“I thought this summer was going to be like all the other summers, but it's not. Because I won´t let it be.’’ That was a direct quote from The Summer I Turned Pretty directed by Jenny Han. I watched the show during the summer and I thought it was an amazing show. When I found out there was a book as well, I was so excited to give it a read. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a great book, it then quickly became my favorite book of all time. I recommend this book to young teens and adults who enjoy reading about a first love romance. The plot and the characters of The Summer I Turned Pretty influenced my great evaluation of this book.

The Summer I Turned Pretty was written by Jenny Han who also wrote another successful romance book To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. I really enjoyed the book, but I think I enjoyed the show more because I felt the emotions and heartbreak through the characters more than in the book. Even with that, the book was still really entertaining and had really sweet and cute moments between the characters. I felt like I could imagine myself with the characters and made me feel like I was there. The book did a very good job of not just focusing on drama and love but also on family issues, illness, and talking about insecurities that a lot of teens struggle with today. A lot of the things that were just discussed before really play a massive point in the plot.
The plot was simple, clear, and easy to understand. Belly has been going to her family friend's summer house every summer since she was a kid. Belly was considered an ugly duckling that transformed into a swan hypothetically. Since then, Belly has found herself stuck in a love triangle with the brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah. Showing strong friendships between characters and deepening bonds. This summer was going to be the most perfect summer in Belly's eyes. I found the book really interesting and straight to the point.

The series is only in Belly's POV, so the only point of view and thoughts seen throughout the book are hers. The characters that are the most significant to the story other than Belly are Conrad, Jeremiah, Steven, Laurel, and Susannah. The book put next to the show mostly just focuses on Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah compared to the show where it gets more in-depth about each of the characters. Belly was a very confusing main character because either I loved or hated her character. In my opinion, she was very immature and childish throughout the book, but I honestly thought that it was refreshing to see a character actually being a teenager, and making mistakes. I admire the author Jenny Han and why I love her books in general.
As I discussed in my previous main points I went over my evaluation of the book, the plot, and the characters significant to the book. “I thought this summer was going to be like all the other summers, but it's not. Because I won't let it be.’’ This quote in my opinion really shows what the book is about in contrast to Belly changing throughout the series and her relationships with everyone around her. I would definitely recommend this book to people that enjoy coming-of-age romances; that deal with first love, first heartbreak, and one summer that changed everything. I would check this book out.