Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - The Summer I Turned Pretty

This book was horrible. The only thing I liked was the short chapters.
The way the author handled topics like cancer was slightly offensive (coming from someone who has had experiences with others getting cancer).
Cancer seemed like an afterthought in the story.
Most of the characters were jerks except for Jeremiah.
The main character never had any self reflection, even though, it was greatly needed.
It felt like there were random topics thrown in for fun because they didn’t add much to the story in my opinion.
There were way too many flashbacks that interrupted the story and only made the flow worse.
The characters were all really insensitive to all the bad situations too.
Also, why Belly? Sorry but if someone called me that, I would throw hands.

Content Warnings

happilyeveralli's review

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adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Sooooo full of nostalgia!

Content Warnings

sirenricobooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

corporealmystic's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense 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

spideyreads's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I've read this book twice. After reading it a second time, I've realized it's not really worth all the hype. It's just a book that's kind of... there. The protagonists were extremely self-centered and annoying, and even the book acknowledges that they act as if the world revolves around them. Another thing that annoyed me about this book is the age difference and the "practically siblings best friends to lovers" dynamic and how young the protagonist, Belly, is. I'm sorry, I have trouble imagining an eighteen year old wanting to date a fifteen/sixteen year old he's known since birth. I don't know, the age difference just sort of rubs me the wrong way since there's an obvious difference in the characters's maturity levels. I think young adult books should be encouraging teenagers to act their age and be themselves instead of always wanting to be grown, but, not going to lie, that's probably what this book captures the best; the feeling of wanting to be as grown up as your cool older friends. Maybe I'm being too picky, and I'm sure lots of my favorite books also have this problem, but this book just had it showcased front and center.

I'm a big romance reader, so it's pretty shocking I didn't like this book. I recommend To All the Boys I've Loved Before if you want to read something by Jenny Han. Better characters, better writing, and better romance. To All the Boys is definitely worth the hype.

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