

I just have a bone to pick with eighteen-year-old Conrad.

I’ve been eighteen once and I was an emotional, developing wreck. Sixteen is the age where a person begins to feel like an adult with more freedom, even though being sixteen isn’t really an adult. But that person believes they are and they also begin to experience new things or crave those experiences. Eighteen is the age where a person is actually an adult and doesn’t know how to navigate what that means to them. That’s how I felt.

When I was eighteen, I graduated from high school and I was going to college that summer and it just felt like so many huge life changes—-one after the other—-that it’s difficult to process them all and to understand what this new freedom of being done with school, being able to vote now, and be independent means. It’s confusing because no one holds your hand as you become an adult and you have to figure it out on your own and that’s scary. Conrad was eighteen and maybe he felt a lot of that fear with his whole life opening up to him and being unsure what that meant and who he was anymore since he quit football and everything. But I also got the sense that he was lost and hurting from a lot.

He was keeping so many things inside that it reflected and translated as him being an awful, mean, broodish son of a shiz head. He now smoked and got drunk and did stupid things like get in petty fights because he was just looking for a fight. I mean, what was he doing? And I know he was going through a lot with his parents divorcing, having a hunch about what Susannah was going through, and his new feelings, but the way he treated everyone was not okay. All the things he went through was not an excuse for how he acted. But I understood why he was reacting the way he did—-he had all this pressure bottled up and it spewed everywhere and caused damage and hurt to his loved ones without him meaning to. I do feel like Conrad is a good person deep down based on the backstories and the way Belly and everyone sees him and knows who he is, but he didn’t give me a good impression of the person we met right now—when the book started. He gave me the impression that he was a dick and he didn’t give two hoots and a holler. I didn’t like him at all. I didn’t like that I didn’t like him because I knew he could have been so much better of a person but he wasn’t.

“Conrad was different. . . He had changed. And yet, the way he affected me was still the same. (pg. 40)

If only he communicated how he felt or talked to someone, it would have made them understand and me understand why he was acting the way he did. But he didn’t talk about all that he was keeping in so it made him seem like he was just being an a** because he was an a**. What happened to the Conrad who would dance with Belly and win her stuffed animals? What happened to the guy who defended her? I didn’t know that guy, I only knew him in memory.

It was because so many things had changed and were changing, and it was a lot for him.

For one, the summer was different.

“For me, it was almost like winter never counted. Summer was what mattered. My whole life was measured in summers. Like I never really begin living until June, until I’m at that beach house.” (pg. 5)

I loved this quote so much 🧡.

I love summers too because it was always a time away from school—the stress and dramas—to focus on doing things I loved with the people I loved. Summers are just magical and relaxing. I didn’t grow up having a beach house or the whole dock vibe thing where you go to a cabin and stay there. Summers were never a big deal for my family because my parents worked all summer, so I would go to my grandparents house where they would watch me and they’d cook meals and sometimes we’d walk around the mall and go to Fun Factory. I would read books, watch reruns on cable TV because that was the only form of television back then. I would also sometimes play hotel or these make believe games with my siblings. The older I got, summers were more about reading and rejuvenating from the stress and burn out of school. I believe having a cabin or a beach summer would have been beautiful and special, but not everyone has those summers and it’s okay whatever your summer looks like because it’s yours.

Summer’s are not meant to be perfect, but to be lived.

I loved how Belly and her family always had a place to go back to with the Cousins beach house and how it felt like a home to her. I also loved the family-friendship that the Conklin’s had with the Fisher’s because friendships like that don’t come everyday. Friendships like Laurel and Susannah/Beck’s didn’t come everyday. I absolutely adored their friendship and how they were there for each other and joked around. I loved how they also let loose at the summer house and let the kids do what they wanted because being at the summer house was their time away from everything to do what they wanted as well. I liked how Laurel and Susannah acted like young kids at the house because adults are just older kids and deserve to have some fun too.

We love to see an older friendship that lasted a lifetime 🧡.

Susannah was a big part of the house.

“Susannah was always calling us children, but the thing was, I didn’t even mind. Normally I would. But the way Susannah said it, it didn’t seem like a bad thing, not like we were small and babyish. Instead it sounded like we had our whole lives in front of us.” (pg. 45)

Belly idolized her in a way she never viewed her mom—-in Belly’s eyes, Susannah was perfect and could do no wrong. They had a special bond where Susannah was the person who Belly always felt like she could confide in about boys or makeup because it never seemed like her mom was into those kinds of things. Susannah also made Belly feel beautiful, pretty.

When Belly came this summer—the summer she was sixteen—she grew up. She had boobs and contacts 😂—-the recipe for a glow up it seems.

When the boys saw her, they all expressed how she was different. Conrad knew she looked different and it bothered him deep down because I felt like that was the moment she wasn’t just Belly, she was Belly a girl he had always liked and now he knew he liked her in a different way.

Because he saw her in a different way.

“Everything was the same but not. They had looked at me like I was a real girl, not just somebody’s little sister.” (pg. 9)

When I first read the title of the book all those years ago, my first reaction was the book was just about a girl who turned pretty and boys fight over her and how icky that made me feel that once you turn pretty, that’s when boys finally notice you.

But being older and hearing more about the intent behind the book from Jenny Han interviews, I have a newfound respect for the meaning behind TSITP.. Because yes, Belly was a young woman who turned “pretty”—-she was always pretty but no one saw it before—-but it was about a long woman who turned pretty and felt pretty. It’s about that age in a person’s life where they notice how they have changed and to believe that they are pretty and want to present themselves to the world as such. When you’re thirteen, you’re awkward as heck and there is no escaping that awkward phase—you feel awkward, you are awkward. It’s an age where you’re sweating too much, acne starts happening, and hormones go wild, and you might get your period. It’s a whole thing. But then you grow up. You grow out of that awkward stage, and that’s the age or the time you feel “pretty” and believe that because you went through that awkward stage to be where you are now. There is nothing wrong with looking at yourself and thinking, “Dang, I feel pretty.” It’s not conceited or narcissistic because we all do it and we all want to feel good about ourselves and like we are presenting our best self at that age, and even now. Belly felt pretty in her skin because she was out of the awkward phase and she was finding more confidence in how she presented herself to the world and how she saw herself.

Because she was growing up and transformed into someone she was proud of becoming, she should own that and feel pretty. But because she was more confident in herself, it translated to how she carried herself and part of the reason she was different—not just that she was physically different but her essence was different—and that shifted how everyone else saw her.

She wasn’t little Belly anymore, she was Belly a pretty young woman.

And that bothered Conrad deep down. Because he probably had only seen Belly as a little kid or a sister, but to see her as a young woman, in a new light, he wasn’t ready to see her like that and he didn’t know why his feelings shifted. He was uncomfortable because he was navigating his newfound emotions towards her.

I loved how they had the infamous belly flop tradition where every summer the boys ganged up on Belly and swung her into the pool. this summer was no different except that moment where Belly feigned hurting her ankle and she pulled Conrad into the pool. They had this weird moment that felt charged with something different—-Conrad’s news feelings.

With his new feelings and all his other feelings, he ultimately treated Belly like cr**.

I DETESTED the way he treated her.

Belly was old enough to go to this boardwalk party, so she went and that was where she met Cameron 🥺 from the Latin convention. I loved how Cam was such a sweetie in how he gave her his hoodie and he said he was a “straight edge.” He also studied whales, which was fun. Cam is just sooo funny and awkward and it’s adorable. He just gave me the vibe of not knowing how to talk to Belly but really wanting to.

When Conrad low-key saw Belly talking to Cameron, he got all jealous and was too overly protective when Belly said she was going to go with Cameron because he was going to drop her home. The way Conrad yelled at her and called her a kid and a brat was beyond me. That is his favorite line: “You’re such a kid.” 🙄 Come up with a new insult Conrad. She is a kid, but he was a kid too, and here he was at this party with this Red Sox Cap girl named Nicole and yet he was treating her like a kid. He was just being very controlling and rude to her for no reason but because he was jealous, drunk, and protective.

Don’t even get me started on how later on, Belly wanted to go to a party with Cameron and all the boys suddenly wanted to go to this party to probably embarrass her and make fun of her.

“‘What’s your name?’ Cam cleared his throat. ‘Cam. Cameron.’ Jeremiah said right into the mike, ‘Your name is Cam Cameron. Damn, that sucks, dude.'” (pg.146)

The iconic moment 👌🏼😂.

Jere teased them by singing “Summer Lovin'” from Grease, and in his defense he was drunk and just joking around because he was uncomfortable with Belly dating someone and just used humor. Conrad though, started a fight. He was just looking for a fight because he was jealous about Belly going to the party with Cam. Belly tried to break up the fight, but honestly, I wondered what the heck was she going to do because it wasn’t like two guys looking for a fight were going to listen to her. But then Jere stepped in and when they glanced at Belly during their secret conversation, I knew Conrad wasn’t going to fight because he didn’t want to do that in front of Belly or that Belly had this way of bringing him back to earth. But he ruined her first party because of his jealousy and he had the audacity to act all sweet when he was drunk my touching her hair and seemingly wanting to say something important to her. But he was drunk and acting out anti wasn’t okay.

Then there was the time Conrad came home all angsty and was blasting his music, and joked around about knowing how to dance because he taught her how to dance. He seemed okay, if a bit high, that day. It was like he went from Jekyll and Hyde and it kept stringing her along and I was furious because he needed to make up his mind about who he wanted to be.

“He made it so hard not to love him. When he was sweet like this, I remembered why I did. Used to love him, I mean. I remembered everything.” (pg. 191)

Dude needed to stop stringing her along expecting Belly to like him and then when she didn’t’ like him anymore, he get angry and jealous and treat her nice one second to keep the bait on her and then when he had her, he switch to being an a** and pushing her away from her ☹️. Get over yourself. This whole back and forth thing was exhausting and made me exhausted for her. Not with it 🤪!

And not this whole conversation where he was looking for a fight with her by asking whey she was mad at him and that he cared that she was mad at him. Like dude, stop with this hot and cold thing. Belly was getting mixed signals and I felt awful for her because she loved him because he was her first love and would always see past his douchness. She deserved better. But when she told him to go smoke a cigarette and he said “Why don’t you go look at yourself in the mirror some more?” (pg. 199). I was like OOOOOOH, that was a low blow!!!! I mean, what she said was rude back, but he was the one who was stringing and dragging her along his emotional rollercoaster. But the fact that he was so blunt about basically implying she was conceited because she looked at herself more because she was pretty was a crude move. She didn’t deserve to feel guilty for feeling confident in who she was.

“I wondered if this was the way old crushes died, with a whimper, slowly, and then, just like that—gone.” (pg. 200)

I did not feel sorry at all for the love that died between them after that conversation.

Because I was over all this wishy-washiness from him. If loved her or liked her, he wouldn’t treat her like cr** and he sure as heck wouldn’t go out of his way to constantly make her feel bad about herself or play all these games with her. If he liked her, he should have expressed that differently with kindness and actual like because the message I was getting was that he thought she was a child and was bothered by her and angry.

