Book Review: We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han.

Product details:
Publisher: Puffin.
Release date: May 3rd 2012.
ebook, 304 pages.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Ages: 12+
Series:  Summer #3
Other books in series: The Summer I Turned Pretty, It's Not Summer Without You.
Overall series rating: 4 out of 5.
Source: Purchased.

It’s been two years since Conrad told Belly to go with Jeremiah. She and Jeremiah have been inseparable ever since, even attending the same college—only, their relationship hasn’t exactly been the happily ever after Belly had hoped it would be. And when Jeremiah makes the worst mistake a boy can make, Belly is forced to question what she thought was true love. Does she really have a future with Jeremiah? Has she ever gotten over Conrad? It’s time for Belly to decide, once and for all, who has her heart forever.

Please note: This book is part of a series. There may be spoilers for previous books in the series in this review.

In We’ll Always Have Summer the conclusion to Jenny Han’s heart-warming, and sometimes heart-wrenching Summer series, eighteen-year-old Belly has to decide once and for all where her heart lies.  Will she choose Conrad, the boy she has loved all her life, but who never let her in to his, or his brother, Jeremiah, who has always been open and honest about his love for her?

We’ll Always Have Summer opens two years after the cliffhanger events of It’s Not Summer Without You, where Conrad let Belly leave his life.  We now find out that she went straight into the arms of his brother, where she’s been ever since, even going so far as to attend the same college as him. So maybe Belly has already made her choice.  In no way is her relationship with Jere just a substitute for what she had with Conrad.  She’s with Jere now, and she’s in love with him just as much as he’s always been in love with her.  They have the perfect relationship, and Conrad doesn’t enter the picture at all. Conrad, her first love, the boy she said she’d love forever, is no longer in her life. 

But just like his brother, the boy who had it and threw it all away, Jere’s not perfect.  He’s living college life to the full, and when he does the worst thing that a boy can do to a girl, when he breaks Belly’s heart, she has to decide if she can have him in her life anymore. Should she let him go for good, or should he be her forever guy?

We’ve seen Belly grow up, and while she’s sometimes a naïve girl who doesn’t make the best choices, she’s an endearing character too, and we want the best for her. As they have done throughout the series, Han’s expertly executed flashbacks will once again tug at your heartstrings here as Belly recounts summers past, and we recall all the years she’s spent at Cousins Beach with the boys, how once upon a time she could never imagine Jere as anything more than a friend, how it was always Conrad for her.  Surely that can’t be it for the two of them.  Surely Belly and Conrad can’t be done.

Conrad feels that way too. Finally, finally, we get to see inside this boys head as Han includes chapters from his point of view. Finally we get to see why he’s done some of things he’s done, why he pushed Belly away, why he can’t tell her he loves her still, that he’s always loved her, that he’s never loved anyone but her.  Conrad is a closed book, he protects his heart, he hides himself away from hurt, but he’s a special guy.  I get why some people might not get Conrad, why they might see him as a jerk, why they might not lose their heart to him. I get it.  But right from day one, it’s always been Conrad for me.  Jere is the easy choice.  He’s an outgoing, carefree, fun-loving guy.   What you see is what you get with him. With Conrad though, you have to work a little harder, you have to dig a little deeper to find out what makes him tick,  find out what makes him care so much.

Really, I could talk about Conrad all day long.  He’s a character of such multi-layers. I love how he cares.  Conrad cares more than anybody. He cares in his own way, and he might not always show it, he might not always let others see it, but it’s always there.

So, the choice is easy for me, but it's not so easy for Belly.  Will she stay with Jere, who she loves,  or will she choose Conrad, who might no longer be at the core of her day to day life, but who is never far from her mind, always in her heart.   I can’t tell you who she chooses, of course, but I will tell you that it’s not Cam Cameron. That guy does not make a comeback in this book!

 We’ll Always Have Summer was, for me, a wonderful read, with Han’s voice as always pitch perfect on every page. This  book has passages to bookmark, quotes to remember, and words to savour, words that will make you think, words that you won’t forget.   If you haven’t started on the Summer series by Jenny Han, what are you waiting for? These books are the ultimate summer reads. They are heartfelt, honest and true. They’ll make you tear up completely, and they’ll make you smile wide all day long.

What more could you ask for from a book?

US Paperback Bonus Material

The US Paperback of We'll Always Have Summer (April 2012, Simon & Schuster) includes some extra special bonus material in the form of Conrad's letters to Belly. Eeep!  Just a heads up for anyone who didn't know about this already. I need to read those letters!!

Book Reviews: The Summer I Turned pretty and It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han.

Product details:
Publisher:
Release date: June 3rd 2010
Paperback, 288 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5
Ages: 12+
Source: Received from publisher for review.

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.

