The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Summer has always been Belly's favourite time of year. Her family has been sharing a beach house with her mom's best friend's family since before she was born. She's always been the younger sister to her older brother Steven and their older friends Conrad and Jeremiah. This summer, though, things are different. Steven leaves early on to look at colleges, and then it's just Belly, Conrad and Jeremiah. They've always looked at her as a little sister, but now they can't ignore how she's changed. And other guys can't, either. It's the summer where everything is going to change.

I love books about summer. When I was growing up, I spent my summers away from home at our cottage. I had a summer life and a winter life, and would spend time waiting impatiently for my summer life to begin. So, in that way, I could relate to Belly. I also have a hard time with change, so I could see her unease when things started changing (even though change was in some cases exactly what she wanted). I thought that Jenny Han did a great job balancing Belly's point of view so that she seems mature and wise in some ways and young and naive in others. Conrad and Jeremiah are interesting characters that I wish I knew more about, so I'm glad I can now dive in to the sequel, It's Not Summer Without You.

Find it at IndieBound.


Read it with:
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
Zen and Xander Undone by Amy Kathleen Ryan
It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
Shug by Jenny Han
Dishes by Rich Wallace
Maine Squeeze by Catherine Clark