I will say, I felt awful for Belly because she loved Conrad and always would despite saying her crush was gone. It’s not a great day when you are shown a different side of someone you love and that they make you love them less for it. It’s also not a great day when you realize that they aren’t the person you thought they were and won’t be the person you hoped they would be—it’s disappointing. Also, first love is the strongest, most memorable emotion and for him to crush hers like that was a whole other level of why Conrad was not it.

He just wasn’t worth it for the way he treated her. I don’t care if he was sweet to her before because the person who he was now, was not okay.

UGH, and don’t even get me started on how he forgot to buy her a present for her sixteenth freaking birthday. I WAS LVIVID 😡!!!!!

What. A. JERK.

I was sooo upset.

And the AUDACITY he had to sit in that room as they opened presents and say he forgot to get her something and then walk out of the room with a monotone, “Happy Birthday” like her birthday didn’t matter?????? I WAS OVER IT 🤪. He can take his nonexistent present and shove it up his nonexistent personality because I didn’t see a good bone in his body. Someone needed to take whatever stick was up his butt and whack him on the head with it!!!!!

How dare he forget a present for her and then leave ☹️. What the heck? WHAT A LOSER. Out of everyone there, he was the one Belly cared the most about in terms of being there for her on her birthday because she loved him, heck, she had wished for this guy her whole life. But he acted like her birthday was nothing. Nothing. Nada. I was not okay with that at all.

But this is why I am Team Jeremiah.

He got her a thoughtful gift!!! He got her a key for her charm bracelet 🥺🧡.

Susannah got her the charm bracelet for her eleventh birthday and it had all these other charms on it, and Jere wanted to get her a key because she was going to drive. HOW THOUGHTFUL AND SWEET.

STUPID CoNRad 😡.

I LOVE JERE!!

You know when you take the rad out of Conrad, all you are left with is con 😂.

He is a big con in my book and red flag.

You know who else treated her right?

Cam Cameron 👏🏼!

If there’s an underrated character, it’s Cam Cameron. I love this guy. What a nice guy.

What I loved most about him was how he noticed Belly way before she turned “pretty.”

“‘Do you know why I remembered you?’ he asked me suddenly . . . ‘It’s because I thought you were really pretty. Like, maybe the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.'” (pg. 157)

He loved Belly for her glasses and braces all these years ago and saw the real her before all these other boys were on her. Cam loved Belly through her award stage and I loved that for her. He was just a great guy who was easy to like because he was so great. Jere teased him about kissing Belly with her non-vegetarian lips, but it was all in fun because Jere was partially jealous but also wanted to see how Cam would react. He took the joke in stride and was cute about it by kissing her in front of everyone, which was awkwardness at its finest for sure, but he was a nice guy. I thought it was also sweet how he always asked Belly if it was okay to kiss her because we love consensus. I mean,I know that second time he asked her in the car was weird and he should have just kissed her, but hey, I respected that he was a respectful boy and asked her if it was okay to kiss. I also liked how he never gave macho-ego vibes like Jere and Conrad even though it was clear Belly had something something with both brothers and he picked up on it. He just enjoyed his relationship with Belly because Belly was with him and kept being around him, so it was a good thing. Why-would-he-ruin-a-good-thing kind of attitude.

As much as Cam Cameron was a sweetheart, he wasn’t for Belly.

He didn’t give her sparks.

They were at the drive in movie date—so cute by the way—and there was this very awkward tension (as first dates usually had), but Belly wanted to feel more with Cam and wanted more to happen. However, the date was very cordial and nice. They did have a cute kiss at the end of their date where I thought Cam redeemed himself from the awkwardness. There was also that moment when Belly was at that dinner with everyone and then Cam told her to sit down and take it easy and everyone laughed like he was putting Belly in place. I didn’t like that part becuase I felt Cam just said that to Belly to make everyone think he was a man or something. They went down to the beach later that night and Belly was feeling the urge to do something wild to really get this spark going with Cam. She wanted to skinny dip and it seemed like Cam was down to do it until he over thought it and feared her mom would see them. Cam was just being reasonable and respectful, which I appreciated and sixteen year old boys don’t usually encompass those qualities, but sis, wanted him to let loose! She wanted a spark and he didn’t give that to her. And the fact that she walked back into the house after their argument and he didn’t go back and say anything was dumb. I thought he should have apologized to her for making her feel embarrassed instead of walking away that night like nothing happened. He did leave a message on a bottle that said he owed her a skinny dip, which was nice. But they should have talked about it. Cam missed his chance to create a spark with her because I think Belly really wanted to feel a spark so she didn’t feel what she still felt for Conrad.

I feel like not having sparks is he hardest part about dating—-when you date a really good person but you don’t feel sparks with them the way you want to, but feeling like you want to break up but you don’t know how to. It’s almost easier if a person was a jerk because then there is a reason to break up with them. But she had no sparks with Cam Cameron and I could tell Belly wasn’t excited to date him as she originally was, but didn’t know how to break it to him until they had that conversation. I mean, the real reason I did believe Belly dated Cam Cameron was because he was the first guy at that bonfire to give her attention in a kind way and here was this guy who noticed her before she was pretty and wanted to hang out with her. Of course, she was interested because a cute guy who noticed her was everything. I would feel the same back if I were her. I also felt like part of her dated Cam Cameron to prove to Conrad that she was over him when she wasn’t and to show that she was old enough to date—-a big middle finger to him. I mean, he did notice that she was dating. But then when the fun of being with Cam wore off, she thought of him more like a friend than a boyfriend.

I really did think they could have stayed friends after everything, but it sucked that she kind of ghosted him. I felt terrible for Cam 😅.

They talked about the future of their relationship after Belly and Cam tried to have a movie night and Conrad joined with Nicole/Red Fox Cap girl. Belly was bothered by Nicole, which Cam picked up on it as being Belly bothered by Conrad with Nicole. He knew that Belly liked Conrad and would never see him the same way she viewed Conrad. I wanted to hug Cam because for all his awkwardness and his respectable manner, he was at heart, a good guy. He deserved someone who would want to be with him and all of him. Not just be there with half of him and the other half belonging to someone else. I liked how Cam was upfront about wanting to know where their relationship stood. But when Belly hesitated with saying she wanted to keep in touch, I felt bad. Cam was just put in the middle. And she didn’t end up contacting him or anything.

I really would have liked to know what happened to Cam Cameron and if he got his happily ever after. I think Jenny Han should do a spin off series for Cam Cameron called Whale of a Summer 😂.

But he really was a good guy, just not the right guy.

My Jelly heart really got to me when Jere confessed how he felt about Belly 🥺🧡!

After watching a movie with Laurel and Susannah, Jeremiah went back downstairs where Belly was cleaning up and alone. Belly started talking about how she might not being seeing Cam Cameron anymore, and then he told her that he liked her as more than just friends.

Belly really was living the life 😅!!!

Three cute dudes all pining after her!!!! She must have been real pretty.

When I was sixteen, I was going through the gutter 😂. I was real trash.

I digress, but the way Jere asked if she was over Conrad and she said I don’t know, broke my heart for Jere. He liked her and he saw the way that Conrad mistreated and hurt her and was hurt that she kept choosing him despite that. I agreed with Jere because Belly had a nice guy like her with Cam and then another nice guy like her with Jere and she chose the a**hat 😆???? I didn’t get it. I know Conrad was her first love, but Jere is such. good guy and he’s sweet, cares for her and would a 100000000000% treat her BETTER than Conrad ever would. *Alexa, play Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes*

Jeremiah would do it better.

That’s a fact.

It broke my heart how heartbroken he was because he laid his heart on his sleeve and was rejected. I understand what it’s like to be a younger sibling to an older sibling of the same sex. Jeremiah always felt like he was second to Conrad because he got everything.

“‘I’m not jealous. I just wish I could be as good as him.’ he said softly.” (pg. 241)

That’s beyond tough.

When you naturally compare yourself to your older sibling and feel like you will never measure up or have what he/she/they have. I know that feeling all too well. It can make you start to dislike yourself and it can make you angry at your sibling because you don’t want to dislike them, but you dislike how you feel like you aren’t enough compared to them. Comparison is the thief of joy.

In that moment when Jeremiah confessed his feelings, we saw a vulnerable side to him. A less joyous side especially when he realized Belly would probably always look like Conrad hung the moon. Unrequited love is painful, especially at a young age when you want to feel love and accepted. I wanted to hug Jere 🥺. I liked seeing a more vulnerable and melancholy side to him because it showed he had depths and that he cared—-that he was capable of hurt. Not that I wanted our sweet Jere bear to be hurt, but it made him more human and made me sympathize with him more.

Young love can impact how you feel about love in the future.

Telling her how he felt changed their relationship because she now knew how he felt—their dynamic might change if they acknowledged that the conversation did happen. If they ignored the conversation, sure, they could continue to be best friends, but they would always know what was said between them.

At least Jere was honest about how he felt unlike his jerk of a brother Conrad 🙃.

I give Belly sooo much credit for being brave enough to confess to Conrad the next day that she loved him her whole life. The timing sucked because Jere just said he liked her as more than a friend and there she went telling his brother she liked him, but she was brave 😅.

THIS STUPID HEAD made me want to RAGE!!!! The way he casually said, “Well you shouldn’t. I’m not the one. Sorry” (pg. 244).

Ummmmmmm, excuse me??????

She basically confessed that she loved him her whole life and he was the one for her and all he had to say was that he’s not the one and he’s sorry? Sis, it’s not worth it!!!! He’s not worth it if that is his response to her romantic spiel. I would have thrown two birds in the air and said whatever because what the literal heck. And the way he told her she was such a kid still and that she’s crazy, I was furious, seething actually. He kept saying things to hurt her and I felt like it came from a place of not wanting to hear how she really did like him and for him to confront the feelings he also felt for her, so it was easier to come across as a jerk and hurt her so she stayed away. Like he was protecting her from himself, which you know, if that’s the way he would treat her, then yea, she should stay away. I was so confused because was he a good person or was he this a**hole he obviously was. I was so confused.

When Jere chewed him out for making Belly cry and that he needed to man up, I was screaming in support of Jere!! Yea, tell this guy to man up and stop being a dipwad! Their fight was coming from a mile away with Conrad just spoiling for a fight and Jere hating the way Conrad continued to hurt Belly when Conrad knew how much he liked her. And Jere also wanting to beat the daylights out of him for being the one Belly chose over and over again. It was coming for sure. If I was Jere, I would have wanted to bunch him too.

Susannah and Laurel broke up the fight and when she said, “You know, don’t you?” (pg. 250), it made even more sense to his shizzy attitude.

I mean, he was carrying the weight of knowing his mother was sick again and he didn’t tell anyone he knew because he didn’t know who to talk to and he didn’t want to make it real by acknowledging it. So he kept it inside the waY Conrad always kept things inside. So his summer of anger and bad decisions stemmed from Belly changing, his parents divorcing, and his mom being sick again. He had the intuition; he just knew.

I knew too 😔.

