Hi guys! Welcome to the first blog of Nina’s Book Corner! Today I will review the fan-acclaimed favorite, The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.
So firstly, let’s start with a basic summary of the book and then get into some deeper opinions. (WARNING: Some sections will contain spoilers. I recommend not reading further than the summary if you have not read it.)
Summary
The Summer I Turned Pretty follows Isabel Conklin (Belly for short) and her summer romances. Belly’s mother, Laurel, has a best friend named Susannah, who owns a beach house at Cousin’s Beach. Susannah has two sons, Jeremiah and Conrad. Belly has been in love with Conrad her whole life, but she only ever sees him in the summertime. So far, Conrad has never returned her passion, but this summer will be different. Belly arrives at the beach house with her mom and her brother, Steven, and is immediately noticed by the Fishers, who notice her somewhat “glow-up” since last summer.
The rest of the book follows her journey to romance, and by the end, she ends up with three love interests.
Favorite/Least Favorite Characters
This is a very controversial topic to the people that have read this book. We should start with Conrad. Let’s get things straight: Conrad is a jerk in the first book. He gets better throughout the series, and only the people who have the books are rooting for Conrad. He is constantly neglecting and ignoring Belly, however, gets jealous whenever she hangs out with another guy.
But, it’s not all Conrad’s fault. Conrad is struggling with many different issues throughout the book. His mother is suffering from cancer again, and his parents are going through a divorce. This leads to alcohol and drug addiction, and many different mood swings. (Conrad didn’t just need Belly throughout the series, he needed therapy) But overall, Conrad is sweet on the inside and Belly deserves a guy like him. Speaking of Belly, to be honest with you, she wasn’t my favorite. I feel like she had a bland character and was a stereotypical romance-obsessed teen girl. I’m not saying she was terrible, I’m just saying there wasn’t anything there. I did love her relationship with Jeremiah(For more, check out the Ships/Relationships section) and she was especially sweet to Susannah. However, I didn’t feel she was funny, really kind, or even mean. She was just boring to me and I would have enjoyed a more interesting personality.
Now onto my favorite characters! I can’t cover everyone, because this section would be way too long, so I’m just going to pick my top two.
Okay, so for many of you, this will not be your favorite option, but TAYLOR!!! Okay, okay. If you’ve only read the first book, you might not be in love with her. She makes out with Steven and is a bit boy-obsessed throughout the book, but she shows some really sweet traits and in the later books gets to be the best. First of all, you might have not picked up on this in the first book, but Taylor has a bad home life. From what I remember, her parents are divorced or are going through a divorce, and a bad one. Second of all, although she is boy-obsessed, she never tries to make a move on Conrad and always supports Belly whenever she talks about him. She is encouraging and kind to Belly throughout the whole series, and always backs her up when one of the boys breaks her heart.
My second favorite top character is Jeremiah. This is a pretty common pick because in the show the actor portrays a cute, nice, lovable golden retriever that everyone is obsessed with. But there are also some things under the surface that make me love him. Jeremiah has been in love with Belly since the beginning. Sure, he just realized it this summer, but you should always fall in love with your best friend. And that’s what he did. Their easy, feel-good relationship led to some other feelings. Jeremiah also loves his brother and his mother more than anyone. He was supportive of his mother going through cancer, and although they had a few fights, overall idolized Conrad. In the later books, Jeremiah makes mistakes, and he is a bit party-obsessed, but that’s your typical teenage boy. Jeremiah has never disrespected a girl and everyone around him loves him.
Ships/Relationships
This isn’t much of a topic change considering how we were just talking about characters, so let’s get right into it. I’m going to be ranking my top five relationships in the whole book series, one being my favorite.
#5 Susannah and Laurel
No, this is not romantic, I just love their friendship. First of all, can we talk about how they visit each other every summer?! Like, this is what I want and my best friends and I's relationship to be like when we’re adults. I also feel like Laurel unwinds and becomes a different self when she’s with Susannah. They are complete opposites, with Susannah’s free will and Laurel’s determination and hard work. Throughout the books, I feel like they get each other without getting each other if you know what I mean.
#4 Steven and Jeremiah
I particularly love this bromance. Steven and Jeremiah are always upbeat and playful and do everything together. It breaks my heart when Steven starts getting left out by Belly and Jeremiah because they have such a strong connection. They are girls in boys’ bodies. And they both respect the women in the family, even when Steven bullies Belly. And I hope that they are still best friends after the last book because it would be devastating if they had grown apart.
#3 Jeremiah and Belly
Okay, who doesn’t love this ship? Jeremiah is not the type of boyfriend who is distant and awkward. No, Jeremiah and Belly were best friends before, and they had that relationship when they were dating. They get along easily and enjoy each other’s company. I love how silly Jeremiah is around Belly, and how he always gets her to crack a smile. I feel like Jeremiah would never be attracted to Belly in real life, because I feel like he would need someone who matches his energy, and I don’t think Belly does. I still love Belly, and I know she had such a tough time in these books.
#2 Belly and Conrad
I had to put this ship, because, of course! Their relationship develops so much throughout the books and they are perfect for each other. Once you read the later books, you find out more about Conrad and get to understand him more. In the end, his love for Belly will always overcome obstacles, although sometimes he has the wrong way of showing it. AND can we take a minute to think about how gentle he is with Belly, like that one scene where he’s playing with her hair? That made my heart drop.
#1 Taylor and Belly
My two girlies! Like Laurel and Susannah, these two are opposites, yet in different ways are both romantics. These two are partners in crime and Taylor is just so supportive of Belly in this relationship. She’s also really badass, and even though it seems at first she has a crush on Conrad, by the end of the series she’s just protecting Belly.
My Thoughts on the Show
Everyone always seems to want to know whether the show is good or not, so I’ll just go ahead and say it: It is better than the book. My reasons? Well, it portrays the characters better. I’m pretty fond of Belly in the show, and the actor that plays Taylor is so much better than book Taylor. And it gives more of a story to Laurel, Steven, and Susannah, and doesn’t make it just about Belly’s love life. It’s multiple loves combined, like Love Actually. And something particular I loved was that it didn’t make Nicole the bad guy, like the author did in the book. It showed her side of things, and I sort of felt bad for her when Conrad was neglectful of her. And I liked that Belly had girlfriends, and not just guys. In the book, it made me a little annoyed how her only girlfriend was Taylor and they made Taylor out to be some boy-obsessed friend that only likes makeup and girly things.
In all, I recommend you stick with the whole series! For me, it flew by really fast because I stayed up late reading these books all night. I hope you love this book world as much as I did!
Bye, readers..
Nina