Binge-Reading The Summer I Turned Pretty

I am extremely late in reading The Summer I Turned Pretty series by Jenny Han, but I had the better-now-than-later sort of moment, and decided to pick this up.

Book 1 synopsis:

Belly has been going to the summer house ever since she was a little kid, spending time with Jeremiah and Conrad, Susannah’s sons. She’s always had a fantasy of dating Conrad, but he’s never seemed interested in her. But this summer, the dynamic in the summer house seems different, and Belly finds herself hoping that Conrad might take an interest in her.

Book 2 synopsis:

After everything that happened during the school year from breakups to Susannah being sick, Belly thought she would never return to the summer house. But when Jeremiah calls to tell Belly that Conrad went missing, Belly goes to the summer house and tries to spend the summer the way they have always spent it— except the whole summer dynamic has changed, and Belly might be catching feelings for Jeremiah.

Book 3 synopsis:

2 years have passed, and it’s now wedding season! After a huge argument with Jeremiah, Belly is back with the summer boys to plan her wedding with Jeremiah, all while deciding if she is marrying the wrong summer boy.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

Book 1:

While the summer vibes were 10/10, I feel like there wasn’t that much that happened in the book. The writing style is extremely simple, and Belly lacks complexity and maturity. There were way too many flashbacks, but I did love the truth or dare one where Belly and Jeremiah kissed for the first time. That fit the perfect childhood friends-to-lovers trope and made me team Jeremiah. And the ending? Belly being there for Jeremiah was the sweetest thing, but did she really have to go to Conrad right after?

Book 2:

There was definitely a lot more happening in this book compared to the first. I thought that the series underplayed Susanah’s death, and the reason for this is probably because Belly, the narrator, lacked the maturity to understand the support that both of the boys needed. The funeral scene was horrible, and while Belly is still growing, I couldn’t help but feel anti-Belly throughout the rest of the book. And even though Susannah wanted Belly to be truly happy with her life, I am positive that the last thing she wanted Belly to do was jump between both of her sons and cause drama between the two. Besides Belly being extremely selfish, I am still on team Jeremiah, and the ending was the sweetest thing ever!

Book 3:

I am still team Jeremiah, but I feel like both Jeremiah and Belly were extremely immature throughout the book. Jeremiah proposing to Belly as part of an apology was a major red flag. The wedding planning was kind of boring, and reading about Jeremiah and Belly’s house searches and arguments gave me secondhand embarrassment. The ending happened way too fast, but it was easily the best part of the book. I predicted that team Conrad would win from the start of the series, but I think that if Jeremiah and Belly stayed together and got married after they graduated college, they would have been perfect together, so I was still extremely disappointed in the ending.