It was in the way that Susannah kept sleeping early like she was tired and how Laurel and her would go “shopping” all the time at weird hours of the day. They were really going to Susannah’s doctor’s appointments. It was also the way that Susannah smoked pot again with Laurel and acted like it was nothing, but I think that’s when Conrad knew because of how Susannah smoked pot in the past for her chemo. He knew that she was only smoking because she was sick again. It was also in the way Susannah and Laurel having that argument about Susannah being a big girl now and knowing how to live her life. Susannah didn’t want Laurel to control what she did and didn’t do because she didn’t want to tell the boys yet. She wanted one last perfect summer.

“Susannah wanted it to be some kind of perfect summer, where the parents were still together and everything was the way it had always been.” (pg. 213)

I understood why Susannah wanted to gift all of them one last perfect summer before things changed monumentally—she wanted things to be as normal as it could be. But Conrad knew and that effected him the whole summer because it wasn’t a normal summer. It was the summer everything was changing.

When Belly and Jere find out that Susannah was sick again, the whole tone of the book flipped from bight and sunny to a cloudy, rainy day.

I was in a sea of tears because I honestly didn’t remember this book being so heavy 😭. I picked up on the hints early on and I felt like we were working up to a confession at the end, but I wasn’t prepared for the influx of emotion because of how much I had grown to also love and admire Susannah and the way she loved Belly like a daughter. I also wasn’t prepared to cry so hard when Jere and Belly were crying together on her bed and they held each other—-that at that moment all was forgotten because they were two best friends being their for each other and hurting over their shared love of Susannah.

I was a mess. I loved their friendship.

It also hurt to see Jere cry knowing how he was the bubbly one and now he was balling his eyes out because of his big caring heart that was obviously hurting.

The next morning, Conrad really had to be the jerk on top of bad news with his whole attitude and being drunk. Honestly, I don’t get why she loved him either 🙈.

“She said, still in her light voice, ‘You’ll look after him, won’t you?’ ‘Who?’ I could feel her cheeks form into a smile. ‘You know who.’ ‘Yes,’ I whispered, still holding on tight. ‘Good,’ she said, sighing. ‘He needs you.’ I didn’t ask who ‘he’ was. I din’ need to. ‘Susannah?’ ‘Hmm?’ ‘Promise me something?’ ‘Anything.’ ‘Promise me you’ll never leave.’ ‘I promise,’ she said without hesitation.” (pg. 259)

Belly was trying to be strong for Susannah because she loved her, and we all know Susannah meant Conrad. But who would look after Jere? And honestly, Conrad might have his moments but he could look after himself after this book because I was done with his attitude 😂. I get it, he was a dumb eighteen year old in pain and hurt, but it doesn’t excuse his actions.

But not the way Susannah promised that she wouldn’t leave . . . 😭 knowing she would.

I can’t.

After Susannah’s news, I liked how everything was out in the open and it made everyone feel less tense, but more on guard with not knowing what was to come. I liked how they sat at dinner that last night Susannah was honest about what treatments she was going and what she wanted so everyone knew what might happen. I also liked Susannah could joke about herself and everyone tried to find humor in the situation or levity. But this kind of situation wasn’t too be taken lightly, but for Susannah they would. The mood definitely felt more somber and uncertain, which was such a contrast to the light-airynes of the rest of the summer and the story.

At the end, Belly did her late night swim as she always does and Jere and Conrad joined them. In my eyes, I’m assuming that they all tried to forget or push aside how Jere confessed how he loved her as more than a friend and how Belly told Conrad she loved him too. They pushed those emotions aside to focus on their love for Susannah. But gosh, I wanted to know what they were thinking or what future conversations they would have because there was tension now between them all. I wanted to see Conrad and Jere talk it out because they are brothers and I would hope that them having feelings for Belly wouldn’t change the fact they were brothers. However, there was that tension there, again, because Conrad did have feelings for Belly and couldn’t acknowledge it the same way Jere did. I also wanted to know where Jere and Belly stood because was she still his friend? Was she going to go for Team Jelly? Would she not go for Conrad and finally let that a**hat go? Or was she still going to pin for Conrad?

What was Conrad going to do? Was he going to act on her confession or ignore it?

She had two guys who liked her and they didn’t really talk about it and acknowledge what was there. They just sang a poem and sang around her in the pool 🤪.

I really wanted to know.

Everything changed between them for sure.

“‘This might be our last summer here,’ I said suddenly. ‘No way,’ Jeremiah said, floating up next to me. . . . Conrad shook his head. ‘It doesn’t’ matter. We’ll always come back.’ Briefly I wondered if he meant just him and Jeremiah, and then he said, ‘All of us.'” (pg. 273)

You know when Conrad’s not being an a**, he sounds decent. But he’s still a jerk in my eyes 🤪.

I liked that there was possibility of more summers, because with Susannah sick I wondered what that meant for the future summers at Cousins. I hoped they would go back because the beach house was their second home and the Fisher’s were their second family.

I didn’t talk much about Belly’s mom, Laurel, but I also liked the complex mother-daughter relationship. Belly admired Susannah more and it felt like Belly wanted Susannah as her mom instead. I think Belly also just harbored a lot of hurt and anger for her mom knowing that her mom was the one who wanted the divorce with the dad and how the mom didn’t even seem torn up about it.

“I just wasn’t sure if she fell out of love or if It was just that she never was. In love, I mean.” (pg. 51)

I understood that.

It’s hard when you feel like your parents were perfect together and all of sudden they divorce or break up and it feels like love is a lie. How can love go from being something they both felt to nothing at all? Was it real kind a thing?

Belly wanted her mom to feel something or to emote because it never seemed like the mom loved anyone or cared because she wasn’t sad about being divorced. There was also the solo trips Belly sounded angry about. The mom would take solo trips to different countries and leave Belly and Steven. The mom deserved her solo trips because she is a grown woman and should take time for herself, I don’t think her going by herself was ever intended to make Belly or Steven feel unloved or uncared for. She just needed her her time, and I think Belly didn’t understand that at her age. Because Laurel was older and a mom, I could only imagine how busy she was and how much she gave up to make other people happy that these trips were for her. She wanted to still live and do things as an independent woman and that didn’t negate the fact that she also loved her kids. I just didn’t think Belly could see it at the time. Belly also blamed her mom for the divorce and ruining being a whole family and having to adjust to seeing her dad at his weird apartment. I got the sense Belly wanted things to be how they used to be, which I understand. When my parents divorced, it was expected and unexpected and it was difficult because I had to move houses and adjust to a new family dynamic. It took me years to process and be comfortable in that dynamic because it’s hard. It’s hard when you’re growing up and you also are changing situations from what you thought was a stable situation to a new situation that is filled with uncertainty. It’s also uncomfortable to remember all that was and think about all the things that you will never be after a divorce—or from a kid whose parents divorced, that’s what it felt like.

But Laurel did love Belly in all these small ways by knowing who she was, reading her, picking up on what she liked and disliked. I loved how Belly thought Susannah bought this expensive dress Belly liked all these years ago. Belly was so convinced Susannah had bought it because it was expensive and it was something Susannah would do, but her mom actually went back and bought it for Belly. Belly and her family weren’t as rich and Susannah’s, so it meant a lot that the mom went back to buy Belly something she knew he daughter wanted and would love. They loved in the little moments, and that is one of the best forms of love 🧡. I would like to explore their relationship more in the next books with talking about how Belly felt about the divorce or at least Belly and her mom opening up more to trust each other and be in each other’s lives.

I also didn’t talk about Belly’s friendship with Taylor.

What a complex friendship dynamic where it felt like Belly was tired of being Taylor’s passenger seat gal or someone who just went along with whatever Taylor wanted. They had been best friends Belly’s whole life, but there was some bitterness underneath the older they got. It started when Belly invited Taylor to the summer house in Cousins when they were fourteen where Taylor had that crush on Conrad and then Jeremiah and how Belly didn’t care who Taylor liked because she knew that she didn’t like that Taylor liked her summer boys. That’s rough because I know that Belly was excited for her best friend to spend summer with her, but also I know what it’s like to have this world that you keep purely for yourself and not wanting to share that with someone. It didn’t hit Belly that she was opening up her summer boy world with Taylor when she invited her until it did and Taylor was already there. There’s just somethings that people like to keep to themselves—that we have all these groups and worlds that we become a part of and it’s okay to keep what we want to ourselves. Belly grew to resent Taylor for liking her summer boys and for putting them before her that summer—-Taylor hung out with the boys so much that Belly didn’t think she existed.

There’s also the fact that Taylor sneakily made out with her brother on the beach. Yea, kissing the brother was not it, but I think it hurt Belly to know that Taylor broke her promise in being nice to Jere. I did agree with what Taylor said about how Belly talked nonstop about Conrad to notice how she liked Steven this whole time because based on how much Belly did talk about Conrad, heck, even thought about him, it didn’t surprise me. I do think Belly could have been a better friend to listen to her other friends talk about their lives. When Belly called Taylor a slut though . . . I shook my head. I don’t care if Taylor made out with her brother or what, you never slut shame another person 😣. They didn’t really talk about what happened but they were friends again and Steven acted like kissing Taylor didn’t happen.

I think they should have talked it out because there was still anger there that Taylor kissed her brother. I don’t know, they just never talked about their issues and acted like it never happened. I don’t know if that’s a sixteen year old thing, but even then I think when I was sixteen I talked about things with my friends if there was something to talk about. It just saves the relationship from all the anger in the future. They just needed to talk to each other like actual best friends because it felt there was more fear between them than actual friendship.

Overall, I loved TSITP because there were so many complex relationships that had me angry, sad, and curious. But above all, I loved how the book balanced lightheartedness with the darkness that life can bring. I also really loved being inside Belly’s mind because we’ve all been sixteen and know what it’s like to love someone so strongly that we don’t think they would ever do wrong or make excuses when they do do wrong. She’s just a teenager who was coming into herself and finding love for herself in these shifting relationships. I do believe there comes a point where someone’s changes and the relationships around you change as well and it’s uncomfortable and difficult to navigate those relationships especially going from a place of being a kid and being a teenager with more freedom whether that is independence or love. I also loved how all the characters had different depths and we got a taste of them that I hope we can continue to explore in the future.

Now, it’s time to watch TSITP season one. Honesty, when I’m writing this I already watched it all 😂. I have to say the show was INCREDIBLE 👌🏼🧡. Such a good time. I have a blog post about the show coming, and I’ll link it below. But sooo good!

Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? What did you think of the book?

Which team are you on: Conrad or Jeremiah?

Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.

And as always, with love,

4.56 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: Belly is a teenager everyone can relate to with navigating what it means to grow up and come into yourself and how that changes the relationships in your life. I also loved the Fisher boys because they both had different personalities that were fun to explore and understand. Also, let’s go Cam Cameron!

Plot: If summer, love, and teenage self-discovery can be encapsulated in a book, TSITP would be it 😊

Writing: Jenny Han has a way of capturing a feeling and a time in a person’s life like you just lived and breathed it 🧡. I mean, I wish I knew a Jeremiah and Conrad (maybe not a Conrad) when I was Belly’s age.

Romance: Conrad can go sit and brood in the corner Jeremiah treated her right and I am a Jeremiah and Cam Cameron stan!!

In a holidaze by christina lauren book…, the ex hex by erin sterling book…, super fake love song by david yoon….

