A Review of Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty Series.

When I heard that Jenny Han's book series The Summer I Turned Pretty was being adapted into a Amazon Prime series, I was originally excited. I had a friend who loved the books, and I decided that since the books were good enough to be adapted into a show, that I would read it. Now that I finished the series; I have to say that the books aren't that good. So, today I will being giving my opinion about the books and the major problems I had with it. It is important to say that I do not intend to hate on Jenny Han or anyone involved with the book and adaptation (other than corporate Amazon). I really enjoyed the To All the Boys I Loved movies, and I'm sure the books are just as good (I've never read them). Let's get started. (Spoilers ahead!)

General Complaints

The entire book series generated major red flags and icks when I was reading. I have to say the a good 1/4 of the things that happen in the book series is illegal or lowkey illegal. (I'll go into this when I discuss the books individually). At the time, the tropes involved were probably new but looking at the book from 2022, it's very generic. The inclusion of cliché tropes doesn't completely ruin it. The tropes actually drive forward the plot. It's not the plot that I have problems with but the characters.

The main character, Belly, is very annoying and whiny. In the flashback chapters Belly comes off as a whiny child who is blind-sightly enamored with Conrad, the main love interest. She has no personality other than being "in love" with Conrad. I also have to complain about how Belly basically inhales sugar and doesn't seem to gain weight or be considered fat. Like as a girl with body image issues I just can't relate with this.

The only character worse than Belly is her friend Taylor. Taylor is a horrible best friend who actively tries to sabotage and hurt Belly. The way that both female characters make their personalities about boys fails to make the characters well-rounded and likeable. She's a friend who thinks she helping other but just ends up hurting them.

My complaint about the male characters is that they fall short of having fully developed emotions. The boys treat Belly like an object that needs to be protected. I full on believe that if the boys were able to completely continue the way they treat Belly, it would be a Nate and Maddy from Euphoria situation. Like they don't know how to express their romantic emotions properly.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Starting with the book that started it all. The Summer I Turned Pretty is a very basic YA romcom. Specific things that happened in this book that really make me uncomfortable is that older men flirt with Belly and encourage her to use substances that would illegal for a minor to use. Keep in mind that Belly is 15 in the first book. I think the best love interest to ever be included in the book is Cam. He's the right age for Belly and doesn't do illegal things like drink or smoke. It just sucks that Conrad and Jeremiah had to ruin her relationship. I understand that Conrad and Jeremiah behave the way that they do because their mother is dealing with a possible divorce and cancer, but that shouldn't prevent them from acting moody especially when their mother is doing her best to be positive. The book ends with Belly, a 15 year-old, getting with Conrad a 18 or close to be 18 year-old. Yuck.

It's Not Summer Without You

The second book in the series picks up after Belly and Conrad have begun dating. Conrad is in college while Belly is still in high school. The main driving point of the book is that Susannah, the mother of Conrad and Jeremiah, has died from cancer. Because of her death, Belly's relationship with the brothers is becoming strained. Even though Conrad and Belly are dating, Conrad fails to be a good boyfriend with him failing to fully be Belly's date to her prom, and him and Belly break up at the end of the book. With Susannah dead, the Conrad's and Jeremiah's dad decides to sell the summer house where Belly, Conrad, Jeremiah, and her brother spent all their summers at. To prevent their father from selling the house, Conrad skips college and starts spending his time at the summer house eventually involving Belly and Jeremiah. This would end up driving the boy's family further apart as their father is anger by their actions while Jeremiah and Belly start to form romantic feelings. Also a party happens during all this drama where Belly does some underage drinking. Eventually, Conrad is convinced by everyone else to go back to college, but on the way back Conrad finds out that Jeremiah and Belly have been secretly hooking up. This is where the book ends. I don't really have any problems with this book that weren't address in the previous one.

We'll Always Have Summer

The final book is the most questionable. I'm not even going to provide a summary, but all I'm going to say is that Jeremiah and Belly are together and the major plot point is that they decide to get married. The major problem is that they only decide to get married because Belly found out that Jeremiah cheated on her, and Jeremiah genuinely believed that the solution to his unfaithful actions was to propose to Belly. I also have to remind everyone that Belly is still a very young person. She's like 19 in the final book. That's not even old enough to drink in the U.S! It's also revealed that when Belly was learning to drive she was being accompanied with Jeremiah. So, a 16 year-old was learning how to drive with someone who was under the age of 21 which depending on which state you live in, is illegal. Anyways, the entire book is about how everyone knows that Jeremiah and Belly are stupid for wanting to get married at such a young age but go along with it because they're too tired to convince them that what they're doing is stupid. Conrad, unable to properly express his emotions, acts moody and sulky the entire book which is good because his emo-ness is what causes Belly to call off her wedding to his brother. The only bearable part of the book was the epilogue which provides a more acceptable ending where Belly gets married to Conrad a couple year after the original wedding. Like props to Belly. Her plain personality somehow managed to score the two most moody and hot boys to exist in the series.

Reflections

I'm going to pretend that this entire blog post hasn't been a brutally honest review of The Summer I Turned Pretty Series and give an entire reflection of the books. This really allowed me to exert my rage, and I'll be back with more complaints about other books. I am excited for the Amazon Prime Series, and based off of the trailers the show seems to be taking a different view of the books which means no more illegal stuff. I don't think this book is truly horrible for its time because it was written in a time when all YA romcoms were questionable. It's a very 2000s book. If you're the type to get easily swooned by any romantic gesture and have problems knowing if a guy is good or bad, then I think this book is perfect for you.