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A review by sophiesometimesreads
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I want to preface this review with the fact that I am way out of this book’s target audience so that factors into my thoughts A LOT. Also minor spoiler warning so read at your own risk.
This is apparently young adult but it read more like middle grade. I usually like young adult but this felt too young to me, though I think a lot of that was because of the characters.
Belly was not a good character. Usually, I don’t mind frustrating characters for the sake of a story but she was so immature and was written the same way at 11 years old as she was at 16 years old. Steven and Conrad were just condescending and mean, it made me dislike them and I was not rooting for either of them. Jeremiah was okay, but he didn’t really do anything in particular to make me like him either. The only person I liked was Cam and everyone was so mean to him.
I also didn’t really like the Conrad x Belly pairing, it felt a bit weird seeing as she seemed so young and he was written to be quite mature, with the drinking, smoking and partying. Not to mention, he would be going off to college after the summer and she was barely 16. I know it’s not a huge difference in years, but it just didn’t feel like the right choice. He could’ve easily been a bit younger and it wouldn’t have changed the story.
I also guessed the “plot twist” at the end from very early on, which didn’t help with the engagement factor either.
Like I said at the start, I think my age plays a big factor in my opinion of the book and if I had read it in my early teens when it came out, I may have actually enjoyed it. That’s also why I rated it 2.5 stars instead of the 1.5 to 2 stars I would have rated it otherwise.
I don’t know if I’ll continue with this series. Maybe one day I’ll pick them up but I think I’m going to focus on all the other things I have to read for now. I can always just watch the series instead.
This is apparently young adult but it read more like middle grade. I usually like young adult but this felt too young to me, though I think a lot of that was because of the characters.
Belly was not a good character. Usually, I don’t mind frustrating characters for the sake of a story but she was so immature and was written the same way at 11 years old as she was at 16 years old. Steven and Conrad were just condescending and mean, it made me dislike them and I was not rooting for either of them. Jeremiah was okay, but he didn’t really do anything in particular to make me like him either. The only person I liked was Cam and everyone was so mean to him.
I also didn’t really like the Conrad x Belly pairing, it felt a bit weird seeing as she seemed so young and he was written to be quite mature, with the drinking, smoking and partying. Not to mention, he would be going off to college after the summer and she was barely 16. I know it’s not a huge difference in years, but it just didn’t feel like the right choice. He could’ve easily been a bit younger and it wouldn’t have changed the story.
I also guessed the “plot twist” at the end from very early on, which didn’t help with the engagement factor either.
Like I said at the start, I think my age plays a big factor in my opinion of the book and if I had read it in my early teens when it came out, I may have actually enjoyed it. That’s also why I rated it 2.5 stars instead of the 1.5 to 2 stars I would have rated it otherwise.
I don’t know if I’ll continue with this series. Maybe one day I’ll pick them up but I think I’m going to focus on all the other things I have to read for now. I can always just watch the series instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Alcohol
Minor: Death