The Summer I Turned Pretty

[Erika, Dream Thief]

Thoughts?

[Georgia]

Whilst I'm not currently reading this book, I've read the whole trilogy two or three times, and they're awesome books. I find the characters, especially Conrad and Jeremiah, to be extremely in-depth and well explored by the author.

I hope you all enjoy reading it!

[Beatrice]

I love this series. It's light and romantic. Just perfect for summer vacation

[Rebecca]

I think that this book was fairly craptastic.

I'm not going to give anything away, but I could predict the outcome of the novel from the beginning. The author's attempts to 'hint' at what the characters were going through made the book predictable and boring. A hint is only a hint if it is not an obvious statement/action made by the characters in the book.

It's like me saying to someone, "I got you a present for your birthday. It is round, it rolls down alleyways and it knocks over pins." I wouldn't say that's a hint, would you?

The protagonist in the novel, Belly-Isabel-Flavia whatever the heck you want to call her, was annoying and immature. She was supposed to be fifteen and still having little kid fights with her older brother.

I'm sorry, but if that is your personality as a fifteen year old (more power to you if it is) you should not be considering a mature romantic relationship with anyone else and in the real world probably wouldn't even consider it.

It reminds me of when I was eleven or so and I used to secretly watch old reruns of 90210 in my room. It was romantic and drama-filled and it was exactly what I thought the real world was because I was eleven. I also didn't want my mom to know I was watching the show, because I was eleven. I was not emotionally mature enough to understand the complexity of romantic relationships and this is how I think the author portrays the main character in the novel. Yet- every chance she gets, there's some little insert about her romantic feelings towards other characters.

In addition, why would any older teenager, at like 18 or 19 years old, even consider for one second having a relationship with a girl who is 15 and still calls herself "Belly" based on her love for jellybelly beans. I mean - c'mon. This is so ridiculously unrealistic it kills me.

Finally, WTF with the relationships that exist between parenting characters. I don't want to spoil the book, except to say that there were loose ends on that front as well.

Bleh- I just didn't like this book.

[Ju]

Didn't like this book very much. Nothing really happens at all except some drama galore and the protagonist is just so shallow and easily influenced for me to like.

As Rebecca said, the relationships are hardly credible and Conrad is moody throughout the book for no apparent reason. I could only find Cameron nice and relatable but he's made fun of near the end and dumped away like a sack of bad flour.:/

[Marla Mei]

I don't know why almost everyone loves this book. I didn't like it. :( But it's only my opinion and I respect the others' opinion on this one.

[Nicki]

I thought that it was ok, but there was really nothing to the story. It was a great fluff book after a lot of the more intense books I was reading. I don't think that it is too unrealistic but then again I was more of the living in a bubble type of teen and so it doesn't seem that far off to me. Not everyone is very deep when they are teenagers, some are but some don't get there until much later if ever. Conrad's character did bother me with his moodiness (view spoiler)[ because if your mom was dying you don't know how you would react, unless of course your mother is dying. Basically I'm just trying to say it doesn't seem that out of place considering the way a lot of people grieve. (hide spoiler)]

[Shalee]

This is my favorite book of all time. This trilogy has made me love summer love and summer boys. I have read them all at least 3 times. All the characters are so detailed and deep. I can feel all their pain and can relate to it. I want to date Conrad and Jeremiah.

I normally don't like books that are not sexual and deep. But this book I felt Belly and Conrad had a deeper connection without sex then they would with it.

MUST READ :)

[Tiara]

I loved this book. I have the whole series and it is amazing! enjoy

[Yusreen]

Well i don't understand with all the hates :/
I personally love the trilogy, the characters are all perf in their own way. its teenage romance for pity sake.. no need to be so hard.

[Ziv]

I love the first and second book of this series!! Read them so many times!! The third one I got really disappointed. I expected so much more from this book and I never got it.. It felt a little rushed- (view spoiler)[She changed Jeremiah's character completely and made it easier on us to fall in love with Conrad (which I loved form the very first book btw)...She just chose the easy way out of a love triangle- destroy one character and make the other one the knight in shining armour<\spoiler> , but if you put the third book aside the first two are awesome lol!! :) (hide spoiler)]

[Shannon]

I'm surprised there are so many who disliked this! I enjoyed it. It took me a bit to adjust to the writing style - it felt like a diary and I was getting annoyed with the flashbacks and felt like it took half the book before the story picked up, but eventually all those flashbacks added to the emotional journey and I thought it was really sweet. It made me nostalgic for summer the way I used to spend it by the pool.

[Eva]

I read this series before i joined this club. It is a excellent book! I can relate easily and I love the way its all set in summer. I can be sad at times but it always makes up for it in some way or another! Brilliant book, i highly recommend!

[Andrea]

I read this book earlier in the month and found it to be a great introduction into summer! Will be starting the second book shortly. I hope ya'll are enjoying it!

[Rachelle]

This book had a lot of potential, but like someone else said, all the 'hints' were too big of giveaways. Nothing in the book surprised me, I had it all figured out fairly early on. But with that said, it was a fun, light read. Not good enough to recommend to others or ever read again, but not bad enough I wish I hadn't wasted my time reading it. Though I do have to say, Conrad freaking pisses me off. But I think that's mostly because the whole Belly/Conrad thing reminded me a LOT of my first 'summer love' who I now can't stand in the least. ;)

[Em]

I really liked this book. It was realistic and beautiful. I don't understand why everyone hates it (btw it doen't mean she is immature if her nickname is Belly and she is 15. People have been calling me Spike since I was 3 years old, and I am 15) I thought Belly was very realistic. She reminds me of myself in a way, and it made me love it even more.