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to our mailing list:

Skip to primary navigation
Skip to main content
Skip to primary sidebar
Skip to footer

The Perpetual Page-Turner

Book Recommendations and Book Lists For Adults And Kids

Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

September 24, 2012 - Updated July 21, 2023 // 22 Comments

For as long as Belly can remember she, her brother and mom spent their summer at the beach house with her mom’s best friend Susannah and her sons Jeremiah and Conrad who along the years have been her playmates, her enemies, brother-like figures and in the recent years — her crushes! This summer it seems as though the boys are starting to see how much she’s grown up and are actually letting her hang around. Summers at the beach house were always perfect for Belly and she lived for those months when they’d be back at the beach house — all the other seasons just led up to Summer. This summer seems like the summer that will change everything but will Belly be ready for just how much change?

The Review :

The Summer I Turned Pretty is one of those books that everyone has told me I must read! After having read it I understand why! It’s just one of those really wonderful contemporary YA books that I’m so glad I finally read — it seems like a rite of passage or something for most people who are hardcore contemporary YA fans. And I definitely understand why it’s on all the “ Great Beach Reads ” lists — it’s got a great summer vibe, romance, fun — but also some substance that makes for some pretty serious and REAL moments that balance really well with the general lightheartedness of the book. Moments that are quite raw and real; a striking contrast to the carefree picture perfect moments of the summers Belly recounts.It’s really quite everything I love in my contemps!

I just love the way Han paints this picture of these summers at the beach house through flashbacks of summers past and obviously through the current summer. She just makes you feel Belly’s love for the beach house and why it’s so special to her. I just got those warm, fuzzy feelings towards my own childhood & teen summer memories — beach days, pools, lazy days lounging in your swim suit, iced tea and more! Han creates the perfect setting for fun and romance and the beach house seems like this perfect backdrop to some of the growing up and self discovery that happens to the characters– something that I feel like will happen even more in the remaining two books with how this one ended!

I loved the boys! Jeremiah and Conrad are just so wonderful and I loved the relationship Belly had with each of them. During the whole book I couldn’t figure out which one was RIGHT for her but I just loved the tension between her and Conrad. I can’t help but love Conrad — I felt like there was something more going on with him and his “brooding” and then at the end when all of his feelings came out…OH MY GOD. I would have been a heaping pile of mess on the beach next to him. I cannot WAIT to see where the next books take her relationships!

I liked Belly. I think I’ll grow to love her. I didn’t feel as though I didn’t get a sense of who she was outside of her love for the beach house and the boys — and the fact she’s kind of whiny. I mean, I know that all we know of her exists in the confines of her summers at the beach house mostly but I did wish I got to know MORE of her — I just didn’t really feel like I KNEW her; but I suspect in the next two books will get a REAL sense of who she is. I hope! The good thing is — she felt REALLY authentic and seemed like a normal girl that anyone could relate to on some level.

My Final Thought

Love the start of this series and so glad I finally listened to all my blogger friends on this one! It’s just a really good example of really wonder contemporary YA. It’s just so real and finely written. Jenny Han gets straight to the heart but not in some contrived, overly dramatic way. She creates something light and fun but with substance and heart — the epitome of what I look for in a beach read ! Cannot wait to devour the rest of this trilogy! I also will say I wish I was a teen when I read this because I would have been even MORE obsessed with this!

You May Also Like : books by Sarah Dessen , Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler , The Boys Next Door by Jennifer Echols

Check out more YA summer romance books for even more swoons or this list full of best books like The Summer I Turned Pretty!

What if words had the power to kill? If uncontrolled thoughts could extinguish the life…

Book Title/Author: Sweethearts by Sara Zarr Publisher/Year: Little Brown 2008 Genre: Contemporary YA Series: No.…

Book/Author: The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen Publisher/Year: Crown Publishing April 2011 I received this…

About Jamie

Jamie is a 32 year old married lady (with a new baby!!) who is in denial that she's actually that old to be a married lady and a mom. When she's not reading you can find her doing Pilates followed by eating ice cream, belting out Hamilton (loud and offkey) and having adventures with her husband, daughter and rescue dog.

Reader Interactions

More about Jamie

Let’s connect, looking for something.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please check out my privacy and disclosure page for more information.

Jul 24, 2023

Book Review | The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Summer, beaches and boys; can you ask for any more than that yes actually, i would like to ask for the plot & my sanity back please..

About The Summer I Turned Pretty

Belly Conklin's best moments happen from June to August. Every year, the Fishers and the Conklins spend the summer at Cousins Beach.

Belly has had a massive crush on Conrad Fisher ever since she was ten. Now that she's had her glow-up, she feels that this summer will be special. But little does she know, it'll also be the summer that'll change everything, both for the better and for worse.

The Summer I Turned Pretty Review

The people who inhabited cousins beach were... people.

This is going to be a long post about the main characters so strap yourself in for the ride.

Isabel Conklin, nicknamed Belly, the main female lead was insufferable. She kept complaining about everything. And by everything, I really mean everything. This girl doesn't have a single grateful bone in her body. And honestly, of all the nicknames available in the world, why choose Belly? I don't understand why one would torture themselves for a lifetime with such a horrendous nickname. Maybe if I had such an insufferable nickname, I too would act insufferably. She kept bringing down other women, comparing their bodies and used beauty as a measure of self-worth. I found this slightly disturbing since this is a book targeted toward young girls, and teaching them such values could be problematic in the long run. Not only did she have a horrible attitude towards others, but she was also acting extremely childish and immature. She stuck her tongue out (literally) whenever she never got her way. Only toddlers do that! It was exhausting seeing what a spoilt brat she is.

Next, I do not understand how anyone could possibly like Jeremiah Fisher. He's basically Belly reincarnated as a boy. But I'll give this boy some slack and say that he's maybe 5% less annoying than Belly is.

Conrad Fisher infuriated me. He was grumpy all the time and was constantly sending out mixed signals. I don't understand what Belly saw in him.

Steven Conklin is a bully who keeps tearing his sister down for no apparent reason. There's a fine line between teasing between siblings and bullying and he definitely crossed the lines multiple times. Even though he wasn't in the book half the time, I despised his character.

Cam Cameron is probably the most interesting guy. This future marine biologist is your typical nice guy and gives off golden retriever energy. He deserved better.

Some controversial thoughts...

There were some parts that kind of made me re-read the lines and think “Did the author really just write that?” Some lines were misogynistic, anti-feminist and really odd to read, especially coming from the hands of an Asian female writer.

There were also a lot of controversial opinions presented in the book, especially on the topic of consent. Consent is overrated; Let's just kiss people who don't want to be kissed! What better way to cheer someone who just received intense, life-altering news: give them an unwarranted kiss!

Everything else might suck but at least Cousins Beach is a cool place to be.

I quite enjoyed the setting the book took place. The beach and seaside were pretty interesting.

This reader thinks, "Damn, this is some really irritating writing."

Just like Belly, the writing also got on my nerves.

I find the use of “States-something-that-happened-in-a-long-sentence, Reiterates-that-something-again, I mean” really odd and infuriating to read. Seemed like the author kind of assumed that I (the reader) was too stupid for me to imply what they were trying to say. The first few uses of it were cute, but then it just became irritating.

Even though this was written in first person, I found that there was still too much dialogue. Show me what happened, stop telling me!

Also, I found the switching back from past to present quite jarring. There wasn't a need to place a specific age to when the past scene happened and it could've just been a cutaway in between scenes, rather than separated into a whole new chapter. It was tiring for me to adjust between past and present and it got me jumbled so many times. I would have read two pages then find a weird line and realised we had switched time periods again.

No plot, just vibes.

There's basically nothing going on in this book. You'd think Belly would've chosen a guy in the end (she kind of did but it wasn't anything concrete) but nope.

Reading The Summer I Turned Pretty is basically reading Belly's schedule for three months, except she does the same thing every day of every week for the entire summer. Swimming, beaches, I-love-Conrad, dinner, I-love-Jeremiah-now, parties, swimming, Cam-is-cute, beaches, I-love-Conrad, dinner, swimming.

The final verdict.

Will I ever read this again? Never. But I will, unfortunately, be subjecting myself to the rest of the books in this trilogy because I have tragically bought them already. Damn you, TSITP TV series, for being so awfully addictive I bought the whole set of books in advance.

Just stick to the series for this one. Nothing happens in the book that doesn't also happen in the show anyway.

★★☆☆☆ (2/5)

About Jenny Han

Jenny Han is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series, now a Netflix movie. She is also the author of the Summer I Turned Pretty series, Shug , and Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream . Her books have been published in more than thirty languages. A former librarian, Han earned her MFA in creative writing at the New School. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Book Reviews

My Favourite Quotes from The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Comentários

I'm Nurin. I'm a digital content creator, self-taught knitter, and avid reader.

At daylights by nurin , you'll be able to find your next book to read as well as knitting patterns that is accessible for everyone.

Book Summary: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

(High School Level)

Order on Bookshop.org and support local book stores

This book is the first in a trilogy. More on this Jenny Han trilogy here.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is a young adult romance novel written by American author Jenny Han. It was first published in 2009 and is the first book in the Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy. The book was a critical and commercial success, winning the American Library Association’s Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature in 2010.

The Summer I Turned Pretty tells the story of Isabel “Belly” Conklin, a 15-year-old girl who spends her summers at Cousins Beach with her mother and older brother, along with her mother’s lifelong best friend and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly has been friends with Conrad and Jeremiah since she was a child, but the summer she turns 16, things start to change. Belly is starting to develop feelings for both brothers, and she must decide who she wants to be with.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is a coming-of-age story about love, friendship, and growing up. Belly is a relatable character who is struggling to figure out who she is and what she wants. She is also dealing with the complicated relationships she has with Conrad and Jeremiah.

Conrad is the older brother, and he is more brooding and mysterious. Jeremiah is the younger brother, and he is more outgoing and carefree. Belly is drawn to both brothers for different reasons, and she must decide who she wants to be with.

Over the course of the summer, Belly grows and changes. She learns to trust herself and her instincts. She also learns that it is important to be honest with herself and others.

Strengths and weaknesses

One of the strengths of the novel is its relatable characters. Belly is a character that many readers will be able to relate to. She is struggling to figure out who she is and what she wants, and she is dealing with the complicated relationships she has with Conrad and Jeremiah.

Another strength of the novel is its realistic portrayal of teenage relationships. Han does a good job of showing the complexity of teenage love, and she does not shy away from the difficult aspects of relationships, such as jealousy and heartbreak.

One weakness of the novel is that the plot can be predictable at times. However, this is a minor weakness, and the novel is still an enjoyable read.

What makes the book unique or worth reading

The Summer I Turned Pretty is a well-written and engaging novel with relatable characters and a realistic portrayal of teenage relationships. The novel also explores a number of important themes, such as love, friendship, family, and growing up.

Use of literary devices or techniques

Han uses a variety of literary devices and techniques in The Summer I Turned Pretty. For example, she uses symbolism to represent the different aspects of Belly’s journey. The water represents Belly’s emotions, and the beach represents her journey to self-discovery.

Han also uses foreshadowing to hint at future events in the story. For example, early in the novel, Belly has a dream about Conrad and Jeremiah. This dream foreshadows the love triangle that develops between the three characters.

