Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - The Summer I Turned Pretty

Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

24 reviews

leexpenandpages's review against another edition

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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

📝 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.

🏖🔺️📺🚗🏥🍺🎁👩‍👧‍👦👩‍👦‍👦

👍🏻 RECOMMENDATION:

♥️ SKIP it (and the Netflix show). You know this story already, and you can find other versions with better characters.

💬 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.

👓 FORMAT:

🎧

📑 COMMENTS:
• 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.
• 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!)
• 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!
• Toward the end of the book, the pacing is uncomfortably fast. There is a major reveal that readers hardly get any time to feel.
• 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.

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1721egp's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.5

Look, it's not bad. This is the kind of book you read while you're laying on the beach and need an easy vacation read or in the backseat during a roadtrip. There's no real plot, but it does end on a cliffhanger that makes you interested in seeing what happens next.

I would've liked to see more character development, for Belly to take some accountability for her actions, but again, I didn't dislike it. The concept is there for a great YA novel with some substance but it just doesn't perform.

Content Warnings

hjb_128's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

ninaleeray's review

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challenging emotional funny sad fast-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? No

5.0

This book shows the internal workings and external processes and experiences of a young woman being of age, building relationships and dealing with family hardships. A real page turner.

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becca_w_'s review

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emotional lighthearted reflective sad 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

Content Warnings

awdrummer's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.25

Just finished The Summer I Turned Pretty, a quick YA romance novel. After a heavy read, I was looking for something light, but this one left me torn. It was an easy read, but I’m not sure I’d pick it up again.

The plot mainly revolves around a teenage girl’s obsession with boys, and that’s pretty much the entire book. Kind of what you expect with a YA romance. My main concern lies in the portrayal of the main character, fixated on a boy who’s far from deserving. Spoiler alert: I was disappointed with her choice, favoring a disrespectful, indifferent teenage boy over those who actually valued her. I also had concerns about the messages we’re sending to young readers, specifically on body dysmorphia and encouraging unhealthy choices such as alcohol when undergoing life stressors.

The little substance added towards the end felt like a tease, strategically placed to lure readers into the next books. Despite my reservations, I might give the second one a shot, especially since I have free Kindle Unlimited for a bit and I’m on a reading spree.

Here’s my haiku:

Shallow waves conceal,

Choices made in youthful haze,

Wisdom comes too late.

Content Warnings