The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer, #1)

by Jenny Han

[Stephanie]

The Summer I Turned Pretty wasn't automatically a favorite of mine. It took a few days of thinking about it that really made me realize this book will now be one of my favorites. And I have to admit that I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, I usually don't fall in love with books like this one.

The thing about this book was that I related to Belly so much. I have two older brothers and I was always the youngest one of the group and I was always the one tagging along even though I wasn't invited or I was the one left behind. And that's what Belly went through. The thing that really struck me was that this was Belly's last real summer at the beach house, and she was sad about it. She didn't want anything to change. She wanted it to be like it always was. But a lot of things were changing. She isn't the little girl anymore and everyone around her is off doing their own thing now, when Belly just wants to do the regular things they always did.

I'm so glad Jenny Han captured that stage in the youngest siblings life, when the older siblings are to old too be hanging out with their younger sibling, and the youngest is stuck at home still wanting to do the same things they always did. Older siblings don't have to go through this, and probably don't realize that this is how their younger siblings feel.

But of course, that's not what the story is all about, that was what stuck out to me, for obvious reasons. Belly was so caught up in finally being able to be part of Conrad, Steven, and Jeremiah's 'group' that she didn't see what was really happening around her.

I couldn't figure out what Belly saw in Conrad, he was moody most of the time, and sometimes mean. I loved Jeremiah though, he was always so upbeat and trying to make everyone happy and is Belly's best friend. Completely the opposite of Conrad. I found myself wishing she would go for Jeremiah and give up on her crush on Conrad.

This book is not light and fluffy, though it is an easy read. I felt like I only read a few pages when I really read 100 pages. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to have a nice, easy summer read.