How the book relates to the author’s life, other works, or broader social issues

The Summer I Turned Pretty is the first book in the Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy. The other books in the trilogy are It’s Not Summer Without You and We’ll Always Have Summer. Han has also written the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy.

The Summer I Turned Pretty can be read as a story about female empowerment. Belly is a strong and independent young woman who learns to trust herself and her instincts. She also learns that she is worthy of love and respect, even though she has made mistakes.

Possible questions for a high school test

What is the conflict in The Summer I Turned Pretty?
How does Belly change over the course of the novel
What are some of the themes explored in The Summer I Turned Pretty?
What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of The Summer I Turned Pretty?

Functional details

ISBN: 9781416968290
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
First publish date: 2009-05-26
Has it been made into a movie, tv or other streaming format?: Yes, The Summer I Turned Pretty was made into a television series for Amazon Prime Video in 2022.
Genre: Young adult romance
BISAC Categories: FICTION / Youth Fiction / Contemporary
Suggested Reading Age: 12+

Other reviews

The Summer I Turned Pretty Book Review by Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/183092.The_Summer_I_Turned_Pretty
The Summer I Turned Pretty Book Review by Publishers Weekly https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1416968290
The Summer I Turned Pretty Book Review by BookPage https://bookpage.com/reviews/book/the-summer-i-turned-pretty-by-jenny-han

Where to buy the book

The Summer I Turned Pretty on Bookshop.org

Is this book part of a series?

Yes, The Summer I Turned Pretty is the first book in the Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy. The other books in the trilogy are It’s Not Summer Without You and We’ll Always Have Summer.

Awards and accolades

The Summer I Turned Pretty won the American Library Association’s Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature in 2010.

About the author

Jenny Han is an American author of young adult novels. She is best known for writing the Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy and the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy. Han’s books have been translated into over 30 languages and have sold over 10 million copies worldwide. She is a New York Times and international bestselling author.

Amazon Prime includes:

Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.

Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access

Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.

Return this item for free

Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges

Go to your orders and start the return
Select the return method

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Follow the author

Image Unavailable

To view this video download Flash Player

The Summer I Turned Pretty Paperback – April 6, 2010

Purchase options and add-ons.

Reading age 12 years and up
Book 1 of 3 The Summer I Turned Pretty
Print length 304 pages
Language English
Grade level 7 - 9
Lexile measure HL600L
Dimensions 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.25 inches
Publication date April 6, 2010
ISBN-10 1416968296
ISBN-13 978-1416968290
See all details

Frequently bought together

Similar items that may deliver to you quickly

From the Publisher

Jenny Han; The Summer I Turned Pretty; To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Editorial Reviews

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (April 6, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1416968296
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1416968290
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 years and up
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL600L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.25 inches
#6 in Teen & Young Adult Friendship Fiction
#16 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Dating & Sex (Books)
#24 in Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Videos for this product

Click to play video

Customer Review: The Summer I turned Pretty

Isabel Grant

Author Jenny Han Talks About Her New Novel The Summer I Turned Pretty

Publisher Video

Customer Review: disappointed

Kenneth Johnson

Review- Book 1 of 3 by Jenny Han

Jannah's Best Finds 🛍️

Customer Review: Upsetting

Review-The Complete Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy

Customer Review: it’s nice and came good

The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy

The Proffitt Family - Meadowlark Farms

Customer Review: Very nice quality book.

About the author

Jenny Han is the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series; Shug; the Burn for Burn trilogy, cowritten with Siobhan Vivian; and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and P.S. I Still Love You. She is also the author of the chapter book Clara Lee and The Apple Pie Dream. A former children’s bookseller, she earned her MFA in creative writing at the New School. Visit her at DearJennyHan.com.

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Reviews with images

Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Newsletter
About Amazon
Accessibility
Sustainability
Press Center
Investor Relations
Amazon Devices
Amazon Science
Sell on Amazon
Sell apps on Amazon
Supply to Amazon
Protect & Build Your Brand
Become an Affiliate
Become a Delivery Driver
Start a Package Delivery Business
Advertise Your Products
Self-Publish with Us
Become an Amazon Hub Partner
› See More Ways to Make Money
Amazon Visa
Amazon Store Card
Amazon Secured Card
Amazon Business Card
Shop with Points
Credit Card Marketplace
Reload Your Balance
Amazon Currency Converter
Your Account
Your Orders
Shipping Rates & Policies
Amazon Prime
Returns & Replacements
Manage Your Content and Devices
Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
Your Ads Privacy Choices

Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty

This was so cute and comforting. I could relate to the main character Belly in many ways which made this book really enjoyable to read. The summer I turned pretty made me laugh, cry, and even made me frustrated at times. I usually don’t like reading books with love triangles but this one was an exception. I love the way Jenny Han wrote it. She keeps you guessing. At some points in the book I thought it would be Conrad and others I thought it was Jeremiah. This book was really sad at some points with Susanna having cancer and belly not knowing. It just added to the emotion of the story. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and I’m really excited to find out what happens next in book! 11th grade

Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han will make you want to grab a beach towel, sunscreen, lemonade and head out to a sandy spot where you can read without being interrupted for a while. Belly has the kind of summers that seem dream like, where moms and kids head to the beach house for three months while the dads drop in on occasional weekends. Even so, all is not perfect: Belly’s parents are divorced, her mom’s friend Susannah has battled breast cancer, and the kids are growing up, changing the dynamic of all their relationships.

Belly’s struggle with many teen issues seems very real. She wants to appear cool and older than she is by drinking alcohol at a party, but she doesn’t really want to drink either. She wants her boyfriend to kiss her, but she doesn’t know what she’ll do if he tries to go further. She feels a nearly constant conflict between wanting to grow up and be a little reckless, and wanting to stay in her comfort zone and do what she knows is safe. These are great issues for moms and daughters to talk about. I recommend The Summer I Turned Pretty for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and up.

Comments are closed.

Prime Video's New Must-Watch Show Is an Edgier ‘To All the Boys I've Loved Before’

Less than five minutes into the first episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty , 16-year-old Belly is channeling her inner James Corden as she belts out the lyrics to Kim Petras's "Can't Do Better" in her family's minivan. Meanwhile, her brother, Steven, gives her a few awkward side glances as he makes the drive up to Cousins Beach—a longstanding family tradition that's been around since before she was born. Sitting quietly in the back seat is their mom, Laurel, who, despite not being a fan of the loud music, can't help but smile at her daughter's silly antics.

It's not the most significant scene in the series, but it already paints a fascinating portrait of the small family. Belly being the bubbly, high-spirited girl, her mom being the reserved matriarch and her brother being the protective leader. But throughout the rest of this first episode, it's the lovable Belly who takes center stage. For those who aren't familiar with the new Prime Video series, which just dropped today ( and got renewed for season two !), it's inspired by Jenny Han 's book series of the same name. The show follows Isabel (Lola Tung), better known as Belly, as she visits her family friends' beach house and gets roped into a complicated love triangle with Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and Conrad (Christopher Briney), who also happen to be brothers.

As fans of Han's would expect, The Summer I Turned Pretty is lighthearted YA escapism at its finest, complete with a compelling cast. And though the first episode hints that the series will balance these feel-good moments with controversial themes that go beyond romance and friendship, there's an overall warmth and innocence to this show that makes it feel wholesome—much like Han's Netflix adaptation, To All the Boys I've Loved Before .

Not surprisingly, there's no shortage of familiar tropes in this series, from Belly's magical "transformation" (AKA removing her glasses and braces) to her harboring a major crush on her childhood BFF, Conrad. But somehow, none of this takes away from the show's appeal. If anything, it actually adds charm, which is a testament to Han's unique ability to spin familiar concepts in a way that doesn't feel stale or cheesy, but genuine. For instance, when Bella and her family make it to the beach house, there's a moment when Conrad steps out and locks eyes with her and, naturally, sparks fly. But rather than greeting Belly with an overly poetic line from a Hallmark card, he says, "I liked you better with glasses." And Belly's comeback? "Too bad, I like me better without them."

Aside from the show's refreshing approach to common clichés, there's also Laurel (Jackie Chung), who easily stands out as the loving single mom and middle-aged writer who isn't afraid to speak her mind. Chung delivers a layered performance, balancing her duties as the no-nonsense parent with being a frustrated writer whose work is often overlooked. She also appears to have a rather complicated relationship with Belly, and it's revealed that she divorced her husband over a year ago, so one can't help but wonder about her backstory. But she isn't the only one who's working through personal issues.

There's also Conrad, a former football player who apparently morphed into a glum shadow of himself that Belly no longer recognizes. And then there's his mother and Laurel's BFF, Susannah (Rachel Blanchard), the beach house owner who's been hiding a mysterious secret.

All in all, the first episode succeeds at setting the tone, reeling viewers in with sweet, heart-warming moments, catchy modern tunes and a sprinkle of drama to keep the fans invested—even if they haven't read any of the books. But here's hoping that the rest of the series continues to hold up by diving a bit deeper into these fascinating main characters, rather than focusing solely on Belly's changing looks and romantic pursuits.

Purewow Rating: 4.5 Out Of 5 Stars

The Summer I Turned Pretty follows the YA romance formula to a T, but still manages to feel fresh with a charming cast and just enough drama to keep viewers watching. Fans of To All the Boys I've Loved Before are in for a treat with this one.

For a full breakdown of PureWow's entertainment rating system, click here .

Want more TV reviews sent to your inbox? Subscribe here .

New Adam Sandler Movie Has Already Topped Netflix’s Most-Watched List—& We’re Giving It 4 Stars

Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

For Parents
For Educators
Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

Get the app
Movie Reviews
Best Movie Lists
Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

Best TV Lists
Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
Common Sense Selections for TV
Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

Book Reviews
Best Book Lists
Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

Game Reviews
Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

Podcast Reviews
Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

App Reviews
Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

YouTube Channel Reviews
YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

Explaining the News to Our Kids

Family Tech Planners
Digital Skills
All Articles
Latino Culture
Black Voices
Asian Stories
Native Narratives
LGBTQ+ Pride
Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

The summer i turned pretty, common sense media reviewers.

YA romance-turned-show is sweet and summery.

The Summer I Turned Pretty TV Show Poster: Isabella in the foreground with Jeremiah and Conrad behind her

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Emotions and interpersonal relationships are explo

Belly is a kind-hearted and loving character who h

Main characters include complex women such as Bell

A mom smacks her son in the head lightly during an

Romance looms large in this series, and characters

Language includes "f--k," "f---ing," "s--t," "a--h

Characters mention Uber, drink Starbucks, eat Chee

Several characters, including teens, smoke pot; in

Positive Messages

Emotions and interpersonal relationships are explored honestly. Bonds between family and longtime friends are strong. A young woman is given the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them, without drastic consequences.

Positive Role Models

Belly is a kind-hearted and loving character who has humble and realistic dreams: a first kiss, a happy summer, good times with her friends. Her mom, Laurel, is sometimes impatient with her but ultimately gives her space to become her own person. Conrad is complicated and tends to bottle up his angst. Overall, characters have realistic flaws and hurt one another by mistake, but their love for one another is clear.