The Summer I turned Pretty is one of those books that I’ve been meaning to read for absolute ages, and with the launch of my Summer Spotlight feature, I thought it was high time I got to reading the adventures of Belly and her favourite boys, Conrad and Jeremiah. While I expected a light and fluffy read with a good helping of romance, I instead found The Summer I Turned Pretty to be heartfelt and even sad at times. This is a great coming of age read with a highly relatable female protagonist and a host of swoonworthy boys to boot.

Isabel, or Belly, as she’s known to friends and family has always lived for summers spent at Cousins Beach with Susannah and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Conrad, the older of the two, is Belly’s longtime crush and it’s easy to understand why. Totally gorgeous, a little aloof and entirely unattainable, Conrad is just the kind of guy that teenage girls yearn for. Belly’s been in love with him since she was ten, and can’t see herself ever feeling that way about anybody else. Until now, Conrad has always viewed Belly as a little sister, but this summer, his attitude to her seems to have changed. For one thing, he’s looking at her like never before, but then, so is his brother Jeremiah. Funny and friendly, Belly has never seen Jeremiah as anything but a friend, but now it looks like he wants to be something more than just friends…

Having grown up in a beach community, I could totally relate to Belly and her absolute love of summer. Like her, I lived for summer as a teen and I confess I counted down the days until the boys of summer arrived! For me, this book really rang true as it centers around the notion of that special summer that will provide you with fond memories forever. Han expertly employs the use of flashbacks to show us the changing relationships between Belly and the boys throughout summers past. We learn of shared secrets, broken hearts and Belly’s ever growing crush on Conrad. The caring and thoughtful Conrad of years gone by though is different to the mean and moody Conrad we’re presented with in The Summer I Turned Pretty, and this change in his personality hints at a dark secret that will come to taint Belly’s carefree summer.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is a great summer read, and Han’s most engaging style will ensure that you read this in one sitting. Belly is a great protagonist, and you will enjoy her summer adventures as she embarks on her first real summer romance, while all the while yearning for Conrad and battling with her ever-changing feelings for Jeremiah. As for me, let me tell you in my next review whose team I’m on, and why…

Product details:

Publisher: Puffin.

Release date: May 5th 2011.

Paperback, 288 pages.

Rating: 3½out of 5.

Ages: 12+

Source: Received from publisher for review.

Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?

It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.

But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach.

I cracked open It’s Not Summer Without You expecting more tales of Belly’s long, lazy summer days and romantic nights at Cousins Beach with her two favourite boys, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher. This book though, is quite a departure from The Summer I Turned Pretty. A whole lot of things have changed in Belly’s world, and as for the boys, their lives will never be the same again. All three have had a lot of growing up to do in the year since we last met them. Their lives have been touched by loss, and there is a melancholic air to proceedings. The tragedy that has struck their lives also means that those perfect summers at Cousins Beach may just be a thing of the past.

So, instead of finding Belly all loved up with Conrad as I had hoped, we instead find her spending a boring summer at home, and just to make things worse, it seems as though her and Conrad are not on speaking terms! Noooo!! How did it all go so wrong? I had high hopes for those kids. We find out the answers to all this and more as Belly reminisces about the year gone by, including the time where her and Conrad snuck away to spend a perfectly romantic winter’s night at the beach house and a not so perfect night at the Prom where Conrad really left me questioning my Team Conrad status.

Yes, that’s right - I’m Team Conrad, and have been since day one. Conrad may be moody and distant, difficult to figure out and a lot of hard work, but out of the two brothers, he’s my clear winner. While Conrad keeps everything locked up inside, Jere wears his heart on his sleeve. There are no mixed signals from him, while Conrad keeps his feelings so cocooned it would drive a girl insane. It may seem that Jere is the obvious choice here. He’s funny, friendly and open about his feelings for Belly, but, for me, there’s just something about Conrad…

So, while the choice for me is easy, it’s not so easy for Belly. By now, she and Conrad have a complicated history, while Jeremiah is as funny and friendly as ever, and he’s making a play for her heart. With the inclusion of chapters from Jeremiah’s point of view, we now realize that Jeremiah’s feelings for Belly are just as strong as her feelings for Conrad. This information leaves us with one great love triangle to obsess over!

It’s Not Summer Without You is an altogether more serious read than The Summer I Turned Pretty. Dealing with grief and loss, Han handles these tough subjects expertly and her writing style is such that even though the subject matter may be serious, her words are still a joy to read. The characters are more mature in this book and it becomes obvious that Conrad and Jeremiah are no longer just the boys of summer; they will forever be in Belly’s life. But who will have her heart?

This book ends on quite a cliffhanger, and I have been totally left wanting more of this series. I can’t wait to see who Belly finally chooses, and I’m also intrigued to see how Han will give readers the happy ending they so desire, while also leaving one boy on the losing side in the quest for Belly’s heart. I anticipate lots of twists and turns in We’ll Always Have Summer, the third and final book in this series.