BY SOPHIA
What better way to celebrate being in the throes of summer than with the most iconic summer trilogy: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han?
For our July book club pick this month, Jensine & I decided to embark on re-reading all three of the books in this series and unlike previous months when we’ve read multiple books for book club, this month did NOT feel like a challenge to finish all the books. All three of these books are short, quick reads that FLY BY and we promise, will not disappoint.
what we liked:
- Is it not every girl’s dream to have an older brother with hot friends who are like your “second brothers”? No? Just us? In any case, we had major FOMO over Belly’s situation with both the “Fishermen” in her life. It’s a teenage dream come true!
- The story of Belly’s blossoming over one summer was one that resonated with us as well … and I think will resonate with most female readers. We all can identify with finally feeling like we’ve grown into our own skin and “arrived.”
- As a reader, you find yourself really falling in love with the characters and being invested in where Belly’s heart ultimately leads her. (Hint: Both Jensine & I love who she picks at the very end.)
what we disliked:
- Belly’s initial character can feel a little uncouth and annoying .. she’s constantly complaining like the younger sister she is. Good news, though, she quickly outgrows this and endears herself to the reader – but be warned! Some may find her a bit off putting at first.
- Conrad’s backstory could have, in our opinion, been fleshed out a little bit more. There were some definite missed opportunities for the author to give us a bit more insight into the inner workings of this character’s motivations and the lack of understanding what DRIVES Conrad to do what he does is definitely noticed.
in conclusion:
- READ THESE BOOKS! These are a re-read for both of us so we wouldn’t have suggested it as a book club pick if we didn’t think you’d enjoy. There’s still plenty of summertime left to enjoy this story -and trust us- this is a book you want to dive into during the summer.