Title: We’ll Always Have Summer
Author: Jenny Han
Publication: April 26, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers
Genre: YA Fiction, Teen, Romance
Pages: 312
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
Can Belly make a final choice between Jeremiah and Conrad?
Find out in the conclusion of the New York Times bestselling The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy from the author of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (now a major motion picture!).
Belly has only ever been in love with two boys, both with the last name Fisher. And after being with Jeremiah for the last two years, she’s almost positive he is her soul mate. Almost. While Conrad has not gotten over the mistake of letting Belly go, Jeremiah has always known that Belly is the girl for him. So when Belly and Jeremiah decide to make things forever, Conrad realizes that it’s now or never—tell Belly he loves her, or lose her for good. Belly will have to confront her feelings for Jeremiah and Conrad and face the inevitable: She will have to break one of their hearts.
REVIEW:
**SPOILER ALERT: If you have not read this book, spoilers lie ahead.**
I cannot be the only one that feels bamboozled by We’ll Always Have Summer? Right? Jenny Han has just destroyed me. How rude! Let’s talk about it.
This book is the conclusion to Belly’s story at Cousin’s Beach. I don’t usually write spoilers, but there may be spoilers because I can’t not talk about it. Maybe it’s because I have watched season one and two of the TV show adaption of these books, or maybe its because I feel like we did not get much from Conrad and Jeremiah in books one and two. This book upset me!
Jeremiah’s character was so off-putting I can understand why fans of this series say you can’t help but love Conrad. Now I don’t agree with that entire statement, but I can understand why they are not Jeremiah fans. He was so selfish and uncaring and literally gave no cares as to the things Belly would want or what Belly wanted to do. It was always Jeremiah, his way, period. I don’t know how this Jeremiah in this story will adapt to season three when they make it because the two characters ARE NOT THE SAME! Then you have Conrad who was pretty good in this book, but also annoying to me because you don’t get to mess with people like he does. You can’t go back and forth and give and take. That’s just rude. I felt very strongly about these characters and their behavior in this story, so hats off to Jenny Han for making me feel things.
I was also not a huge fan of the epilogue. I feel like the ending is what it is (I won’t say it here!), but it was like the story came to this huge peak argument/discussion and then bam, epilogue that zoomed through years of time and then wrapped like none of the ups and downs ever happen.
Either way this story flowed nicely and we got a lot more emotion and feelings out of this book compared to the first two. I felt like we actually got to know these characters way better than we had leading up to book three and I liked that, even if I didn’t like the actual characters. Definitely read this and wrap up the series so you know how it ends. Jenny Han has done it again.
Let me know what you think of book three characters versus their characters in the show. Conrad is not terribly different in the two, but book Jeremiah is a different person completely than TV show Jeremiah. Does that mean the ending changes? Because no way Jeremiah behaves this way in the show. He’s too caring and thoughtful of others and their feelings, most importantly Belly’s. He’s attuned to her and cares how she feels and what she wants and needs. No way he brushes her aside left and right. Share your thoughts!