Diverse Representations

Main characters include complex women such as Belly, her mom Laurel, and Laurel's best friend Susannah, though their lives revolve around familiar topics of romance, the men in their lives, and/or being mothers. Like series creator and writer Jenny Han, Laurel is Korean American. Laurel and her biracial (Korean and White) kids, Belly and Steven, all have leading roles. Otherwise, most characters are White, and race generally goes unmentioned, only coming up in rare instances like when Laurel says if she wrote about "the Asian American experience," her books would sell better. More is made of Belly's family's finances relative to Susannah's; Susannah is rich and often pays for things, which makes Laurel uncomfortable. A country club is a central location, which characters mention as a space for rarefied wealth. A main character is sexually fluid and makes no bones about "hooking up" with both boys and girls; another character uses they/them pronouns. Mental health issues are tackled when characters grieve over a death in the family, experience depression and panic attacks, and work through their feelings in various ways.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

A mom smacks her son in the head lightly during an argument, after which he apologizes to her. Young men come to blows at parties; during one fight, a girl is accidentally hit in the face and has a bruise. An important character grapples with cancer ( spoiler alert! ) and dies. Several sad scenes as characters work through grief.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Romance looms large in this series, and characters flirt and kiss. Lots of talk about boyfriends and girlfriends. Expect romance, dating, and broken hearts. Characters discuss having sex. Teen characters undress (they're shirtless, and a girl unhooks her own bra; nothing sensitive shown) and then the camera cuts to afterward, with one character asleep as the other wears his oversized T-shirt. Teens tease each about wanting a "hot make-out session" and jokingly call each other a "dirty little slut." Discussions around parents' past cheating.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Language includes "f--k," "f---ing," "s--t," "a--hole," and "bulls--t." Friends taunt each other with words like "bitch," "slut," and "loser" and use the middle-finger gesture.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Characters mention Uber, drink Starbucks, eat Cheetos, mention Auntie Anne's and Twix, walk past Williams-Sonoma, etc. A fridge is stocked with Arizona tea bottles, and Cholula hot sauce is visible at a restaurant. Characters visit Brown University and mention Princeton and Stanford. Pop culture references include Armageddon, Titanic, Machine Gun Kelly, etc. The series is based on a book, which viewers may want to read after watching.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Several characters, including teens, smoke pot; in one scene, moms share a joint. Characters drink at parties, often to the point of drunkenness. Teen girls pass a flask at a debutante lunch.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Summer I Turned Pretty is based on the same-named book by Jenny Han . Like the book, the show is primarily concerned with romance, especially a love triangle between a teen girl and two brothers. Expect lots of talk of boyfriends and girlfriends, flirting, dating, and kissing. Dialogue can sometimes be very frank, like when one girl teasingly calls another a "dirty little slut" for wanting a "hot make-out session." Adults are also involved in romantic complications, with a recently divorced woman meeting someone she becomes interested in. In several scenes, characters smoke pot alone or share a joint; they also drink at parties, many of them underage. Characters drink too much, slur their words, and act sloppy, sometimes fighting at parties (in one instance, a girl is accidentally hit in the face, and it leaves a bruise). An important character grapples with cancer ( spoiler alert! ) and dies; there are several sad scenes as characters grieve. Language includes "f--k," "s--t," and "a--hole." Though characters are all flawed and make mistakes, the love between them is clear. The series has three main characters with Korean heritage, though the rest of the cast is mostly White. Class differences (and clashes) come up in the wealthy beach town they visit. An important character is sexually fluid and flirts with people of different genders; another uses they/them pronouns.

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

Parents say (36)
Kids say (138)

Based on 36 parent reviews

Watch with caution…or not at all

What's the story.

Every year, THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY's Belly (Lola Tung), her mom, Laurel (Jackie Chung), and her brother, Steven (Sean Kaufman), go to Cousins, a New England beach town to spend the summer with Laurel's longtime best friend, Susannah ( Rachel Blanchard ), and her two sons: Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). Every time, it's a whirl of fun at the beach and at the pool, but now that Belly is turning 16 and romance seems to be entering the picture, things get a lot more complicated. The show is based on the young adult romance novel of the same name by Jenny Han , who also created and scripted the series.

Is It Any Good?

As sweet and refreshing as a soda on ice by the swimming pool, this book-based drama tackles the confusion and loveliness of an awkward coming of age. Last year, Belly had glasses and braids -- but as her BFF tells her, she looks "a lot different" this summer, with "new boobs" and everything. Boys notice her, talk to her; movie night with the moms doesn't feel the same, and neither does hanging out with her family and longtime friends -- one handsome family friend in particular. Wonderfully, terrifyingly, Conrad seems to notice her, too, but what does that mean when he has personal drama of his own?

Han's same-named novel is beloved and bestselling, and here she shows she has a deft touch with spoken dialogue and pacing, too. As personified by Tung, Belly is beguiling and conflicted, on one hand wanting to play like a puppy in the pool with her good old friends and, on the other, feeling intoxicated by the sudden rush of power she feels. She wants to put on a white dress and please Susannah with a coming-out season at the country club and also to wear something slinky and short that will make all the boys notice her at the bonfire. In later episodes, the teens grow up even faster as they grapple with the death of a beloved adult. It's easy to love this ensemble and painful yet satisfying to watch as characters fight for what they want while trying not to hurt each other -- something that isn't always possible. It's enough to make viewers remember their own coming of age in all its embarrassment and glory, equal parts cringe and magic, just like this series.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about why books are frequently adapted for the movies or television. Which version do you usually prefer? Does it enhance your enjoyment to have read the book first? Have you read the book that the series The Summer I Turned Pretty is based on? Did it make you like the show more or less?

How does this series seem to feel about Belly's romantic interests? Do you relate to Belly? Look down on her? Fear for her? How does The Summer I Turned Pretty try to make Belly and her adventures relatable? Does it succeed? Why, or why not?

All of the "teen" characters in this show are played by actors over age 18. Do the actors read as too old for their characters? Do you mind the age disparity? What are the practical reasons for using adult actors to play teens?

Premiere date : June 15, 2022
Cast : Lola Tung , Jackie Chung , Rachel Blanchard
Network : Amazon Prime Video
Genre : Drama
Topics : Book Characters , Brothers and Sisters
TV rating : TV-14
Last updated : August 18, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

The Summer I Turned Pretty book cover: Illustrations of seashells on a green-blue background

The Summer I Turned Pretty, Book 1

Want personalized picks for your kids' age and interests?

My Brilliant Friend

We Are Who We Are

The Bold Type

Drama tv for teens, love stories: classic romance tales, related topics.

Book Characters
Brothers and Sisters

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3: What We Know So Far

Conrad girls, get ready!

lola tung as belly, christopher briney as conrad, and gavin casalegno as jeremiah in the summer i turned pretty season 2

Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

Spoilers below.

When will The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 come out?

Although the third season was greenlit ahead of the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the strikes put a halt to work on the series—including (but not limited) to scriptwriting and filming. As Han revealed on her Instagram , “It’s been hard not being able to work on the show because of the ongoing strikes, but we can’t wait to get going on Season 3 as soon as we’re able.”

But less than a year later, Prime Video confirmed the news: The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 will premiere in 2025. Production has already begun, the studio shared in the announcement on May 14, 2024. Lola Tung and her cast mates also shared the news while playing volleyball on the beach.

The show has historically released episodes during the summer, in keeping with its name. (Season 1 began rolling out in June 2022, and season 2 in July 2023.) An industry insider previously told People in January 2024 that the show was “eyeing” to start filming season 3 in Wilmington, North Carolina this spring, which turned out to be true.

What will season 3 be about?

There are three books in the series The Summer I Turned Pretty is based upon, and thus far seasons 1 and 2 have adhered closely to the content of the books. Season 3, then, will likely lift its plot from the third and last book in the series, We’ll Always Have Summer , which is set two years after the events of It’s Not Summer Without You. So it wouldn’t be a surprise to discover a time jump between the season 2 finale and the season 3 premiere.

As for the plot, we’ll avoid spoilers, but expect protagonist Belly (Lola Tung) to confront her true feelings for the Fisher brothers (Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno). A final verdict is incoming!

Season 2 ended with Belly choosing to be with Jeremiah and Conrad telling her that he doesn't want her anymore (even though he said he did the night before!). There are clearly some lingering feelings there to explore next season.

When we asked Jenny Han about plans for season 3, she couldn't divulge details given the ongoing writers and actors strikes—“everything's on hold at the moment,” she said.

But castmembers Rain Spencer (Taylor) and Sean Kaufman (Steven) shared some of their hopes for next season (prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike), particularly with expanding on Taylor and Steven's newfound romance.

“I hope that they can continue to learn from each other, that it's okay to create a safe space for each other, that it's okay to be vulnerable,” Spencer told ELLE.com. “It's okay to communicate how you're actually feeling in any given moment, and really just be there for each other. I mean, they grew up together, so it would make sense that they should feel safe in each other's company.”

Kaufman added, “Yeah, I would love for them to feel safe and be happy with each other. ... I would love to see how their story goes further than that, and then also the problems that they run into, as any couple does. I'm excited to see what it is for them, and how they manage to work through that stuff together.”

How many episodes will there be?

Season 3 will be longer than the first two, with 11 episodes.

Who will be in the cast?

Expect most of the cast to return, including Tung as Belly, Rain Spencer as Taylor, Sean Kaufman as Steven, Jackie Chung as Laurel, Casalegno as Jeremiah, and Briney as Conrad. After all, season 3 is, as one commenter put it , “for the Conrad girlies. 🤪💅🏼”

It’s unclear if season 2 additions Kyra Sedgwick and Elsie Fisher will return as Julia and Skye, respectively. Or if David Iacono will once again reprise the fan-favorite Cam Cameron.

Should I read the books while I wait?

Absolutely. Check out the full series below.

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

It’s not summer without you by jenny han, we’ll always have summer by jenny han.

This story will be updated.

Movies & TV 2024

wandavision kathryn hahn agatha harkness

Watch the Official 'Wicked' Trailer

wizards beyond waverly place selena gomez, david henrie

See Selena in ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ Reboot

Watch the First ‘Only Murders’ Season 4 Teaser

elle woods legally blonde halloween costume

All About the ‘Legally Blonde’ Prequel, ‘Elle’

Mr. & Mrs. Smith Renewed for Season 2

What We Know About 'Bridgerton' Season 3

Heartstopper Season 3 Premieres in October

dear evan hansen los angeles premiere arrivals

Everything We Know About the Movie 'Nightbitch'

'The Iron Claw' Is Now Streaming on Max

shogun episode 2 airs february 27 pictured hiroyuki sanada as yoshii toranaga, anna sawai as toda mariko cr katie yufx

Shōgun Might Actually Get Renewed

celebrity sightings in new york city may 10, 2024

'And Just Like That...' Season 3 Is Filming

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Begins Filming As Premiere Window Is Revealed

The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 is in production and will have 11 episodes, with a release date set for 2025.
There will be a significant gap between seasons 2 and 3, with nearly two years between the release of each season.
Confusion arose about the release date due to the absence of season 3 in the 2024 preview trailer for Prime Video.

