The Summer I Turned Pretty

Readable but ultimately disappointing due to a chicken-shit ending and lack of character development.

I get that I'm not the target audience for this book.

I also get that this story is completely fabricated and is to real life what Dragonlance is to hanging out with friends...

But at the same time, there's an awful lot of cliched tropes in this story. They work for the intended audience, though. Every generation has their trashy romance novels where the plain girl gets to feel special, and I can see the appeal of this one for fans of the genre.

That said, it was competently written, and I wish I had Jenny Han's success.

“Sometimes it's like people are a million times more beautiful to you in your mind.”

I love the vibes of The Summer I Turned Pretty, but I just found the characters more annoying in the books than the show. But a lot of that is probably me forgetting they're all supposed to be in their mid-to-late teenage years. I forget that I was probably like that too.

what a story :) perfect read while i was lounging at the beach, and definitely made me cry with that ending . i look forward to reading the next book, but i loved the writing style and way it was written :)

3.5

constantly flip flopping between team conrad and team jeremiah

[Listened to the audiobook narrated by Lola Tung.]

a co-worker of mine recommended this to me, both the show and the books, as very mindless entertainment with little to no plot to play in the background. and i have to admit, she was right— this book has no plot at all.

honestly i hated Belly (stupid ass name), Conrad, Jeremiah, and Taylor, i found them all to be unbearable. Steven was just kind of there, but you might as well throw him into the unbearable category by association too. the only characters i liked were Cam and Susannah, and i'm still mad at how Belly ended up just using Cam in the end.

i only wish i had a bit of warning for Susannah's cancer storyline, as my mother was recently diagnosed with cancer and i found it a bit triggering. i almost coundn't finish this book because of it. the way Susannah was described as frail, her arms bone-thin, wearing loose dresses to cover it up was too real and almost made me cry haha. though the moment between her and Belly as they made muffins was beautiful and reminded me of my experiences with my own mom, probably the only scene in the book that i actually liked. also, they call their grandmother the same uncommon name i call my grandmother (“granna”), which is triggering in a whole other way lmao.

aside from all of that i enjoyed Jenny Han's gorgeously descriptive writing and Lola Tung's audiobook narration, and i think that might be what saved this book from a worse rating.

very nice book, i do thought prefer the series; it's a 3 and a half book

Probably would have enjoyed more if I were younger.

Honestly? I hated Belly's character; in the book & in the show. I get it Conrad is her first love but that doesn't mean you have to string everyone along when he changes his mind over & over again. Poor Cam-Cameron & Jeremiah.

I'm not a huge fan of the time hops. Other than that, everything is good.

I wish I had read the books before watching the show. I was expecting this to be all about Belly pining over Conrad but it's not. Not really. Not until the end anyway. The book also leaves me to wonder about the tv adaptation. But, I'm not a writer or producer so what do I know.

Anyway, good read. Quick read.

and what if I said that I'm team cam cameron? 

aka the summer of bad faith assumptions

Es perfecto. Es lo más tierno del mundo. Es el libro que daré a mi futura hija imaginaria cuando sea adolescente.

i am in love with conrad


r slur jumpscare but tbf i am reading the 2009 edition of the book

Hear me out.. belly is whiny and conrad's a dick. Justice for jeremiah.

This also isnt actually a love triangle????

And i just have to read the other two to torture myself

3.7⭐️

3.5/5

I really liked the show better but the book wasn't bad. It felt depressing at times and the characters seemed one dimensional, but overall I love the story so it was still a good read.

3,5 ⭑
Ein richtig süßes Buch, welches mich positiv überrascht hat. Ich freu mich schon auf den nächsten Band. Es bringt ein Tooles Sommer und erste Liebe Gefühl ❤︎

This is a book filled with the typical teenage angst, hormones, indifference, and cruelty that a lot of us know so well if we are grown and have been through it. I could give or take this book as I found the Belly to be an unlikeable character due to her whininess. I know that is part of being a teen but it became a bit much at times. I will probably read the rest of the series as I hate to start a series and not finish.

unfortunately this doesn't deserve the hype i am sorry to say it

if i would've read this 10 years ago i would've been OBSESSED. now, it's just cute pure summer entertainment 

It was alright. 

It was okay but it was a nice read by the beach! Short chapters which I really like and it was very easy to read. Just didn't like some of the decisions made by Belly and it was sometimes a bit boring. Some likeable characters.