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zoe_archambault's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
it was cute but that was it. i guess im over young adult/teen romances cus it just feels so juvenile and basic and naive. also the audiobook narrator had a really annoying voice and kept laughing while delivering lines which made it hard to understand what was actually said. i think a different audio person would have made this easily a 3 or 3.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Alcohol, and Cancer
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Adult/minor relationship
mirabellee_'s review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, and Terminal illness
Minor: Cursing and Grief
cnannery19's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cancer, and Medical content
breedawnwriter's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.0
I enjoyed this book. It was a fun summer read that I knew I'd love after falling in love with the TV show adaptation.
I'm only giving it 3 stars because there wasn't really a plot, which made a lot of the scenes and interactions feel unnecessary. Hoping there's more of a plot for the other two books in the series.
Also, yes, I'm Team Jeremiah because Conrad is moody, broody (in a bad way), and cannot maturely deal with his emotions.
I'm only giving it 3 stars because there wasn't really a plot, which made a lot of the scenes and interactions feel unnecessary. Hoping there's more of a plot for the other two books in the series.
Also, yes, I'm Team Jeremiah because Conrad is moody, broody (in a bad way), and cannot maturely deal with his emotions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Drug use, Grief, and Cancer
Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
ashleyjean6's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A coming of age story set in a seemingly perfect small US beach town. The premise, mother & kids going away Dan's the father's for the summer, reminds me of other books set early in the 1900s near NYC (a la mad men). However this is YA and ALL about the kids, particularly the lone girl, and youngest, in the bunch. There are some problematic passages about diet culture/ body image that I really disliked. They're not even needed!! I'd let my elementary aged daughter read this, except not because of that. (It's not the focus of the book. But those stupid asides are what get stuck in a young girls head). The ending leaves you hanging, so have the next book in the series ready. I also enjoyed the narrator.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, Cancer, and Terminal illness
syraluna's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity
dblue236's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
By the time I got halfway through this book, it was glaringly apparent to me that I am not its target audience. But having said that, I can absolutely see its appeal for teenage girls and if I had read it 20-25 years ago, I probably would have adored it. It's well written and the characters are lovable, and once I learned to get past the massive amount of teen angst, I did enjoy the story. The "big reveal" toward the end was painfully obvious from about 20 pages in, but it was a good bit of escapism and overall I enjoyed it despite being too old and cynical for it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Chronic illness, Cancer, and Terminal illness
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
lucyatoz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han is a young adult story featuring Isabel, or as she goes by her nickname in the book Belly, which I think most teenagers would have bulked at!
This novel has issues. Belly is an annoying teenager, with an internal monologue which did get some what irritating. Jeremiah and Conrad, the son's of her Mum's best friend, are the people who she has spent the Summer with, along with her brother Steven, for a long time. They are your typical American boys, who enjoy swimming, football, playing computer games, and teasing Belly.
It is not my kind of read personally, but wanted to read something that I would not normally read. They are some topics that affect teenagers, such as drinking alcohol and using drugs, which are mentioned but not really elaborated on. Both mother's are divorced, or about to be, with one also having a relapse of cancer, which again is touched on but not really part of the story as such. It is mainly centred around Belly and, for me, this lead to very self-centred story, when it could have been so much more.
I borrowed a copy of this book from Taunton Library and listened to it on cloudLibrary. I read this for prompt 10, told in a non-chronological order, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.
This novel has issues. Belly is an annoying teenager, with an internal monologue which did get some what irritating. Jeremiah and Conrad, the son's of her Mum's best friend, are the people who she has spent the Summer with, along with her brother Steven, for a long time. They are your typical American boys, who enjoy swimming, football, playing computer games, and teasing Belly.
It is not my kind of read personally, but wanted to read something that I would not normally read. They are some topics that affect teenagers, such as drinking alcohol and using drugs, which are mentioned but not really elaborated on. Both mother's are divorced, or about to be, with one also having a relapse of cancer, which again is touched on but not really part of the story as such. It is mainly centred around Belly and, for me, this lead to very self-centred story, when it could have been so much more.
I borrowed a copy of this book from Taunton Library and listened to it on cloudLibrary. I read this for prompt 10, told in a non-chronological order, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Blood, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
leexpenandpages's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
π SYNOPSIS:
Belly spends every summer at a beach house with her mother, brother, two beautiful boys, and their mother. Growing up, she mostly passed time at the house with the parents, but this year, everything changes.
ππΊοΈπΊππ₯πΊππ©βπ§βπ¦π©βπ¦βπ¦
ππ» RECOMMENDATION:
β₯οΈ SKIP it (and the Netflix show). You know this story already, and you can find other versions with better characters.
π¬ FAVORITE QUOTES:
Sometimes it's like people are a million times more beautiful to you in your mind. It's like you see them through a special lens. But maybe if it's how you see them, that's how they really are. It's like the whole tree falling in the forest thing.
My dad once told me that Winstone Churchill said that Russia was riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. According to my dad, Churchill had been talking about my mother. This was before the divorce, and he said it half-bitterly, half-respectfully. Because even when he hated her, he admired her.
So this was my power over her: my supposed innocence over her supposed sluttiness. It was all such BS. I would've traded my spot for hers in a second.
π FORMAT:
π§
π COMMENTS:
β’ This story is warm and cutesy, just what one expects from a romance, especially a teen romance. It follows the story beats you expect from a childhood friends-to-lovers story. Combined with the short, focused chapters, it's an easy read.
β’ The narrator does an amazing job of sounding like a sweet, excited teenager. It's a shame Belly is completely annoying and oblivious, and most of the cast is frustrating too. (Thank you, Susannah, for being the exveption!)
β’ There is a scene in which Belly says asking someone before kissing is awkward. I'd like to remark that consent is important, and Belly is wrong on this subject. If it feels awkward to ask or to say yes, you shouldn't be doing it yet!
β’ Toward the end of the book, the pacing is uncomfortably fast. There is a major reveal that readers hardly get any time to feel.
β’ NOTE: The plot and characters differ significantly from the Amazon series. They're only loosely similar. Amazon does it better, but they're both easy skips.
β’ This story is warm and cutesy, just what one expects from a romance, especially a teen romance. It follows the story beats you expect from a childhood friends-to-lovers story. Combined with the short, focused chapters, it's an easy read.
β’ The narrator does an amazing job of sounding like a sweet, excited teenager. It's a shame Belly is completely annoying and oblivious, and most of the cast is frustrating too. (Thank you, Susannah, for being the exveption!)
β’ There is a scene in which Belly says asking someone before kissing is awkward. I'd like to remark that consent is important, and Belly is wrong on this subject. If it feels awkward to ask or to say yes, you shouldn't be doing it yet!
β’ Toward the end of the book, the pacing is uncomfortably fast. There is a major reveal that readers hardly get any time to feel.
β’ NOTE: The plot and characters differ significantly from the Amazon series. They're only loosely similar. Amazon does it better, but they're both easy skips.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Body shaming, Chronic illness, and Cancer
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing
nessa_loves_reading's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Alcohol