Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty (The Summer I Turned Pretty Book 1) by Jenny Han
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: April 6, 2010
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304 pages
Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Description: Some summers are just destined to be pretty.

When each summer begins, Belly leaves her school life behind and escapes to Cousins Beach, the place she has spent every summer of her life. Not only does the beach house mean home away from home, but her favorite people are there: Susannah, her mother's best friend, and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly has been chasing Conrad for as long as she can remember, and more than anything, she hopes this summer will be different. Despite distractions from a new guy named Cam and lingering looks from Conrad's brother, Jeremiah, Belly's heart belongs to Conrad. Will he offer his to her? Will this be the summer that changes everything?

My Review:

     I'm on a Jenny Han roller coaster or something! I've read two of her books last month and I'm still going! This book is a nice breezy summer read for those who are in the summer-mood. The Summer I Turned Pretty follows a girl named Belly as she returns to a beach house owned by her mother's friend. In the description, Conrad is the boy that Belly has a longing for, but she meets Cam during this summer and things change. This summer, Belly faces difficulties of love and family.

     This book has chapters from Belly's past in order to help the story move along and I really enjoyed reading those. It was nice seeing that Belly was getting recognized because of her body's changes and that she was slowly getting into more activities and not being left out by her brother and Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly's life was changing but she was still the little child that was oblivious to most things. She didn't know what was happening to Conrad and drew to conclusions a little fast.

     However, I still enjoyed this read. It dealt with how Belly took control of her summer and did thing she wanted to do. She got invited to parties that she's never been to and had a summer boyfriend. But nothing ends happily ever after. Things go out of hand when Belly finds out something that the boys--Conrad and Jeremiah--have known for some time now. And Belly has no one to blame but herself, for being so stupid and selfish. Then the summer ends and the next books continues. Does Belly return to Cousins Beach? Or will Belly have her summer in her hometown with her school friends?

Book Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: May 12, 2015 (this edition)
Format: Hardcover Special Collector's Edition (Pink)
Pages: 464 pages
Genre(s): Young Adult > Contemporary, Romance
Description: Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life-and she's really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.
Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

My Review:

     In this Rainbow Rowell book, I really enjoyed the characters and how they turned out once you keep reading on. I'm still so hooked onto Levi and Cather and this book brought out so many emotions all at once. It deals with a college girl trying to get used to being in college and leaving her father alone while her twin sister wants to live her own life. And then there's also a story within this one about Simon and Baz, a famous soon-to-be-eight-book story that made Cather the writer she is today. 

     Levi was a character that I couldn't get out of my head. The way that he was described just made me feel everything I wanted to although there were times where I hated him too. But not as much as I hated Nick. I thoroughly want to give Nick a big punch in the face because he didn't do Cather any good and didn't even think about her once. 

     Cather's relationship with Wren during college was something I hated reading. I hated how Wren would push Cather aside and go party. I thought Wren was civilized and more like Cather; less of a party animal. But I was so wrong and it helped build the plot between Cather and Wren's family. It also helped build Cather's character and what her choices would come out to. 

     Overall, the whole plot was something I enjoyed. I got confused every time Simon and Baz showed up though. Since there were snippets in the beginning of every chapter, I couldn't figure out the significance of them. Did they relate to the chapter? I don't know. This book was really great to finally read and Cather and Levi's relationship is just something I loved reading because Cather is such an innocent freshman student.