The Summer I Turned Pretty follows Belly Conklin, a 16-year-old girl who spends every summer at Cousin’s Beach with her family and the Fisher family. Belly wants to have her best summer yet and finally have her long-time crush Conrad Fisher notice her. Belly believes that this summer will be different from the rest because she is now older and has become “pretty”.
I enjoy this book because whenever I read it, I feel like I am spending my summer with the characters at Cousins Beach. I feel a connection to the characters, a big reason for this is how much Belly feels like a real person. The use of flashbacks helps the reader to understand the connection Belly has to the Fisher boys. The whole book has a pretty light, carefree tone until the very end. The twist ending sets up the sequel extremely well. While this book is less complex than the rest of the books in the series, it is my favorite because the story does not feel forced in any way. Everything that happens in the book has a reason. The story, including what is told by the flashbacks, all fits together so well and does not force a happy ending when there should not be one. It is the kind of book I can read over and over and I never get bored of the characters or the setting. I would recommend this book to teenagers who are fans of romance.