Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty

Goodreads summary:

Some summers are just destined to be pretty. 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 wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

My review:

I have very mixed feelings about this book.  On one hand, the storyline is sweet and fun and makes for a great summer read.  But on the other, the characters tick me off too much to fully enjoy the book.

I'll start with the good: the plot.  There's nothing complicated about it, it's just a cute story about a girl who's in love.  It was fast-paced and the story flowed, and the short chapters kept me turning the pages.  At times there were flashbacks of summers when Belly was younger, which I liked because it helped you get to know the characters more.

But...the characters.  At times I just wanted to strangle them.  I feel really torn about Belly.  She can be immature and whiny, and it annoyed me to no end.  She was constantly complaining about how the boys never included her in anything.  But at the same time, I understood how she felt since she was younger and always left out.  Still, the whining was just too much.  I didn't care much for Belly.

Then there were the two brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah.  WHY has Belly been in love with Conrad ever since she was little?  There was absolutely nothing attractive about him.  He was almost always a jerk to her and rarely paid her any attention.  Jeremiah, on the other hand, was sweet and caring and in love with Belly, but she told him that she just wanted to be friends.  Why on earth?  Jeremiah is actually nice, unlike his brother.

To me, The Summer I Turned Pretty is just an okay book.  I know a lot of people who love it and a lot who hate it, and I'm kind of in-between.  I've heard the series gets better, so I'll go ahead and finish it to see what happens.  Fingers crossed that Belly grows up a little and doesn't end up with Conrad...

My rating:  5 out of 10

~ The Bookworm