Bookreview: The Summer I Turned Pretty

Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty
Series: Summer #1
Author: Jenny Han
Release date: May 2009
Genre: contemporary
Pages: 276 pages




Expectations

I've heard a lot of praise about this series, so I'm curious to read what it's all about.

Synopsis
Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along. 


Review
This was a quick summer read, which I enjoyed reading, although I think I would have loved it when I was younger.  I kept thinking that the way the main character Isabella thinks is just the thing that gets girls in trouble with guys. She has this fairytale kind of story in her head about this boy. 
At the same time, I totally understand this can be very relatable for young girls. 

It was an easy read and I enjoyed the flashbacks to the different ages. The  dialogue was written well, which made the story flow nicely.

I really disliked her nickname Belly. I also found it pretty weird that even though Isabella really disliked the nickname too, people kept calling her Belly. I also disliked the idea that now that she 'turned pretty' the boys are more interested in her. Which suggests that they only care about her looks and not the person she is inside. 

I think my opinion of this series depends on how the story continues. For now it was an enjoyable, quick and easy summer read.

I am curious to see what the next book will contain, especially because of what happened near the end of the book.

Rating
2.5 stars