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?