The Summer I Turned Pretty

Han, J. (2009). The summer I turned pretty. New York: Simon and Schuster. 

Belly spends every summer with her family at her mother’s best friend’s (Susannah) beach house.  This includes Susannah’s two sons, Jeremiah and Conrad.  Belly has had a crush on Conrad for a long time, but he has always been unavailable in some way and she believes she has gotten over him.  When she returns to the summer house this year things get complicated when suddenly both boys notice Belly and the young beauty she has become.  Belly is unsure how to handle all of this attention and decides to date a nearby local boy in order to sort out what she wants from a relationship.  Meanwhile, the brothers are struggling with family issues in their own ways.  Can they let Belly in on their secrets or will they treat her as an outsider like they have her entire life?  Can Belly make peace with the kind of relationship she hopes to find one day?

This book is simple and realistic in its pacing and storyline.  Many high school girls will be able to connect with Belly and the issues she is facing such as physical changes, family dynamic changes, feelings of insecurity, and even dating issues.  The problems addressed in the story include some serious issues like divorce, death, and growing up.  This book would work well with students in grades 8 -12.  This book would fit in the emotional realism genre as it is a rite of passage story about the hardships of being a teenage girl.

I really enjoyed reading this realistic fiction book and it has been many years since I have been in high school.  This book was light and breezy like a summer should be. Although it had a more complex side too when dealing with more serious issues than which bikini to wear to the pool or what to wear to the bonfire. It is a story about the tender time when a girl is caught between being a little girl and being a bigger little girl.

 

Big Questions:

Have your feelings ever changed towards a friend?

Why do you care what other people think about you?

Why would you keep a secret about someone in your family? 

Book trailer
http://youtu.be/H1Sq881khIQ