Justine's Thoughts: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty
By Jenny Han

Source: Library
Pages: 276
Book Description (Goodreads):

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer -- they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

A quote:

Sometimes it’s like people are a million times more beautiful to you in your mind. It’s like you see them through a special lens -- but maybe if it’s how you see them, that’s how they really are.

Any thoughts:

Absolutely perfect as a summer read. Only the problem is that it’s got me wishing for a summerhouse the entire time, where I can swim, go to the beach, be with family friends and enjoy summer! I totally wish.

When I first came across The Summer I Turned Pretty, I immediately thought it was only based on summer romances. But beneath all the lightness and the drama, there lies some serious conflicts which Belly is kept from. With everything blended well together, it becomes one heck of a great novel. What more, Jenny Han’s perception of a 15-year-old girl comes off as real. She makes Belly’s experiences sound plausible as Belly goes through various decisions that sometimes annoy me because she always ends up choosing wrong. And the love square, if you may, is way interesting. It was too difficult to me to choose between Conrad, Jeremiah, and a guy named Cam. I would often change my mind because they are all unique guys. How lucky Belly is to be surrounded by those kind of guys during summer. It’s probably why she likes going to Cousins Beach a lot.

Overall, The Summer I Turned Pretty has got me dreaming about the perfect summer. Jenny Han creates such an enchanting place by the beach where anything can happen over the summer.