Original post from my Mom blog here – https://mamaonthemove1.wordpress.com/2026/03/03/book-review-the-summer-i-turned-pretty-trilogy/
Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy
Author: Jenny Han
Genre: Romance, Young Adult, Fiction
Number of Pages: 896
My Rating: 💋💋💋💋
Book Summary:
Belly has always lived for the summertime because it means all her favorite things: swimming, the beach and the Fisher boys, Conrad and Jeremiah. She has spent every summer with them at Cousins Beach for as long as she can remember. She has always been in love with Conrad and finally, one summer, it seems like he might have feelings for her too. But it turns out, so does Jeremiah.
As the summers go on, Belly has to choose between two brothers who love her as she comes to the realization that she will have to break one of their hearts.
For the first time, all three Summer novels are in one collection, including The Summer I Turned Pretty, It’s Not Summer Without You and We’ll Always Have Summer.
My Thoughts:
Let me start by saying that I watched the show before reading the books and I watched all three seasons before I picked up this trilogy.
I enjoyed the television show, with some minor problems of the social political climate sprinkled in unnecessarily in my opinion. But unfortunately that’s all television and movies now a days. Also, notably after reading the books, it followed most of the story accurately, however there were story lines that didn’t even show up in the books and even some characters were changed to other roles within the show.
I was pleasantly surprised and actually grateful that none of that was within the novels. I will be honest that I tend to enjoy the novels more then the shows or movies, but there have been a few contenders in the past that were neck and neck.
Conrad was not as brooding and miserable in the novels as they make him out to be in the show. I found Conrad to be introspective, guarded and emotionally complicated. He internalized everything and shuts down when he’s hurting instead of reaching out for help. His silence feels cold, but it always came from the pain he was feeling and not from indifference. Contrary to what is portrayed, he was always very aware of his emotions.
He loves deeply for those he cares about, especially Belly. His feelings for her were consuming and so intense that he struggled to express himself in healthy ways. But it was always sincere and steady. He carried the emotional weight of his family, especially when it came to his mother. That responsibility and weight caused him to mature in some ways and break him in others. He often pushed people away when he needed them most because he believed he could handle everything himself. Even though he was incredibly intelligent, that made you mildly frustrated with certain decisions he made, even though deep down you knew he was doing this out of the goodness of his heart.
But he had a magnetic personality without trying, he was brainy and athletic and an all around golden boy. I was personally Team Conrad from the beginning.
But if Conrad is the ocean before the storm, then his brother Jeremiah is sunshine.
Now let’s jump into Jeremiah.
Jeremiah is warm, outgoing, affectionate, and emotionally open. He loves very easily, wears his heart directly on his sleeve, makes everyone feel included, enjoys having a good time and is very easy to be around.
Even though he is playful and flirty, he is deeper then just surface level which I found to be a nice twist for the sunshine boy. When he falls for Belly, he doesn’t hide a thing! He chooses her with no hesitation, no guessing games unlike Conrad’s unpredictability. Though he tends to hide his hurt behind jokes most the time, especially when he feels second best. Being in Conrad’s shadow allows some of his insecurity to bubble to the surface on occasion.
Though don’t underestimate Jeremiah, he’s not just the “nice brother.” He can get jealous and competitive. Sharp when he feels betrayed and his pain will run deep, especially when it comes to Belly and Conrad’s relationship. Jeremiah will show you his love outwardly as much as his hurt, he doesn’t swallow it and suffer in silence like Conrad.
If Conrad is longing and Jeremiah is warmth, Belly is the tide pulling between them — sometimes calm, sometimes chaotic, always changing.
See what I did there? *Snickers*
Isabel or better known as “Belly”, has been spending years feeling like the awkward little sister tagging along at Cousins Beach next to her brother Steven and the Fisher boys. However this summer changed everything, starting with her all around transformation and I’m not just talking purely physical but mentally and emotionally as well. But beneath her transformation, she is still trying to figure out who she is, but that doesn’t mean the boys who never noticed her before don’t begin to.
Belly is a true romantic at heart and believe in epic love. She is the type that holds on to memories like little treasures, replaying them over and over, especially when it comes to her first love Conrad. Her heart tends to lead first and logic follows later. She feels intensely about nearly EVERYTHING. She makes sometimes rash decisions without thinking about the long term consequences. She can be naive and selfish at times, however she is young and learning.
Belly is eventually torn between her dream since she was a kid, Conrad, and Jeremiah which represents the love that’s right in front of her. Belly’s journey is really about understanding the difference between wanting to be chosen and ultimately choosing for herself.
What makes Belly interesting isn’t perfection, but watching her growth throughout the novels. She messes up. She hurts people. She gets hurt. But across the trilogy, she slowly matures. She starts to understand that love isn’t just about butterflies. It’s about timing, communication, and knowing who you are outside of someone else.
Now let’s talk about some minor characters before I jump into my final conclusion.
Steven is Belly’s older brother. Steven is sarcastic, competitive, and very big-brother coded. He pretends not to care, but he’s protective underneath the jokes.
Laurel is Belly’s mom who is reserved, intellectual, and emotionally guarded. She loves deeply but doesn’t always express it warmly. Laurel struggles with grief in a quiet, internal way, which sometimes creates distance between her and Belly. She’s strong, but not soft about it. She is best friends with Susannah Fisher and has been for nearly her whole life.
Susannah is mother to the wonderful fisher boys, Conrad and Jeremiah. She is truly heart of Cousins. Susannah is warm, romantic, and almost ethereal in how she loves her people. She believes in soulmates and summer magic. Even while battling her illness, she tries to preserve beauty and joy for the kids. Her presence shapes everything — and her absence shapes even more.
Taylor is Belly’s best friend (and my least favourite character if I’m being completely honest). Taylor is bold, dramatic, and fiercely loyal. She pushes Belly out of her comfort zone and isn’t afraid to say the thing everyone else is thinking. Yes, she can be impulsive and attention-loving, but she rides hard for her best friend.
In conclusion, do I love this trilogy?? Absolutely!
It was such an easy read and I flew through all three of these novels in record time, unable to put them down at all. I love the growth of each character, especially Belly and Conrad. However there were times, some of the characters made me want to shake their shoulders and say “GROW UP! Stop being brats and self-centered!” And I’m not just talking about the kids….
It was so wonderfully pure, raw and simply beautiful. From the atmosphere it was set in to the relationships between the character, I can’t rave about it enough. I would highly recommend this as a summer read for sure and will definitely allow my own daughter to read these when she’s older.
I hope you enjoyed this very lengthy review….sorry!
But I have some news! I have made the decision to make this blog strictly mom/kid related content and will be moving my book reviews to my new blog. So I hope you will join me at https://beneaththebooklight.blog/.
Ciao!
Beneath the Book Light 