The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 begins filming and reveals its release date. The Prime Video series chronicles a love triangle between one girl and two brothers. The series features a leading cast including Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Sean Kaufman, Jackie Chung, Rachel Blanchard, Rain Spencer, Summer Madison, Alfredo Narciso, and David Iancono.

Per The Summer I Turned Pretty ’ s official Twitter account, the show has begun filming season 3 . They also said that there would be 11 episodes in the season, and that it would be arriving in 2025.

The post was accompanied by a brief video of the main cast members playing volleyball on the beach together. In the video itself, Tung says “ see you in summer 2025! .” A specific release date for The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 was not revealed in the post.

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3s Confusing Production Explained

The gap between seasons is unexpectedly long.

The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3’s release date will see the largest gap between seasons for any of the existing The Summer I Turned Pretty seasons. There was just over a year between season 1 and season 2 of the show. Seasons 2 and 3 will now have about a two-year gap if The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 sticks to their filming schedule and releases in summer 2025.

The Summer I Turned Pretty was renewed for season 3 on August 3, 2023, before the conclusion of season 2, but its production has not been a linear process since then. The first hint that The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 would not be coming in the 2024 Prime Video slate came in the streamer’s 2024 preview trailer, which was released in December. While this trailer included snippets from a number of upcoming shows including Expats , Mr. and Mrs. Smith , Fallout , and Invincible , the teen romance show was left out.

9 Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Storylines That Will Be Different From The Books

The Summer I Turned Pretty has proven to be a hot topic amongst viewers, and there are 9 storylines that will be different from the books in season 3.

This understandably led to confusion surrounding the release date for The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3. In January, it was announced that the series would begin filming in the spring. Seeing as it is May, they are technically on time for this schedule, though the end of spring is nearing. This recent update provides clarity on the release date, even if it may be that The Summer I Turned Pretty is pushed further than audiences would prefer.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is available to stream on Prime Video.

Source: thesummeritp /Twitter

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Cast Gavin Casalegno, Christopher Briney, Jackie Chung, Lola Tung

Release Date June 17, 2022

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Begins Filming As Premiere Window Is Revealed

'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Season 3 to Premiere in 2025: Here's Everything We Know

'the summer i turned pretty' cast reacts to belly choosing [spoiler] and who they ship (exclusive), nfl speaks out against kansas city chiefs kicker harrison butker's controversial speech, joel mchale jokes 'community' movie will cost $600 million with pyrotechnics and fights (exclusive), noah beck jokes about being 'married to the craft' while confirming he's single (exclusive), christina hall and heather el moussa poke fun at online chatter over their similar looks, pregnant hailey bieber flaunts baby bump with justin on casual outing, angie harmon files lawsuit against instacart after shopper killed her dog, 'agatha' cast addresses show's ever-changing name and if it's an easter egg (exclusive), matt damon reacts to 'ripley' run-in with andrew scott at the met gala (exclusive), cannes film festival 2024: watch meryl streep get emotional accepting honorary award, shania twain on her 'liberating' new las vegas residency (exclusive), christopher meloni on what 'law & order: organized crime's peacock move means for 'svu' crossovers, 'the talk': carrie ann inaba reacts to show ending after 15 seasons (exclusive), go behind the scenes of simone biles' gold over america tour (exclusive), meet the westminster dog show's 2024 winner, sage (exclusive), bob mackie reveals secrets behind iconic carol burnett and cher fashion moments (exclusive), ‘and just like that': sarah jessica parker hints at what’s next for carrie bradshaw, why travis kelce’s new tv gig makes him feel like a ‘jabroni’, watch angelina jolie and brad pitt's daughter shiloh jolie-pitt’s epic dance moves, '90 day fiancé': bid ed reacts to meeting liz's new 'hunk' boyfriend (exclusive), '90 day fiancé': big ed says he wants to date a 'conservative christian woman' next, prime video announced in may 2024 that the third season had been increased to 11 episodes..

The Summer I Turned Pretty will return for season 3!

The fan-favorite Prime Video series first debuted in June 2022, doubling its viewership in season 2, which dropped in July 2023.

Viewers will have to wait a bit longer for season 3 -- as the start of production was delayed due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes -- however, their patience will be rewarded. In May 2024, it was announced that season 3 -- set to debut in summer 2025 -- would be supersized, consisting of 11 episodes.

"We've been delighted to see the passion with which fans have embraced The Summer I Turned Pretty , making Summer Fridays an entertainment phenomenon," Vernon Sanders, Amazon and MGM Studios head of television, said in a statement announcing the season 3 renewal. "This charming, deeply heartfelt series has shown the breadth of our customer base, appealing to a young, diverse set of viewers."

Production is underway as of May 2024, with the cast sharing a fun video of their reunion for some beach volleyball in Cousins.

Based on a trilogy of novels by Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty follows a search for romance between Isabel "Belly" Conklin ( Lola Tung ) and brothers Conrad ( Christopher Briney ) and Jeremiah Fisher ( Gavin Casalegno ) during their family trips to the idyllic Cousins Beach.

Sean Kaufman stars as Steven, Belly's brother, and Jackie Chung plays the children's mother, Laurel. Rachel Blanchard plays Susannah Fisher, the mother of Conrad and Jeremiah.

Season 1 followed Belly on her annual summer trip to the fictional Cousins Beach with her mom and Steven. While there, they stay with Susannah and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah, who Belly is romantically torn between. In season 2, viewers saw Belly struggle to choose between the feuding Conrad and Jeremiah following the return of Susannah's cancer. By the end of season 2, Belly chose a relationship with Jeremiah over Conrad, a decision that Tung told ET she supports.

“I think she's found someone who she loves and who will fight for her and her relationship,” Tung said of her character. "I think in that moment, it's absolutely the right thing for her."

Blanchard also told ET she feels good about Belly's choice. "I think she's young," the actress said. "It's the time to explore, and she's got to go where her heart takes or it could end up being someone entirely different at the end."

Chung, Belly's on-screen mom, also agreed. "I do see why she would choose him at this point. That Jeremiah is very supportive and dependable."

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty are now streaming on Prime Video.

Get the ET Newsletter

'The Summer I Turned Pretty': Biggest Changes From the Books to Show

See 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Season 2 Star-Studded Soundtrack

Go On Set of 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Season 2 With Lola Tung

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Latest News

Updates on celebrity news, tv, fashion and more.

ADMIN AREA MY BOOKSHELF MY DASHBOARD MY PROFILE SIGN OUT SIGN IN

Book to Screen

‘Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3 Coming in 2025

BY Michael Schaub • today

Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah are headed back to the small screen, but fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty will have to wait until next year to find out what’s going on at Cousins Beach.

Han’s trilogy kicked off in 2009 with The Summer I Turned Pretty , which was followed by It’s Not Summer Without You and We’ll Always Have Summer . The books and series follow Isabel "Belly" Conklin, a teenage girl who spends her summers at a beach house, and who is involved in a love triangle with two brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher.

The series, created by Han, stars Lola Tung as Belly, Christopher Briney as Conrad, and Gavin Casalegno as Jeremiah. Other cast members include Sean Kaufman, Jackie Chung, and Rachel Blanchard. It premiered in 2022, and the second season aired the following year. The show has been a hit for Amazon, particularly among young women.

Han announced that the third season, which will have 11 episodes, would air next year at Amazon’s upfront presentation. Actor Briney said, “We’ve all been so close. It’s our third year, which is kind of crazy. I miss them a lot. We were away for a while…so it’s good to be back, reunited, where it all started.”

Han also posted a video on Instagram featuring the cast members playing beach volleyball. “See you summer 2025!” a smiling Tung says to the camera at the end.

Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.

Amor Towles Talks New Book With Seth Meyers

Seen & Heard Amor Towles Talks New Book With Seth Meyers

B&N Reveals Winners of Kid Lit Book Awards

Awards B&N Reveals Winners of Kid Lit Book Awards

Kevin Kwan Is Back for Summer Reading Season

Profiles Kevin Kwan Is Back for Summer Reading Season

In the News Alice Munro Dies at 92

Our Take On This Week's Bestsellers

Our Verdict

More Book to Screen

Ed Harris To Direct Film Based on ‘The Ploughmen’

Featured Interviews

podcast Episode 372: Miranda July

Episode 371: Best May Books with Aimee Nezhukumatathil

podcast Episode 371: Best May Books with Aimee Nezhukumatathil

podcast Episode 370: Alexandra Tanner

podcast Episode 369: Guest Host David Levithan

podcast Episode 368: Darcie Little Badger

The Magazine: Kirkus Reviews

Featuring 318 industry-first reviews of fiction, nonfiction, children’s, and YA books; also in this special Summer Reads Issue: interviews with Kevin Kwan, Ronald Drabkin, Andrea Wang, and Shivaun Plozza; and more

The Kirkus Star

One of the most coveted designations in the book industry, the Kirkus Star marks books of exceptional merit.

The Kirkus Prize

The Kirkus Prize is among the richest literary awards in America, awarding $50,000 in three categories annually.

Great Books & News Curated For You

Be the first to read books news and see reviews, news and features in Kirkus Reviews . Get awesome content delivered to your inbox every week.

Discover Books Fiction Thriller & Suspense Mystery & Detective Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction Biography & Memoir Teens & Young Adult Children's
News & Features Bestsellers Book Lists Profiles Perspectives Awards Seen & Heard Book to Screen Kirkus TV videos In the News
Kirkus Prize Winners & Finalists About the Kirkus Prize Kirkus Prize Judges
Magazine Current Issue All Issues Manage My Subscription Subscribe
Writers’ Center Hire a Professional Book Editor Get Your Book Reviewed Advertise Your Book Launch a Pro Connect Author Page Learn About The Book Industry
More Kirkus Diversity Collections Kirkus Pro Connect My Account/Login
About Kirkus History Our Team Contest FAQ Press Center Info For Publishers
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Reprints, Permission & Excerpting Policy

Popular in this Genre

Hey there, book lover.

We’re glad you found a book that interests you!

Please select an existing bookshelf

Create a new bookshelf.

We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!

Please sign up to continue.

It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!

Already have an account? Log in.

Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.

Almost there!

Industry Professional

Welcome Back!

Sign in using your Kirkus account

Don’t fret. We’ll find you.

Magazine Subscribers ( How to Find Your Reader Number )

If You’ve Purchased Author Services

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up.

an image, when javascript is unavailable

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

‘the summer i turned pretty’ season 3 delayed to 2025.

The sophomore run of the young-adult drama streamed in July 2023.

By Lesley Goldberg

Lesley Goldberg

Television Editor, West Coast

Share this article on Facebook
Share this article on Twitter
Share this article on Flipboard
Share this article on Email
Show additional share options
Share this article on Linkedin
Share this article on Pinit
Share this article on Reddit
Share this article on Tumblr
Share this article on Whatsapp
Share this article on Print
Share this article on Comment

The Summer I Turned Pretty is taking a summer off.

Amazon , during its upfront presentation Tuesday in New York, revealed that the third season of its popular take on Jenny Han’s beloved young adult book trilogy will not air until 2025.

Additionally, Amazon revealed that the third season — formally announced last August — will consist of 11 episodes. That’s up from the previously announced 10 and a high for the show after seasons one and two featured seven and eight installments, respectively.

