Teen Intern Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

As part of their SuccessLink internships at the Boston Public Library, Teen Central's teen interns Abri and Elizabeth wrote reviews of young adult literature, evaluating whether BookTok favorites lived up to the hype or not. See Abri's thoughts on The Summer I Turned Pretty below, then check out the book for yourself and decide if you agree!

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Overall Book Rating: 2/5 stars 

Synopsis:

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good and 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.

Introduction:

With Season 3 of the TV show airing live, it is no wonder that many viewers have decided to dive into the book series that inspired some of their favorite characters and storylines. However, I am here to tell you that you might be better off just binge watching the show in your pajamas and leaving the source material in the past where it belongs.

What I Liked:

1. Realistic character voice: Jenny Han knows how to write teenagers in a way that feels very real. They can be very self-centered, insecure, and less-than sophisticated with internal monologues. Han knows how to bridge the gap between realistic character voice and coherent prose. Belly’s thoughts and actions made sense for her character and age, and I appreciated the depiction.

2. Flashbacks: Han also is a master at interweaving flashbacks into her book. Since most of the story is dedicated to comparing how Belly’s summers were before she got pretty, there is a need for some flashback in the story and Han does really well with making the change from past and present seamless and relevant to the story. I often enjoyed the flashbacks more than the present storyline.

Critiques:

1. The lack of urgency: This book is like reading a diary entry, only not from someone interesting because Belly has nothing going for her at all the entire summer. Unlike the TV show, there is no debutante ball to give the story any sense of urgency or time, and because of it, this book drags. There were often moments where I thought to myself ‘where is this even going’ and I can’t say I was satisfied with where it ended up.
2. The characters: This is my biggest gripe with the book and I have broken it down, character-by-character.
   • Belly: The Belly Conklin you know on the TV screen is more selfish and unempathetic than ever in the books, treating almost every other character as if they are simply roadblocks on her way to love rather than human people with human emotions. I have never had a main character make me feel so bad for the people that have to tolerate her.
   • Steven and Taylor: This iconic duo become background characters with little to no redeeming qualities. I could not tell you one memorable thing Steven said within this book, and Taylor is one of the worst best friends I’ve ever read about.
   • Laurel: This was the biggest switch-up for me. Unlike the sweet and sympathetic mother in the show, Laurel in the books is an cold, unresponsive tyrant. I would appreciate this more if she had an ounce of depth, but her character is very rarely explored.
   • Susannah: She is the most unchanged, but somehow, she becomes even less tolerable.
   • Jeremiah and Conrad: If you thought Jeremiah and Conrad’s relationship was tumultuous in the show, then it is nothing compared to the pages and pages of miscommunication, petty fights, and unresolved tension that are in the books. Seldom did they live up to the term ‘brothers’ and when they did, it was short-lived and ill-fitting, often leaving much to be desired.

Conclusion:

While the books certainly have more characterization and nostalgia, they are simply not worth the frustration. The show is infinitely better; stick with it.