Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Summer I Turned Pretty, by Jenny Han

29 reviews

elspethmigliore's review

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

this was so cute. i really loved the beach aesthetic and the overall feeling of family. both boys are so cute and i loved how we saw glimpses of their relationships with belly from the past. 

Spoiler i got really frustrated with cam and conrad at the end of the book, i wish we got to see more of cam and belly’s goodbye and how conrad and belly ended up getting together. it felt so on and off with conrad that it would’ve been nice to have a bit more clarification on his feelings towards the last 2 chapters.


also i love the relationship between the moms. it’s so sweet and genuine. 

definitely reread material ✅
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boldphoenix's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

 
I was really torn about how to rate this book, because the entire time I listened to it I felt meh about it, but I knew 16 year old me would have rated this 5 stars.  This book reminded me of how I felt as a teenager and the cringy things I did at that time.  I was just about to turn 16 when this was published, and had I read this back then I would have felt like the book was written just for me, because Belly reminded me of myself at that age. However, at nearly age 30 all I felt was second hand embarrassment at Belly’s behavior (and consequently my own from my teenage years).

Overall, I think the story was good, and the descriptions of settings, feelings, and people created good visuals. Unfortunately, the characters didn’t have much depth; I felt like I didn’t know why I should care about anybody because I didn’t know what anybody’s personality really was. The book was from Belly’s perspective, so we only knew her stream of consciousness… and she wasn’t a particularly likable person.  The story time jumped a lot, so we’d switch to past summers to present (pretty) summer and sometimes I got confused about what perspective I was listening to, since Belly didn’t seem to mature much between ages 12-16.  That said, I think Han does a good job encapsulating the rollercoaster that is teenagehood. 

I’m giving this 3 stars because even though adult me thinks it is a 2.5 star book, 16 year old me would have rated it 5. 

 
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lemanson3's review

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.75

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kayleejanes's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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spideyreads's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I've read this book twice. After reading it a second time, I've realized it's not really worth all the hype. It's just a book that's kind of... there. The protagonists were extremely self-centered and annoying, and even the book acknowledges that they act as if the world revolves around them. Another thing that annoyed me about this book is the age difference and the "practically siblings best friends to lovers" dynamic and how young the protagonist, Belly, is. I'm sorry, I have trouble imagining an eighteen year old wanting to date a fifteen/sixteen year old he's known since birth. I don't know, the age difference just sort of rubs me the wrong way since there's an obvious difference in the characters's maturity levels. I think young adult books should be encouraging teenagers to act their age and be themselves instead of always wanting to be grown, but, not going to lie, that's probably what this book captures the best; the feeling of wanting to be as grown up as your cool older friends. Maybe I'm being too picky, and I'm sure lots of my favorite books also have this problem, but this book just had it showcased front and center.

I'm a big romance reader, so it's pretty shocking I didn't like this book. I recommend To All the Boys I've Loved Before if you want to read something by Jenny Han. Better characters, better writing, and better romance. To All the Boys is definitely worth the hype. 

read this book if you like: 
  • love triangles
  • watching characters grow up
  • beachy, summery reads
  • teen TV shows
  • BookTok
  • romance tropes

don't read this book if you hate:
  • "Pick me girls"
  • will-they-won't-they
  • BookTok
  • toxic love interests
  • bland/boring characters & love interests
  • romance tropes
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binta_'s review

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dark funny hopeful informative relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

i really liked this book. it was slow throughout the book, but i think it was because belly was trying to describe her life story with the fishers, and we only got new information near the end, but i really liked the story. the way that it is played out and that it is only in belly’s pov. what i would improve in this book is like more of other ppls pov to see what they are going through and not only belly. 
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bookgirly_777's review against another edition

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4.5

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moonbin's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

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ellelockley's review

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Belly measures her life in summers. The whole world dissappears when she's at the summer house with Conrad and Jeremiah. I am not going to lie, it was not a very good book. I felt Belly was way too full of herself and put other girls down to make herself feel better. The way she treated Taylor and Red Sox girl for me is horrendous. She should end up with Jeremiah though, he doesn't mess with her feelings. I did however love Susannah and Laurel, I thought they were a good duo. I don't think I'd recommend this book to anyone. 
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ellawatwat's review

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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