A review by ali_33
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

lighthearted 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? N/A

3.0

i read it because i’ve been watching the series lately and i was hoping that like basically every time a book gets turned into a tv product i would find something more than ultimately didn’t make it to the screen, but honestly??? i am disappointed. belly is an annoying and whiny child most of the time, she’s really pictured as still a baby, always pouting and throwing tantrums when she doesn’t have her way, conrad is an asshole, jeremiah seems quite shallow as a character, and steven and taylor, along with the two fathers, are basically non-existent, they’re barely mentioned, and are not at all useful to the plot. also the belly/conrad and belly/jeremiah relationships are quite weird and not really pictured well, there’s not the buildup we saw in the show, everything happens out of nowhere with very little background story building. i felt like i was reading a completely different story than from what i’ve seen on the screen:
cam was treated like shit and didn’t deserve it, the whole plot revolves around belly being childish (mind you i get she’s still 15-16 but i cringed so hard at her behaviour every time, like what the hell). i also felt like susannah’s illness was a bit overlooked and not talked about enough.
i am pretty sure the lack of plot comes from the fact that the book is narrated from belly’s pov, which makes everything revolve around her, “starving” the reader of some important background. 
anyway, it’s a lighthearted read, and it doesn’t require any effort to keep up with the plot, however, if you expect something close to the tv series you’ll be disappointed. 
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