Sophie Van Riet

Sophie Van Riet
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Jenny Han
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
68


1.  I have just started the book, The Summer I Turned Pretty.  Right now Belly, a teenage girl, is realizing that Jeremiah might like her. Jeremiah and Conrad are very good family friends with Belly.  Belly, her mom Laurel, and her brother Steven go down to the Fisher's beach house every summer. The Fisher family consists of Conrad, Jeremiah, their mom Susannah, and their father Mr.Fisher. Their father never really goes down to the beach house so it's just the teenagers and the two women.  Susannah and Laurel are best friends, so every summer all the kids and them meet at the beach house on Cousins Beach. Belly has always had a crush on Conrad, even though he's older. This summer, the dynamic of her and Conrad changes, and Conrad seems to show an interest in Belly. He starts paying more attention to her, and tries to be around her as much as possible. Belly is very happy about this, since she's liked him for as long as she can remember. While at the movies, Belly gets a feeling that Jeremiah likes her. She's flattered, but doesn't know what to think, he's always just been goofy Jeremiah.

2. I am really enjoying the book so far. I love the relationship between the two families. They are all so happy and caring to one another. I also like that it got started right away and didn't take a long time to get into the story.  I feel that the characters are well developed as well, even though the book just started. One thing that I dislike is that the author isn't very descriptive. She doesn't make you able to really envision what is happening, and I wish that she would.  Another thing that I dislike is that basically every other chapter is a flashback, so the book kind of drags on at some points. When I first started this book, I thought it was going to be very superficial, but I really don't think that it is at all.

3.  One theme in this book would be relationships and how easily they can change. The families have a very close relationship, and that sets the whole tone for he book.  You can see how fast a relationship can change. For example, Jeremiah and Belly were always just close friends. But ever since Belly became pretty, Jeremiah sees her in a different way. This also happens with Conrad. I don't really know how I feel about that. It seems kind of like a bad message, like just because Belly becomes pretty, now all the guys like her. I think that Belly will see through all this.

4.  My favorite character so far is Susannah. she's very wild and lives every day as if it's her last. a few years ago, she got breast cancer and had to go through chemotherapy. This was hard on her but she never let that stop her from being who she is. Also she is very loving to all of the kids. She treats Belly the way Belly wishes her mom would.  Susannah also is very nice for letting Belly and her family stay with them for the whole summer.  She even renovated the house just so there could be lots of room for everybody. I really admire who Susannah is.

5. My least favorite character is definitely Conrad. He's very bossy, and not very sensitive. he doesn't seem to think about how others are feeling. Also, he isn't particularly nice to Belly even though she's always trying to get his attention. I feel that Belly likes who he used to be and can't realize that they were just not meant to be together. I really don't like his attitude sometimes.  I also think he should be more open and less mysterious, because he has his mother worried he might be doing something bad.  I hope he starts to be more sensitive.

6. I predict that Conrad and Jeremiah are going to have a fight over Belly. They both like her now, and she's a little unsure what to think. She's always liked Conrad even though he never felt the same way, and all of a sudden he likes her back, and now Jeremiah might like her but she doesn't really particularly feel the same way. I predict that Belly is going to want to be with Conrad, and it will cause a huge fight between the two brothers. I really hope this will not happen, but that's what I think will.