The Summer I Turned Pretty
by Jenny Han
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.
This is my first Jenny Han book, though I've heard great things about Shug and I keep meaning to go and read it. This book was wonderful. Belly is a very realistic character...you feel her awkwardness, her earnestness, her yearning for love, her "brattiness." She is what I think I was as a fifteen year old. Han has a beautiful way of drawing the reader in. You know, or at least have an inkling of what's really happening, but still she surprises and tells each scene with such delicacy that it is truly wonderful storytelling.
Having had the experience of finding out that someone in your family has cancer and then having to live with the fallout...realizing that life never will be the same, and yet, needing to continue on in life as much as possible, this book really spoke to me personally. I was pulling for everyone in the book with all my heart. It was realistic and yet, left me filled with wonder and hope. Highly recommended.
I need to read this one! I loved Shug and this one is sitting on my bookshelf. Maybe I should move it up in the TBR pile.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this book too. I wanted to smack Conrad most of the time, but I'd like to hang around with everyone else. Do read Shug. You won't be sorry.
ReplyDeleteAlright, alright...with these endorsements for "Shug", it's definitely going to be moved up my TBR pile!!
ReplyDeleteI also felt like I wanted to smack Conrad around during most of the book, but I also kinda understood that he was going through some heavy stuff, and boys can be stupid,and take out their frustrations, etc. in the wrong ways! :P We girls tend to just go off and cry alone instead...