Author Han and Sarah Kucserka serve as co-showrunners on season three on Summer and exec produce alongside Karen Rosenfelt, Hope Hartman, Mads Hansen and Paul Lee of Wiip, which co-produces the series alongside Amazon Studios . Lola Tung, Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno star as the show’s central love triangle of Belly, Conrad and Jeremiah, respectively.

THR Newsletters

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Bbc announces deaf-led cast for upcoming thriller series ‘reunion’, inside the netflix upfront: a clear message, cameron diaz and lots of (earned) bragging, nikki glaser reacts to tom brady’s roast regrets, says kim kardashian called experience “abuse”, roxanne, ‘beat the clock’ assistant and ‘seven year itch’ actress, dies at 95, jake gyllenhaal signs marcello hernandez’s yearbook in ‘snl’ promo, victoria justice addresses ‘quiet on set,’ says dan schneider owes her apology for his “very large ego”.

IMAGES

The Summer I Turned Pretty Book Review
The Summer I Turned Pretty Serie Buch
The Summer I Turned Pretty Free Pdf
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
The Summer I Turned Pretty 2
The Summer I Turned Pretty » Series » ArenaBG

COMMENTS

The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer, #1)
Jenny Han. 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 ...
The Summer I Turned Pretty, Book 1
Parents Need to Know. Parents need to know that Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty is the first of a trilogy and is the inspiration for a popular TV series of the same name. It centers on the romantic dreams of a 15-year-old girl who's spending the summer in the same place, with the same people, she's been with her entire life…
Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
The Summer I Turned Pretty follows the perspective of Isabel, or Belly, who has spent the past 15 years of her life spending each summer at the Fishers' beach house in Cousins Beach with her mother, brother, and their close family friends, Conrad and Jeremiah. This summer, Belly has (you guessed it) turned ~pretty~, meaning she is finally worthy of the boys' attention because she has ...
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Idyllic coastlines, a thousand memories and a conflicted heart. The Summer I Turned Pretty will be your new obsession; even you will be torn between the Fisher boys. Isabel is the shy girl who has ...
The Summer I Turned Pretty
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han has been reviewed by Focus on the Family's marriage and parenting magazine. It is the first book in the "Summer" series. ... Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. ...
THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY
The wish-fulfilling title and sun-washed, catalog-beautiful teens on the cover will be enticing for girls looking for a diversion. (Fiction. 12-14) 16. Pub Date: May 5, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-4169-6823-8. Page Count: 288. Publisher: Simon & Schuster. Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010. Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2009.
Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer I
`The Summer I Turned Pretty' is the first book in the contemporary romance YA `Summer' trilogy from Jenny Han. I have had all three `Summer' books sitting in my TBR pile since April. I impulsively bought them when the final book in the trilogy was released, and `Summer' fandom seemed to reach a fever-pitch.
Book Review of 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' by Jenny Han
View on Amazon. The Summer I Turned Pretty is a trilogy written by Jenny Han. I will give you the synopsis of the first part, The Summer I Turned Pretty. The book begins by introducing us to Isabel Conklin (Belly), the fifteen-year-old girl, also one of the main protagonists. Belly, with her mother, Laurel, and her brother, Steven, is going to ...
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han Book Review
It was the summer I turned pretty. Because for the firs time, I felt it. Pretty, I mean. Every summer up to this one, I believed it'd be different. Life would be different. And that summer it finally was. I was." (pg. 21) About. Author: Jenny Han. Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance . Series: The Summer I Turned Pretty Book 1. Click to ...
Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty
The first book, The Summer I Turned Pretty is beautifully written. It tells the story of Belly who only lives in the summer. In the town of Cousins that she has gone to every single summer since her birth, she has everything she needs. The Fishers have always considered Belly and her family a part of theirs.
Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Book Title/Author: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han Publisher/Year: : Simon & Schuster 2009 Genre: Contemporary YA Series: Yes — it's the first book in the Summer series! Other Books From Author: Shug, Burn For Burn, rest of the Summer series!. Amazon | Goodreads | Jenny Han's website. The Story. For as long as Belly can remember she, her brother and mom spent their summer at the ...
Book Review
Reading The Summer I Turned Pretty is basically reading Belly's schedule for three months, except she does the same thing every day of every week for the entire summer. Swimming, beaches, I-love-Conrad, dinner, I-love-Jeremiah-now, parties, swimming, Cam-is-cute, beaches, I-love-Conrad, dinner, swimming.
The Summer I Turned Pretty (The Summer Series, Book 1) (Summer, 1)
The summer house is where Belly did most of her growing up, and experienced the majority of her first's. First kiss. First crush. First love. First heartbreak. `The Summer I Turned Pretty' is the first book in the contemporary romance YA `Summer' trilogy from Jenny Han. I have had all three `Summer' books sitting in my TBR pile since April.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Conclusion. The Summer I Turned Pretty is a well-written and engaging novel with relatable characters and a realistic portrayal of teenage relationships. The novel also explores a number of important themes, such as love, friendship, family, and growing up. If you are a fan of young adult romance novels, then I highly recommend checking out The ...
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Jenny Han is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the To All the Boys I've Loved Before series, now Netflix movies. She is also the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling The Summer I Turned Pretty series, now streaming on Amazon Prime, as well as Shug, and Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream.She is the coauthor of the Burn for Burn trilogy, with Siobhan Vivian.
Parent reviews for The Summer I Turned Pretty, Book 1
this book is perfect for ages 10+. it has very good messages, funny characters, and overall just an entertaining plot. there is little swearing, but i personally don't think a few words should make you miss out on reading this amazing book. i HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone wanting a good, entertaining read. Show more. This title has:
The Summer I Turned Pretty
"This book has what every girl wants in a summer." -- Sarah Dessen, author of Just Listen and Lock and Key " The Summer I Turned Pretty offers a hard-to-resist combination -- a beach house, summer love, enduring friendship. A deliciously sweet read." -- Deb Caletti, author of Honey, Baby, Sweetheart and Wild Roses "If I could live inside this amazing book, I would.
Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty
Review. This was so cute and comforting. I could relate to the main character Belly in many ways which made this book really enjoyable to read. The summer I turned pretty made me laugh, cry, and even made me frustrated at times. I usually don't like reading books with love triangles but this one was an exception. I love the way Jenny Han ...
Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han will make you want to grab a beach towel, sunscreen, lemonade and head out to a sandy spot where you can read without being interrupted for a while. Belly has the kind of summers that seem dream like, where moms and kids head to the beach house for three months while the dads drop in on occasional weekends.
An Honest Review of 'The Summer I Turned Pretty'
Purewow Rating: 4.5 Out Of 5 Stars. The Summer I Turned Pretty follows the YA romance formula to a T, but still manages to feel fresh with a charming cast and just enough drama to keep viewers watching. Fans of To All the Boys I've Loved Before are in for a treat with this one. For a full breakdown of PureWow's entertainment rating system ...
The Summer I Turned Pretty TV Review
Parents need to know that The Summer I Turned Pretty is based on the same-named book by Jenny Han. Like the book, the show is primarily concerned with romance, especially a love triangle between a teen girl and two brothers. Expect lots of talk of boyfriends and girlfriends, flirting, dating, and kissing…
10 Best 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Episodes, Ranked
Season 2, Episode 6. Season 2, Episode 6, "Love Fest" is the best episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty so far. With hope lost for the house, the whole group decided to plan one last party in ...
'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Season 3 News: Everything We Know
As of Aug. 3, 2023, the news is official: The beloved Prime Video series The Summer I Turned Pretty, based on the books of the same name by To All The Boys I've Loved Before author Jenny Han, is ...
10 Books To Read If You Love The Idea Of You
The Summer I Turned Pretty was doubtlessly better suited to a TV show format because of how much ground is covered in the novels. Though each of the books tells a fresh and intriguing story, the ...
'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Sets Return Date as Prime Video ...
Prime Video has set a return date for its much-loved series The Summer I Turned Pretty, ... Season 1 of the series based on Han's book trilogy arrived in the Summer of 2022 and was followed by ...
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Begins Filming As Premiere ...
The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 is in production and will have 11 episodes, with a release date set for 2025. There will be a significant gap between seasons 2 and 3, with nearly two years ...
'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Season 3: Everything We Know
The Summer I Turned Pretty will return for season 3! The fan-favorite Prime Video series first debuted in June 2022, doubling its viewership in season 2, which dropped in July 2023. Viewers will ...
'Summer I Turned Pretty' Season 3 Coming in 2025
The Amazon Prime Video series, based on Jenny Han's trilogy of young adult romance novels, will air its third season in the summer of 2025, Deadline reports. Han's trilogy kicked off in 2009 with The Summer I Turned Pretty, which was followed by It's Not Summer Without You and We'll Always Have Summer. The books and series follow Isabel ...
'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Season 3 Delayed to 2025
The Summer I Turned Pretty is taking a summer off. Amazon, during its upfront presentation Tuesday in New York, revealed that the third season of its popular take on Jenny Han's beloved young ...

Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Have you read The Summer I Turned Pretty?

Share this:

Leave a comment Cancel reply

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han – review

Want to tell the world about a book you’ve read? Join the site and send us your review!

Most viewed

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

Book Review

Readability Age Range

Year Published

Plot Summary

Christian Beliefs

Other Belief Systems

Profanity & Violence

Sexual Content

Discussion Topics

Additional Comments

Latest Book Reviews

Elf Dog and Owl Head

A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses Series)

Fog & Fireflies

The Minor Miracle: The Amazing Adventures of Noah Minor

The Eyes and the Impossible

Book Review of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ by Jenny Han

Synopsis of The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

My Review of The Summer I Turned Pretty

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han Book Review

Other TSITP Book Reviews

When I say, I would CRY for Jeremiah, I would SOB 😂.

I just have to say, get you a person who treats you nice, sweet, with respect, and kindness 👏🏼!!!!!

You know when you take the rad out of Conrad, all you are left with is con 😂.

you might also like

Subscribe to our mailing list:

Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

My Final Thought

Related Posts

About Jamie

Reader Interactions

More about Jamie

Book Review | The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

About The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty Review

Some controversial thoughts...

Everything else might suck but at least Cousins Beach is a cool place to be.

This reader thinks, "Damn, this is some really irritating writing."

No plot, just vibes.

The final verdict.

About Jenny Han

Related Posts

Comentários

Book Summary: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Strengths and weaknesses

What makes the book unique or worth reading

Use of literary devices or techniques

How the book relates to the author’s life, other works, or broader social issues

Possible questions for a high school test

Functional details

Other reviews

Where to buy the book

Is this book part of a series?

Awards and accolades

About the author

Amazon Prime includes:

Return this item for free

Follow the author

Image Unavailable

The Summer I Turned Pretty Paperback – April 6, 2010

Frequently bought together

Similar items that may deliver to you quickly

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Videos for this product

Customer Review: The Summer I turned Pretty

Author Jenny Han Talks About Her New Novel The Summer I Turned Pretty

Customer Review: disappointed

Review- Book 1 of 3 by Jenny Han

Customer Review: Upsetting

Review-The Complete Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy