Summary of the book the summer i turned pretty

The Summer Trilogy (or sometimes known as "The Summer Series/Trilogy" ) is a three-novel book series written by Jenny Han.

Contents

• 1 Story
• 2 Plot Summaries 
  • 2.1 The Summer I Turned Pretty
  • 2.2 It's Not Summer Without You
  • 2.3 We'll Always Have Summer

Story

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. 

For the first time, all three Summer novels are in one boxed set, including The Summer I Turned Pretty, It's Not Summer Without You and We'll Always Have Summer.

Plot Summaries 

The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty cover.

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.

It's Not Summer Without You

It's Not Summer Without You

Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach? It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come. But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach.

We'll Always Have Summer

We'll Always Have Summer

It's been two years since Conrad told Belly to go with Jeremiah. She and Jeremiah have been inseparable ever since, even attending the same college- only, their relationship hasn't exactly been the happily ever after Belly had hoped it would be. And when Jeremiah makes the worst mistake a boy can make, Belly is forced to question what she thought was true love.

Does she really have a future with Jeremiah? Has she ever gotten over Conrad? It's time for Belly to decide, once and for all, who has her heart forever.

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. 

Content Warning: cancer

I read this back in 2009 and gave it 4 stars on Goodreads! That was 13 years ago…wow, I was single or just about to date my hubby. Crazy how long ago it was and my headspace was super different. Now I’m in my early 40’s with 2 kids, one who’s about to turn 10 years old. 😅 I don’t usually review re-reads but I will definitely do them if I never did a review for them on this blog. And I only did a re-read of this because the series on Amazon came out and I think they did such a good job. But so many people said lots of things were changed and I wanted to see what they were since I didn’t really remember the book except for being annoyed with Belly and being in love with Conrad. 😂

Here’s what I thought:

+ This is a such a quick read, it’s only 276 pages! Now young adult books can be like 500 pages long, so this was quick. It gave all the summer vibes as expected. I did forget all the time jumping it did from past summers to the present. The show didn’t do as many flashbacks as the book.

+ Jeremiah and Belly have more time together in the book than in the show. I can feel their bestie vibes.

+ Conrad is still that guy! I can see why I fell for Conrad because he’s the hurting, handsome guy and I was reminded that Belly was always in love with this guy. It’s always Conrad for her.

~ Because I’m so much more older – this actually bored me a bit. Belly is whiny and understandable because she is young! It’s jumping timelines from when she’s 11 to 14 to 15, etc…so we see her as a whiny girl. And I can’t see that much changes from 11 to 16. I can see why Conrad pushes her away and I’m glad he does.

~ There are SO many changes from the book to the show, I can see why hardcore fans didn’t love the show! There is no debutant ball in the book, Steven doesn’t stay for that summer when she turns 16 – he is in flashbacks though. I get why they made the changes….how do you stretch out this 276 book into 7 episodes? I felt like they did have all the parts from the book in the show though – like all those late night talks with Conrad. I don’t mind the extra stuff I thought it made it entertaining. But yes so many different changes from the book.

Why you should read it:

• perfect for teen readers, it’s short, has summer vibes and summer crushes

Why you might not want to read it:

• Way different from the Amazon series!
• Belly is still annoying me after all these years 😂 but she doesn’t annoy me that much on the show

My Thoughts:

I’m glad I did my first read in 2009 and loved it as a story about a young girl who has these amazing summers with 2 boys and their lovely mom. It’s about friendship at its core and love. At my age now, I do prefer the show because there is many more things happening to keep me entertained but I can see why that didn’t make fans of the series happy also because a whole lot of things were added! But I will say this – them using “This Love” from Taylor Swift for the trailer was genius because this song is ALLLLLLL Belly and Conrad forever feels lol. So here’s a video:

📚 ~ Yolanda

Quotes From the Book:

“I love Conrad and I probably always would. I would spend my whole life loving him one way or another. Maybe I would get married, maybe I would have a family, but it wouldn’t matter, because a piece of my heart, the piece where summer lived, would always be Conrad’s” 

What is a summary of The Summer I Turned Pretty?

The Summer I Turned Pretty tells the story of fifteen-year-old Belly and her eventful summer vacation at Cousins Beach, where she hopes to fall in love. The series focuses on her romantic endeavors as she finds herself in a love triangle with two brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad.

Who does Isabelle end up with in The Summer I Turned Pretty?

In the third and final novel, We'll Always Have Summer, Belly and Jeremiah announce their engagement after two years have passed from the previous novel.

What is the message in The Summer I Turned Pretty?

The message here is that our relationships with the ones we are closest to, like all other relationships, evolve over time. Though we might not see them as children, there are cracks that start appearing when we turn into young adults from our teens.

How did The Summer I Turned Pretty book end?

Conrad apologizes to Belly for his behavior, and then later confesses that he does have feelings for her. It ends with them kissing and Belly narrating how it all finally falls into place. The book, however, ends with Belly and Conrad meeting up after summer.