Video AND Written Review! The Summer I Turned Pretty {Jenny Han}
So I’m going to write this blog post as usual…NO SPOILERS! However, at the verrrry end of this post I will put a link to a video that I made where I discuss a huge storyline that I thought was going to happen throughout the entire story…and I could not have been more WRONG, lol. I’ll also link the trailer for the Amazon Prime miniseries.
The Summer I Turned Pretty {Jenny Han}
Goodreads Synopsis of The Summer I Turned Pretty {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 terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.
My Review of The Summer I Turned Pretty {Jenny Han}
So obviously I might be the last person on the planet to read this one…but I finally did! Well, I listened to it as an audiobook. Shortest audiobook ever–6 hours! I listened over the course of 3 days.
Going into it, my expectations weren’t exactly high as I did NOT love To All the Boys I Loved Before (you can read my thoughts HERE). I definitely liked this book more than that one! However, I still have the same thought as I did with To All the Boys I Loved Before…it’s just so YA. I know, I know, it’s meant for YA readers but as an adult, I love when YA books can also appeal to all ages. Jenny Han’s writing is just…for teens. NOT adults. Does that make sense??
My 4 biggest complaints with The Summer I Turned Pretty:
- The back and forth timelines. Holy hell was this annoying. I don’t mind a back and forth if they go in chronological order but this one…Sweet Jesus. “The Summer I was 10 Years Old” to “The Summer I was 15 Years Old” to “The Summer I was 12 Years Old”. Maybe reading this as a physical book to flip back and remind myself what year we were in would have made this more tolerable?
- This book reads like a memoir. I hate memoirs.
- I had an obvious prediction from the very beginning that I was 1,000 % sure was going to happen and…it didn’t. Would have made a great storyline if it did! It seemed so obvious to me, I wonder if that was the intention? To make the reader think the story was going in a totally different direction? *** Watch my video below where I discuss this but know that I give away some MAJOR spoilers. You’ve been warned. ***
- LACK. OF. CHARACTER. DEVELOPMENT. The only character that was properly developed with Susannah. Everyone else just seemed so surface level.
This book did hold my attention and after listening to a few psychological thrillers in a row, it was a nice break. Do I feel invested in these characters enough to read the other 2 books in the trilogy? I do not. Moving on…
Video Where You Can See How My Mind Tried to Turn Something Really Beautiful Into Something Really Scandalous
If you haven’t yet read this book and have plans to in the future, do NOT watch my video as I give away some huge spoilers! If you HAVE read this book or don’t plan on reading it, enjoy this video where you can see how my mind tried to turn something really beautiful into something really scandalous. Somebody please watch this and tell me that your mind also went straight to this…
The Summer I Turned Pretty is now a miniseries on Amazon Prime! I think the casting is super weird. NONE of these characters (especially Belly) look even remotely close to how they looked in my head while reading! Here is the trailer:
Book Coffee Happy Epilogue:
The ending that Jenny Share created in her head would have been a much more interesting ending than Jenny Han created on paper.
Have you read this book? Have you watched the miniseries? What did you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Xo,
Jenny
Click the image below (this link is for the paperback…the audiobook has a different cover) to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo
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