We'll Always Have Summer (Summer #3) by Jenny Han
Published: April 26th 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Page Count: Hardback, 288
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Chick Lit
Find the Author: Website, Good Reads, Twitter, Blog
Buy This Book: Amazon
, Book Depository
It's been two years since Conrad told Belly to go with Jeremiah. She and Jeremiah have been inseparable ever since, even attending the same college-- only, their relationship hasn't exactly been the happily ever after Belly had hoped it would be. And when Jeremiah makes the worst mistake a boy can make, Belly is forced to question what she thought was true love. Does she really have a future with Jeremiah? Has she ever gotten over Conrad? It's time for Belly to decide, once and for all, who has her heart forever. - Good Reads
This last book in the Summer trilogy held me captive the entire time much like the previous books. In fact, I managed to read the entire trilogy in a day!
This last book is, as it says in the summary, takes place two years in the future. Jeremiah and Belly are together now and going to the same university and neither have seen much of Conrad since he moved out to California. That all changes and they end up all being thrust together... And the story goes from there.
I won't give away the ending because I don't want to spoil it. Now that I'm done with the review and re-reading before I post it, I realized I totally give the ending away. So if you don't want to be spoiled, please stop reading.
A part of me loved the ending. A part of me didn't. One of the reasons why I loved this series so much is because I identified with Belly a lot.
Anyway, this series is really good. Read it contemporary lovers! Or perhaps read it even if you're not normally a contemporary lover. Read it if you've ever been in love with an emotionally distant rat bastard!
4 out of 5 Hello Kitties
It's Not Summer Without You (Summer, #2) by Jenny Han
Published: April 27th 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Page Count: Hardback, 288
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Chick Lit
Find the Author: Website, Good Reads, Twitter, Blog
Buy This Book: Amazon
, Book Depository
Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach.
Of course I couldn't leave this series at the first book - I had to know what happened with Belly and the seemingly semi good ending (that wasn't exactly fully satisfying) of the first book The Summer I Turned Pretty. It's Not Summer Without You starts out the next summer and Belly backtracks throughout the book to let the reader catch on to happened over the past year and why things are the way they are now, but still manages to stay in the present, much like the writing style of the previous book - a lot of little chapter flashbacks. We also are introduced to Jeremiah's point of view, which was a plus, I think. I really liked reading his side of the story. Especially his sincere feelings towards Belly.
I could easily see people saying that Belly is an idiot for pining after Conrad for so many years and continuing to put up with his attitude, which is clearly unsatisfactory. There were many times where I wondered what Belly saw in him myself. He was very emotionally distant and could be so cold hearted. [The prom incident... what the hell was that about? Even after finishing the series I still haven't found a good excuse for that behaviour] But other times his actions screamed that he cared a lot about her.
Overall, this was really good. I flew through it quickly and I put off everything to finish it. The ending was what I expected and it made sense to me. Definitely a series I recommend to those who love YA contemporary romance.
5 out of 5 Stars
The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1) by Jenny Han
Published: May 5th 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Page Count: Hardback, 276
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Chick Lit
Find the Author: Website, Good Reads, Twitter, Blog
Buy This Book: Amazon
, Book Depository
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 terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along. - Good Reads
The Summer I Turned Pretty is another one of those books I stayed up way too late to finish in the past week. I first heard about this book from GReads and decided to check it out from the library - it's been lying around my house for quite a while and I had to renew it because I kept putting it off. But after reading a review from Fictitious Delicious last night and seeing Pretty in Fiction's Book Boyfriend pick this week I decided to pick it up and I ended up not being able to put it back down.
This was a beautiful story full of nostalgia, growing up and long-time crushes finally coming to a head. Belly, her Mother and her older brother Steven spend every summer with Belly's best friend Susannah and her two sons Conrad and Jeremiah at their beach house. Belly has always been the underdog and forced to deal with the boys ganging up to pick on her or ignoring her and leaving her out of their boyish shenanigans. This summer though, it's a little different. It might be their last. Conrad, the brother she has been secretly in love with since she was 10 is going away to university in the autumn and she's afraid that next year he'll have no reason to come and Jeremiah will most likely be going to football camp next summer, so he might not come either. And this is the summer she finally feels pretty.
The nostalgia factor is huge for me in this book. And it really made me miss the beach. I loved the atmosphere, the pacing, the characters and pretty much everything about this book. I found myself relating to Belly a lot. I remember the summer I turned pretty too. And I remember having crushes on more than one boy and settling for one that I thought I could have because I didn't think I was worthy or it'd work out with the boy I truly liked.
The only part that I found was confusing were the flashbacks. So, heads up! They are labelled by age at the beginning of the chapter, but I didn't notice right away, so you just have to keep your eyes peeled at the beginning of the chapter or you might end up a little confused.
This is definitely a must read for those who love a good coming of age story about a girl that has surprising depth.
5 out of 5 Hello Kitties!
