Monday 18 April 2011

The Summer I Turned Pretty review

The Summer I Turned Pretty
Jenny Han
May 5th 209 (US)/ June 3rd 2010 (UK)
Simon & Schuster (US)/ Puffin (UK)

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.


Before I started blogging, I would never have picked up a book like this. I would've seen the title and scoffed at it, all like, 'I don't want to read books about summers and prettiness and boys'. But then again, before I started blogging, I was a bit of an idiot when it came to books. And I'm so glad I lost that silly part of myself that refused to read books that didn't have some paranormal/action/whatever aspect to it. Because these books are so darn good! The Before-blogging me missed OUT. ;)


The Summer I Turned Pretty was brilliant. It was so much better than I thought it would be. I loved practically all of it. I really liked Belly. I liked that she was commonly addressed by her nickname, and I liked that she was pretty childish, that she was very imperfect, that the boys weren't always falling at their feet about her (sorry, it irks me when then happens in books...) And that she had a lot to learn, that she was pretty naive. And I also liked that she didn't get with either of the brothers first, that she had a bit of a thing with someone else, and that that started to help her sort out her feelings.


And I really enjoyed the flashbacks too. I liked getting to know some of the history of Belly and the brothers at the same time as learning about how they are now, how they've changed over the past couple of years.


And I really, really loved the brothers. Jeremiah was so sweet and funny, always trying to be the peacemaker, and even though Conrad could be a bit of an arse... (okay, so he was majorly arsey at some points) I couldn't help but love him, I feel so bad for Jeremiah! But even though I love him, there's just something about Conrad... He's just somehow loveable. I can't help it. ;) And Steve, and Laurel and Susannah were all so wonderful! I nearly cried at the end (partially because I cry at, like, everything...) but it was sad! I won't spoil it for ya, but if you've read it, you understand, right? It's not just me, is it...?


The Summer I Turned Pretty is a perfect beach read, yet still has a lot of depth to it, and is one book I wasn't expecting to love as much as I did. It was totally good. 4.5 stars :D



4 comments:

  1. This doesn't look like something I'd pick up either, but now that you've spoken so positively about it... :-)

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  2. DUDE I am so happy that you loved it, read the second already!

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  3. I know what your saying. the cover and title have actually put me off looking into this book even though I know people have enjoyed it. However your review makes it sound like theres more to it than boys and beauty so I may have to give it a go if I see it in the library!
    Thanks for your review! x

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  4. After sending you that long comment recommending you read this, I looked in your sidebar and discovered you already did! Lol...well, at least we're on the same page. You loved it too. I knew you would. Make sure you read the next two. You must! Unless you did and I didn't see those reviews either! Ha.
    I agree, I would have never picked these up ordinarily, but when the publisher sent me the third book, people told me I had to read books one and two, first. I bought them and they were right. It's a great series. The author is having a release party in New York for the third book and I'm hoping I'll be able to be there and get my copies signed. I plan to give away the first two books on my blog. :-)

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