REVIEW: The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1) by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Series: Summer #1
Published by Penguin on 3rd June 2010
Pages: 288

Every year Isabel spends a perfect summer at her family friends' house. There's the swimming pool at night, the private stretch of sandy beach... and the two boys. 

Unavailable, aloof Conrad - who she's been in love with forever - and friendly Jeremiah, the only one who's ever really paid her any attention. But this year something is different.
An easy contemporary read, that is certainly targeted more towards the younger audience in the young adult genre.

Oh where to start with this novel. I think one of the key aspects of this novel that threw me, is our main character Belly. I believe, dependant on your age, the way you read her will differ. Personally I found her to be a rather petty and immature character. Belly constantly played the victim, and although this I believe strongly related to her age, to read it from her perspective really overtook and ruined her character. On the topic of Belly's age, she reads very young yet I was left very surprised when I found out halfway through that she was only fifteen. On one side, she reads and has the maturity of a young teen, yet the storyline and what she was doing aligned more with the actions of an older late teen, and hence the perspectives that the reader is getting of her just simply did not mesh together. I simply could not relate nor connect with Belly, and to simply connect with a character is really important to do when reading a novel to become invested in their story; sadly she was just really rather selfish and self absorbed.

Secondary characters were... disposable. They were not fleshed out enough and I felt like if they left the storyline it really would not be missing them, which is surprising considering the two brothers are what the plot revolves around. I would also like to add in here, the romantic interest Conrad is eighteen and Belly is fifteen; just made me feel rather uncomfortable to read about to be honest.

However, what Han did with the characters was what made some important talking points throughout the novel. Although lightly tackled, there were still important lessons and topics that were covered, alongside seeing Belly grow to push herself, find her voice and take control of her decisions, whilst also improving her self confidence. For the audience this should be aimed at, it was well done on Han's part, and are good topics for young teens to be aware of and to contemplate themselves.

Concerning the plot, to me personally it was average. It passed the time, it was light, and I kept reading. But one of the main things is that it was just a bit too simple of a plot for myself. I expected more from this novel, to either better tackle the important topics it lightly covers, or to have more engaging and invested characters. However, I believe I will continue with this trilogy, simply in the hopes that I can witness Belly be a more fleshed out and evolved character, alongside watch her grow as a person as she ages throughout the novels.


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