Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Release Date: May 9^th, 2009

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s

Rating: 4 out of 5

Recommended? Yes!

Buy the Book: Amazon US

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. - Goodreads page

I know, I know. I’m late to hop onto yet *another* band wagon. My bad. But, I read this book – finally – and I *loved* it! I totally understand what all the hype is about.

This book is written to show Belly’s point of view during the present day, and through a series of flashbacks over previous summers spent at the beach house. It is honestly an emotional rollercoaster, and everything mentioned in the flashbacks somehow intertwines with the present day. It’s very clever!

The title did, at first, sound rather superficial to me, but after reading I realise that I was completely wrong! Please don't be put off by the title, as this book is so much more than a story about being pretty.

I felt such a strong connection to all of the characters in this book – you must know how unusual this is for me! – and I loved it. Everything that they felt, I felt too. I cried my eyes out toward the end of the book, which was extremely surprising as I knew exactly what was coming. Obviously the connection I felt to the characters was stronger than I initially thought.

Another unusual trait to this novel was that I didn’t find any of the male characters attractive. Again, this is very strange for me, as I usually fall in love with at least one or two of them! Alas, I loved them, but not in a Dimitri Belikov kind of way.

It’s a wonderful summer read, and I highly recommend picking up this book and taking it on holiday with you! Reading it on the beach or by the pool is likely to enhance the experience ;)