Sophie Van Riet

Sophie Van Riet
It's Not Summer Without You
Jenny Han
Realistic fiction
Just Right
46

1. I am currently reading the sequel to The Summer I Turned Pretty. It is called, It's Not Summer Without You, by Jenny Han. I'm not very far into it, but a lot has happened so far. Right now, Jeremiah has called Belly (the main character) telling her that Conrad is gone. Jeremiah and Conrad Fisher and brothers, and their mother, Susannah Fisher, died two months ago. The Fishers and Belly's family are very close. Every summer, they all would go down to their shared beach house, but since Susannah lost her life from cancer, that tradition has stopped.  Susannah was an amazing person, so all their lives have been affected from her death. She was the light at the end of the tunnel.  She was the person that made everything okay for Belly.  At the end of the previous book, you find out that Susannah has cancer.  I was hopeful she would get better, and so were all the characters in the book, but she doesn't. Belly has become very distraught and almost depressed. So when she gets a call that Conrad's gone, she panics because she is imagining the worst, since that's basically all she is used to. Belly was very mean to Conrad on the day of the funeral. She and him were dating, and she catches him with another girl. She tells him she hates him and that she never wants to see him again. Since she gets a call that they can't find him, she worries that she actually might not see him again.

2.  I feel this book is off to a good start. It is very upsetting though. Susannah was my favorite character in the first book, so it's very upsetting that she is gone.  I think that the author does a very good job of conveying the characters emotions. You can almost feel the pain that they are going through. Although I think the book is off to a good start, I'm not sure it will live up to my expectations. I am really hoping that things will get better for the characters, but I'm not exactly sure they really can.  I feel that the plot will get more interesting with Conrad gone and all.  I think that the authors writing is very clear and vivid.  I really think that if Susannah had not died i would like this book much better.

3.  I think a big theme in the book is loss.  Susannah is a huge loss for everyone. The book really shows the effects of her loss and what the characters have to go through. It affects their everyday lives. I really see how different Belly is now. Things that she would usually laugh about she gets annoyed at instead. I also see the loss of her bond with Conrad. She thought that she knew who he was and what he stood for, but she soon learns that all that is different. I think there's also a little bit of the loss of who you are as a person. I think partly the reason why Belly is having such a hard time is because she's changed so much she really can't figure what she is living for anymore. For example, she is still staying best friends with a girl named Taylor even though she secretly hates her.  I hope Belly and all the other characters learn how to deal with their loss.

4.  My favorite character is Jeremiah. I really see a lot of Susannah in him. He's nice to everyone and deals with Conrad's moodiness. He makes feel Belly feel like she is safe and has someone to turn to.  He's also really easygoing. I really like that quality in a person.I feel he also can deal with things in a good way. When his mother died, he let Conrad have space and talked to everyone at the reception instead of avoiding the situation like Conrad did. I'm glad that he is coming into the story more.

5.  My least favorite character is by far Conrad. He is very self centered and I feel that he really doesn't care about Belly's feelings. He also doesn't deal with his messes, and instead leaves other people to clean them up.  I understand that his mother has just died, and that would be hard for anyone, but even before that he didn't really care. I am wondering if there is something that I am missing, because Belly cares for him an insane amount.  He's also very mysterious, but not in a good way. I just overall find him to have too big of an ego and to be very mean.

6. I think that searching for Conrad will bring all the characters much closer, like they used to before. I think that they will find him at their beach house, and they will all end up staying there for the summer. I predict this because they have always gone to this house, so why would they not go? Also this is the place all the characters know and love, so why would the be anywhere else? I really hope the characters start getting happier, and learn how to cope with Susannah. I think that Conrad and Belly will end up having a really big fight over what she said during the funeral. I don't know how Belly's mom will come into the story line more, but I hope she does.