this book was pretty terrible. terrible in an okay-sort-of way.

okay. so credit where credit's due. Belly had a personality. i respect that. unfortunately it was a terrible personality, but at least she was realistic in a bratty 15-year-old kind of way. at first, i really like the way Belly acted and her conversations with her brother, Conrad and Jeremiah. i also liked the use of flashbacks in showing the relationships between her and the boys. it was really just a shame that she seemed to deteriorate as a character later on in the book, i could not sympathise with her or really want her to end up with anyone. she had not matured from any of the flash-back ages.

another thing that really erked me about this book. PACING. there was none.
it carries on as a light-hearted summer read, you don't need to use your brain or your heart- but where was the climax? where was the development?

spoilers abound from here, so read on at your own will.
that last section, was that supposed to be the big climactic point? where Belly goes up to Conrad and tells him she loves him? and that he loves her too? where did that even come from? there is no correlation between the previous chapter and this chapter where she comes to this conclusion. she spends the whole book agonising over how he treats her like a kid and suddenly she confronts him like this? what? i didn't get it. had no idea where it came from. from that section to the final stretch is much the same. it's all crammed in together in the final pages, but it's not exciting and it doesn't make much sense. okay, i understand she ends up with Conrad. ooooooookkkaaayyyy...

another problem- DEVELOPMENT. first of all, the blurb and the marketing of this book is inaccurate. there are not two boys, there are THREE. i get that Jeremiah and Conrad are the main ones, but because they actually are absent throughout the whole middle of the book, i don't get how we're supposed to see any relationship development. Cam is the poor unfortunate soul that likes Belly and ends up being used by her to make the others jealous. it's ridiculous because he is given more time with her than the others. personally, i see more potential in Belly and Cam's relationship that the others. Cam is portrayed as a nice guy, a real genuine person. Belly is portrayed as being unable to see anyone but Conrad, as well as being jealous over Jeremiah.

Jenny Han does this thing where she throws little pieces and bits all over the place. at first there are parts where Belly and Jeremiah spend time together. then through the middle it's all Cam/Belly. there is no Conrad/Belly throughout the whole book- no meaningful development. we get flashbacks that are not really that significant, we get tiny bits of conversation when Conrad is all protective and being a jerk. and then at the end suddenly they get together. because she kisses him when he's crying over the fact that his mum has cancer. i cringed.

if the structure of this haphazard development is to make it a twist, if it's to keep us on the edge of our seats in not knowing who she ends up with, i guess it works. but it doesn't make me care. i don't understand Conrad as a character. i don't care about him. i don't see why i should want them to end up together- they have had next to no development. if you're writing a romance, you need development to push your characters along. i've read enough fanfiction to know that.

right, positives.
the premise of the plot is okay. i like the idea of her childhood relationships with Jeremiah and Conrad. there was potential in this whole idea of being caught up by two previously older-brother figures. i liked Jeremiah as a character. but he could be a jerk at times too. i liked Susannah and her character. i liked Belly's mum a lot, but i didn't understand why Belly treated her in such a way. Belly's mum is a believable and caring character, i don't understand why Belly sees only the negatives in her mum, and points them out at every point. i also don't understand why she always calls her "my mother", not "mum" or american spelling "mom." it just shows more of the problem Belly has with her mother, and instead she runs to Susannah first as a mother-figure. i think this is sad because Belly's mum is one of the most likable characters in this book- her quirks and actions.
i liked Cam. i liked the moments between Belly and Cam, i liked how he gave her his jumper to wear when it was cold. i liked how he asked her first if he could kiss her. all these moments are cute and would work so well if this relationship was the major point of this book- it would be a chick-lit romance film plotline. development, people!

in trying to list out positives, i'm thinking up negatives too. the situation with Taylor was ridiculous. Taylor was portrayed as a shallow and terrible friend to Belly, but Belly was just the same to her. i just don't like how Belly always constantly sees herself as the victim of everything. i liked Taylor, i liked that she called Belly at 9.02 exactly to wish her happy birthday.

in the end, i think the negatives overweighed the positives in this book for me. it's okay, because it's readable, but i didn't care about it. Belly was a frustrating character, even though she started off as a potentially interesting character- she was playful and silly and had attitude. it's just sad she has such a narrow-minded view and is so self-centred. she was a well-written realistic character, but not someone i could care about.

i wish i could've written a nicer review, because this series is so popular and well-liked by many people. there was so much hype about it, i don't know if i just expected too much. is it worth reading? there is potential here, but you have to look closer to find it.