I’m probably the last person on earth to read The Summer I Turned Pretty. Everyone else seems to have already picked a team, argued about it online, and made TikToks. Meanwhile, here I am, just casually starting book one like it’s 2010.
Disclaimer first: I hardly scroll TikTok, so I came into this series with absolutely zero spoilers. People around me were talking about it, but honestly, it just never registered in my brain. So when I picked up the book, I had no context at all and I couldn’t even picture the actors because in my head, the characters look completely different anyway.
Jenny Han has been a favorite of mine since To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. The books had so much more depth than the movies, though the movies were still sweet (thanks to Iman for making me watch them, I did enjoy it). So naturally, I thought The Summer I Turned Pretty might be the same. Maybe the books would hold more weight than the series. But before I judge, I’ll need to finish the books first… and then maybe binge the show as “research.”
Let’s start with Belly’s little summer romance with Cam. Cute? Yes. Serious? Not really. At sixteen, those butterflies feel like the biggest thing in the world, but looking back now at 30, it’s easy to brush it off as just a fleeting moment. Adult life has a way of dulling those sparks. And yet, that’s exactly why books like this are so comforting because they let me slip back into that younger self and relive those feelings again, even if only for a while.
And then of course, the big question: Jeremiah or Conrad?
The 30-year-old me says Jeremiah without hesitation. He puts in the effort, he’s present, he’s honest about his feelings. It just makes sense. But if I’m honest about my 16-year-old self? I would have chosen Conrad in a heartbeat. Because at that age, there’s something irresistible about the mystery, the walls someone puts up, the challenge of wanting to be the one to “figure him out.” Looking back now, it feels exhausting, but at sixteen, it feels like love.
What also stood out to me was how much the story wasn’t just about Belly, it was also about Suzannah, and the heaviness that hung over the family. The tension between the boys reminded me that people often forget how vulnerable boys can be too. They don’t always cry or talk about it the way girls do; sometimes they rebel, sometimes they shut down. It’s still sadness and it just looks different. (That’s the mom in me speaking, I guess.)
I also really appreciated how Jeremiah handled things when Belly didn’t feel the same way. He didn’t hold it against her. He understood. That quiet maturity really stayed with me.
In the end, love is messy. It can’t come from guilt or sympathy, because then it isn’t really love, it just hurts everyone involved.
So here I go, onto book two. Hopefully, it goes deeper.
No comments