Well I know I just started my new "rule" to read a nonfiction book every other one that I read, but I'm taking a break while I'm in Florida. I want to actually pay attention to the nonfiction that I read, and I just don't see me doing that too well on the beach, on the balcony, or by the pool. When at the beach, read beach books, right? That's a rule somewhere too, isn't it?
Jenny Han's first book in this particular series, The Summer I Turned Pretty, is the story of 15-almost-16-year-old Belly, whose family spends every summer with at their best friends' beach house. (Yes...her name is really Belly. Short for Isabelle...but horrible, in my personal opinion.) Her big brother and the older boys who she has spent every summer with have always seen her as the baby in the group, usually making her feel like she's either left out of the fun or is tagging along. She's older this year, though, and everyone seems to have noticed. Add in some good ol' fashioned boy drama - Belly has always loved oldest boy Conrad but he's not interested in her, Jeremiah is sending some interesting "I like you" signals, and Cam is the new boy she met at a bonfire who told her she's beautiful - and you've pretty much got the gist of this book.
Let's call this what it is: it's a YA summer, beach read in all its glory. There's a love...square?...but there's no actual juicy details; there's a super whiny and annoying main character who is also the narrator; there's moody teenage boys. The writing isn't great but you can zoom through it like lightening, assuming you can ignore the protagonist/narrator. I recommend it if you're also planning a beach trip and are looking for a truly mindless plot to keep you entertained while you sunbathe. (But be warned: it ends on a super obnoxious cliffhanger that makes you want to throw it across the room because now you need to go buy the sequel.)
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