Jenny Han is one of the writers I adore (now). After reading To All the Boys I've Before and PS I Still Love You, I came to reading the trilogy by Jenny Han which is The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy/The Belly Conklin Series.
This trilogy is about the teenage girl Isabel "Belly Conklin and her life during summer which she spent at Cousin's Beach together with her mother (Laurel), older brother (Steven) and her mother's lifetime best friend (Susannah Fisher) and her sons (Condrad and Jeremiah). It revolved around Belly being (always) in love with Condrad and Condrad, too, has feelings for her which he left hidden (SPOILER ALERT!). At the later part of the book, she ended up falling in love with Jeremiah in which she claimed she had moved on with Condrad. And more spoiler if I will tell more details after that, so I vow to leave it for you to discover.
What I loved about this trilogy is that it makes me remember the summer memories I had in my grandparents residence. The house was located near the seashore and the summer breeze is so tempting that it makes me wanna go to the beach immediately. Every beach scenes, I can hear the sea splashed, smell of the sea breeze, feel the summer heat and fall in love all over again. The part where Susannah died also is a relatable part because this summer I lost my grandparents (SPOILER ALERT). It was so heart breaking that while every page turned on that part, I can feel a prick in my heart.
Overall, I liked the trilogy. It made me laugh for every puns they made, cry for those tear-jerking scenes, fall in love with those sweet nothings. The love triangles made a twist, amazing twist in the story. The title of the book is the reason why I read it. Because I, too, will always love summer.
Condrad is who I liked the most. Aside from him being good at all things, he was wise and responsible enough in every move he made. Even though there were parts that he was being a-hole, still he was able to cope on the later part. Belly, who is the main character of the story, is who I liked the least. She was annoying, immature, selfish and indecisive. And I do hate that even though she's a girl. But she transformed on the last book which is good for her character. Still there's that little immature part that still remains but it didn't bother me anymore.
The part that I liked the most in the book was when Belly, Condrad, Jere and Laurel were at the Counsin's beach and they were fighting for their right to vote not to sell the house(SPOILER ALEART). Yeah! I, too, celebrated when they were able to get the house back and it just feel like so great that they became a team on this. And if I would be given the chance to change a part of the book, it would be to not kill a character. Yeah, I know. I don't like goodbye. I don't like being left behind. I don't like good people to die. Susannah is so cool and so amazing to be killed. But she being dead made a great part in the book. Still, it's sad. :(
Yep, I would definitely recommend this trilogy. Its good for a little summer nostalgia. It is a roller-coaster kind of read.
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| A part of the book ♥ cr to the owner |
