The Summer I Turned Pretty

General Analysis

Book Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty

Author: Jenny Han

Publish Date: May 5, 2009

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Similar Author/Books:  I think her writing style was very similar to Sarah Dessen's writing style.

Plot:  Much like the last Sarah Dessen novel that I began reading (That Summer), I thought that there was a severe lack of plot throughout the book, but nonetheless there was more of a plot than in That Summer.  Belly, the main female character, measures her life in her summer and the events that happen in the summers. She vacations at a beach house every summer with her mom, her mom's friend (Susannah), and Susannah's two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah.

Why I Read this Book: It seemed like ti would be an interesting YA romance novel.

Overall Thoughts: I did not enjoy the book very much and I am not really sure why I desired to finish it.  I did not think that there was much of a plot and there were subjects that were mentioned throughout the novel that I did not like (see dislikes, below).

In Depth Analysis 

Characters: The characters were pretty well developed.

Writing Style: The story kept going from current events to past events and then back to current events.  I think this is a wonderful idea, but it was not employed very well.  I do not think there was much of a plot to this book either.

Likes:  The characters were interesting.

Dislikes:  The story was not very entertaining with a lack of plot.  The writing style was dull.  Illegal drugs were mentioned and underage drinking occurred in the book.  There were also a few sexual references.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: I would recommend that the reader be at least 16 due to alcohol, drug, and sexual references.

Overall Rating: 2/5