Summer I Turned Pretty

The book of the summer

By: Crystal Hermond

Kennesaw Mountain High School

The moment I stepped into Barnes & Noble, I was on a mission. Straight ahead was the customer service counter which I quickly forged my way to.

“Excuse me; do you happen to have the book The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han?” I asked with a hint of desperation in my voice.

The lady slowly looked up from her book, smiled and said “Let me check.” After what seemed like forever she finally gave me the thumbs up the store had it in stock and kindly showed me to where it was. The second I had the paperback book in my hands a huge grin couldn’t help but plaster itself on my face.

As an avid reader, I choose at least two books to read over the summer. Last summer was the Twilight series but this time The Summer I Turned Pretty made it on my exclusive list. I heard nothing but great reviews so I was both excited and curious to see what all the hype was about- it’s safe to say the book didn’t disappoint.

“I will never look at you in the same way ever again. I’ll never be that girl again. The girl who comes running back every time you push her away, the girl who loves you anyway.” This is a quote nicely summarizing the whole plot of the book. Every year Belly, her mom and brother travel down to their beach house which they share with Belly mom’s best friend and her two boys Jeremiah and Conrad. Belly has always had a burning love for Conrad, who is three years older than her, but that summer everything changes. The instant she stepped out of her mom’s van Jeremiah and Conrad eyes’ are locked on none other than Belly. This is the summer she turns pretty.

This book isn’t the typical sappy love story where at the end everything is sunshine and rainbows. No, this book has many different layers which slowly begin to unfold once you venture deeper into the book. Even when you may feel as if you know what to expect, the unexpected inevitably happens. The Summer I Turned Pretty doesn’t only depict Jeremiah, Conrad, and Belly’s relationship but also acts as a bildungsroman novel focusing on the growth and maturity of Belly through her many mishaps and triumphs.

If you want a book to read tanning by the pool or whenever you’re cooped up in the bedroom, this will have you turning the pages frantically to get to the very end. If you liked The Summer I Turned Pretty then you’ll also enjoy It’s Not Summer Without You, and We’ll Always Have Summer which are the next books in the series and is a continuation of the complicated relationship between Belly Jeremiah and Conrad.