Late to the Game [4]: The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy by Jenny Han

Late to the Game is a series I do featuring books that everybody and their mommy have read…except me. The thing is 99% of the time I have these books but they have just been pushed back on my TBR pile. This won’t be a review of sorts seeing how everyone already knows the basics of the story but more of what I felt and how it affected me. I’ve dedicated this feature to try to put a dent in my pile and also to see if they live up to the hype…good and/or bad.

  

The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy by Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon & Schuster BYR

Format: purchased series

Ratings:

The Summer I Turned Pretty: 5/5

It’s Not Summer without You: 4/5

We’ll Always Have Summer: 5/5

Synopsis

Belly has always lived for the summertime because it means all her favorite things: swimming, the beach and the Fisher boys, Conrad and Jeremiah. She has spent every summer with them at Cousins Beach for as long as she can remember. She has always been in love with Conrad and finally, one summer, it seems like he might have feelings for her too. But it turns out, so does Jeremiah.

As the summers go on, Belly has to choose between two brothers who love her as she comes to the realization that she will have to break one of their hearts.

My Thoughts

I’ve heard so many awesome things about this series I knew I had to read it at some point. After reading To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before I knew I had to read it NOW. I read the first one The Summer I Turned Pretty in literally a day. LOVED it! Needless to say I devoured the next two back to back.

This series definitely lived up to the hype. I fell in love with Belly, Jeremiah and Conrad. Ok maybe not so much Conrad. At least not so much in the beginning, I thought he was mean and rude but then after getting into the series I realized the kind of person he was. Just like me. Yeah that’s right I said like ME. I saw myself in him as far as how he always distances himself and his feelings towards other. He doesn’t always show emotions nor does he speak his feels that often. It’s not that he doesn’t want to; he just doesn’t want to get rejected or hurt.

Jenny Han paints the picture of Cousins beach with such realness that I could close my eyes and see it. I could smell the salty air and feel the wind coming off the water. Not only are there wonderful characters but the supporting cast is amazing as well. However what I loved and enjoyed the most was how I got so invested in these characters so fast. Seeing them grow up and dealing with an issue that at times breaks your heart. There is not one of us who can’t identify with the triumphs and tragedies of growing up and trying to find out where and how we fit  into this crazy world. Throw in some romance and heartache you can’t go wrong. This is one read I wished I read earlier however I’m so glad I got to meet and fall in love with them and you should too.