A review by m_zaccarian
The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy: The Summer I Turned Pretty; It's Not Summer Without You; We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

2.0

I decided to re-read this trilogy once the series came out. As many YA novels that I have read in my early teens, re-reading it was flabbergasting! I had romanticised so much the characters and their behaviours, I only just now realize how toxic it all really is. None of them communicate, it is all deeply rooted in insecurities and jealousy, and baseline - every single character in this book needs therapy. The main problem is that Conrad is portrayed as the 'broody mysterious guy' just because he does not lie about his struggles - or he simply is not able to hide them. Everybody else is concealing them in some way, resulting in major miscommunication, gaslighting, manipulation, and general hurt.
It is a great book series to read to spend time and have a silly little romance, but it should - in NO WAY - be a starting line to set romantic expectations!