The Summer I turned Pretty

by Jenny Han

Dedication: "To all the important sister women in my life and most especially Claire"

First paragraph: "We'd been driving for about seven thousand years. Or at least that's how it felt. My brother, Steven, drove slower than our Granna. I sat next to him in the passenger seat with my feet up on the dashboard. Meanwhile, my mother was passed out in the backseat. Even when she slept, she looked alert, like at any second she could wake up and direct traffic."

Review: Belly spends her life looking forward to the summers. She has spent each summer at the beach with her mom's best friend's family - Susannah, and most importantly Conrad and Jeremiah. Each summer has been like the last, but this summer is one she'll never forget.

I would give this book 2 1/2 stars. It was an easy read but it was from the perspective of a 15 year old girl and I felt like she was so whiny that I wanted to just punch her sometimes. I guess that equals good writing on the author's behalf because I really could imagine some 15 year old out there telling this story. Unfortunately, her other characters weren't as well developed so I had a harder time believing in them.

As for the plot, it could probably be much more enjoyed by a teenager - Summer love, cute boys, etc. It does skip around from one summer to the next and there was one jump that I got kind of confused by but that was probably my own fault for missing something. Mostly, I didn't like the ending. I can't really talk about it though without "spoiling" the book so I'll just say, I think it could have had a better one, maybe more concrete.

Anyway, I was able to finish the book in a day so if you are looking for something that you can read quickly, this is definitely an option.

Click Here for a Jenny Han website and more information on this book.