Jenny Reviews The Summer I Turned Pretty Series

This is review is going to be a little different since I'm tackling the whole series at once instead of seperating it into a post for each book. Here we go.

 
The Summer I Turned Pretty 
by Jenny Han
Publisher:Simon & Schuster
Release Date: May 5th, 2009
Edition: Paperback 276 pages (purchased)

 What the back of the book has to say ...

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? 

        

GoodReads Summary        GoodReads Summary

I want to start by saying that I don't usually read contemporary YA unless it involves a lot of mystery, spies, and a dead body or two. Morbid? Maybe. I love a good romance story, I do, but give me some action and suspense, and I don't mean the kind behind a bedroom door. Yuck. There's a reason I stick to YA. I'm talking gunfire, close calls, and that almost kiss while hiding from the bad guys. Be still my heart. 

OK, so we're clear on where I stand with stories that focus mainly on romance? Now, let me tell you ...

I LOVED THESE BOOKS!!1

I picked this series up on a whim. I had seen it on several blogs that just raved about how good it was and became intrigued. So when I found them on sale I figured what the heck. I'm so glad I took that chance and if you're anything like me and you steer away from these types of books, make the exception for these! These books brought out my inner girly girl. NOT that that is a bad thing. All through the series I found myself smiling at times and shaking the book at other times, pretend I had a hold of one of the characters. I may or may not have even yelled at them while reading in a public place. Yeah, it got that intense lol.

   

   The story is told mainly from Belly's point of view and and she alternates between telling us present events and past memories from the Cousins Beach with her family and the boys. I think this was one of the things I loved most about the books. You got to see the history that all these characters had together. All the traditions, the inside jokes and shared memories. The traditional Belly Flop is among my favorites. It all pulls you in and makes the story that much more real. I've heard the alternating between past and present gets confusing, but really it all fits together nicely in my opinion.

  We also get to see chapters from Jeremiah's point of view in It's Not Summer Without You  and then a bit of Conrad's pov in We'll Always Have Summer. These chapters added so much to the story. I love being able to see what the guy is thinking and feeling. It really creates those moments where you know both sides of the story, but the characters are being silly and lying to themselves and each other, you know, those moments where you want to bang your head against something, but in a good way.

  Also, how great is Belly's name? Isn't that one of the cutest nicknames ever? I have a thing for unique names. Like I saw a cat named Fondue at the pet store, and now I want to name my next pet Fondue.

   Even the titles are great. Really, what could make for one of the most memorable summers for a girl? How about the one where she goes from being the little tag along sister to finally feeling pretty and having everyone notice. That sounds like a pretty epic summer to me.

   There was very little I didn't like about these books. I was not fond of Cam in The Summer I Turned Pretty, but he was necessary. While Belly was entertaining thoughts of Cam I was silently shouting at the brothers "You need to Step. UP." Lol. And while I enjoyed how the series ended and who ended up with who, I was hoping for a slightly different execution.

 All in all, The Summer I Turned Pretty series was absolutely wonderful and perfect for that summer time reading.

Interested in reading the series? Read it, loved it, and want the series for your very own? Check out our 100 Follower/Summer time Giveaway!