Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Synopsis: 

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.

Pages: 276

Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (May 5th, 2009)

Genre: YA contemporary romance

My rating for The Summer I Turned Pretty:

Maybe like a 4.5...not sure yet.

A cute story about 15 (turning 16) year old Isabel aka Belly (a childhood nickname that stuck like glue) and everything summer! It's a very light, quick read that had be smiling and giggling throughout it.

There were a lot of flashbacks to past summers and each time I came to one, I was initially annoyed because I was anxious to stick to the present, but at the end of all of them, I ended up smiling because they were such enjoyable flashbacks. And they were entirely necessary to give us a look inside what Belly's life had been like as she spent each summer at the summerhouse. I was able see how Belly's relationship with the Fisher boys had been and why this summer was different/more significant than the others. (Explaining the title of the book really.) They also helped me understand why Belly liked Conrad so much because let me tell you, he is a super moody, selfish person who doesn't like to socialize much. He's a hottie, but if I met him, his looks would cool down after I encountered his personality. But because of Belly's memories of Conrad and Jeremiah, and then the cute moments that occurred in the present, I really liked those boys. Really liked those boys. :)

There are a lot of cute as well as funny moments and mostly because the family dynamics between the Fishers (Susannah the mom, Conrad & Jeremiah her sons) and the Conklins (Belly, her brother Steven, and her mother Laurel who is also BFFs since childhood with Susannah) is so enjoyable! They're truly like family and they pick on each other like family. It's very endearing and light.

At one point, there is another love interest named Cam although I don't think he and Belly made the perfect match, I really did appreciate his type of character because you just don't see characters like him as one of the love interests! It's not often that a really smart, handsome, cool and confident (in his own nerdy way) boy is made out to be a decently likable character. There were times when I thought maybe he was showing off his smarts, but for the most part, I really liked reading a character like him.

In quite a few of the flashbacks, Belly's friend Taylor is introduced and I didn't like her at all. Those scenes were good to have because of how Jeremiah and Conrad were shown in them, but whenever I read about Taylor, I was irritated.

I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with the way the book/romance ended. I think I'm just okay with it. Not mad, not happy. I think the ending was necessary and I'll be reading the 2nd book to see how the romance plays out.

It's nothing that'll blow your socks off but if you are looking for a YA romance, light & quick summery read, this'll do the trick!