As the weather turns cold and we’re all starting to wish summer would hurry up and roll around again, I find myself recalling events, settings, and characters from this trilogy of Summer books by author Jenny Han. They’re so much fun and full of sweet, romantic longing. As far as content (language and sexual) goes, I think they’re fine for 7th grade and up.
Belly, the protagonist, is pretty self absorbed and her self confidence is horrid, but I identify with that… Don’t all of us struggle with those things some? I’m not really a fan of characters that have their acts together more than I do. Anyway, I liked Belly, and I liked the other characters. I’d love to spend time with them all in real life, which is how I know an author has really made characters believable and honest and real. I loved the setting and am thoroughly jealous of people who get to spend entire summers at the beach like that. The only thing I didn’t like was that it ended. And, if it had to end, it could have at least ended with a freakin kiss. The rest of the trilogy doesn’t dissapoint in the romance department, though – if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to escape to a different place for the summers and experience having your choice between two boys (and what girl hasn’t?) then you’ll love these books.
Han has recently been working on a new trilogy beginning with Burn For Burn, which just came out this summer. It was great. I was a little disappointed in the end because it was a HUGE cliffhanger that left me wishing I had just waited until all three were published before starting. If you don’t mind cliffhangers, though, you should definitely check out Burn For Burn. Like, now.
Enjoy!
Pimples, Popularity, and Protagonists 