It's Not Summer Without You
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "Being with Conrad was supposed to make everything better, but instead it's one more thing that's fallen apart in the aftermath of Susannah getting sick again.\n\nBelly doesn't know who she is without summers at Cousins Beach. She doesn't know what to make of Conrad's apathy or the distance that's grown between them since last summer.\n\nIn a year where so many things have changed, Belly isn't sure if she can keep pining for Conrad. All she really knows is that when Jeremiah calls to tell her that Conrad has disappeared, she has to help find him in It's Not Summer Without You (2010) by Jenny Han.\n\nIt's Not Summer Without You is the second book in Han's Summer trilogy which begins in The Summer I Turned Pretty.\n\nBelly narrates most of this book with a few chapters interspersed from Jeremiah's point of view. Belly spends so much of this series focused on Conrad that it was interesting to see more of Jeremiah's perspective.\n\nWith the addition of Jeremiah's chapters and the story shifting away from Cousins, all of the characters are more developed here. The tension between Belly and both Fisher boys is palpable as all three try to reconcile themselves to the loss of the summer cocoon that used to bind them together.\n\nIt's Not Summer Without You is a melancholy installment but the series is stronger because of it as another layer of depth is added to the story. Han takes the familiar elements from The Summer I Turned Pretty and inverts them to make this an entirely new reading experience. A must-read for fans of the series and as much of a page-turner as you're likely to find in a breezy contemporary--let's just say I gasped more than once as I made my way to the end of this book!\n\nPossible Pairings: Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian, Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum, Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo, Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen, I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo, Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland, The Museum of Heartbreak by Meg Leder, The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart, When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon,Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler"}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I loved this book. It is one of my favorites.\n\nThe book started out crazy. You know by the end of the first book it is going to happen. I was in tears reading it, mostly because I lost someone recently to cancer. It was a sad time, so knew what the characters were going through.\n\nBelly’s love life is crazy - she loves one, then another. I don’t want to spoil too much to keep her love life short will have to do. At the end of the first book, she is with Conrad until something happens. It is told later in the book and it makes you wait it drove me crazy, making me read more.\n\nConrad is one of Belly’s friends and at the end of book one, it is more. He is quiet and keeps to himself. He was had to figure out at first, unlike Jarimah. Jarimah in Conrad’s younger brother. He was closer to Belly, only because they talked a lot more and go along better.\n\nEveryone knew Belly like Conrad and when he goes missing she must find him to patch things up. Conrad ran away from summer school and everything else to save something he loved.\n\nThis book will mess with you emotions drawing you in like crazy. This book we good, but I recommend reading the first book, The Summer I Turned Pretty that book was great as well.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I have read this series multiple times. I first picked up this book 10 years ago while in high school. I couldn’t put it down. I came across the series again as an adult, and again, I couldn’t put it down. This was my favorite series by Jenny. She has a way of transporting you into the mind of her characters. Even as an adult, I loved this book. It’s a wonderful summer read!'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I first bought the series of books because of the tv show on Amazon Prime Video. I’m so glad I did because I love the books and finished all three in a week. I will say the show doesn’t go a long with the books which is a little disappointing but the books are so good. I’m not a big reader and I have a 2 year old daughter and work full time so to finish them in a week for me means they are really good. I recommend this series 100%'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'loved this whollleee series. My favorite books ever'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Memories are always included throughout the summer. Laughs and forever adventures take place in the summer. There is summer love and this story has friendship love and real love. Enjoyed reading more family fun at the summer house. Loved references back to when they were kids and reading from Jeremiahs view. Thanks for another fun read!'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "When I tell you that I finished this book in one night, I'm not lying. I couldn't put it down! It was so fast paced and it was so so good! If you're a fan of the The Summer I Turned Pretty series, definitely read this one and keep going! Love love loved this book!"}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2015', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "This series (and you should definitely read the books in order) tells the story of Belly, a girl who has been going with her mom and her brother to a friend's summer house every summer since she was little. Her mom's friends has two boys and Belly has always felt like the odd one out with the three older boys. Then one summer everything changes - Belly develops into a young woman and suddenly the two brothers see her as an object of romantic interest and not just the little girl tagging along. The reason I say you need to read these books in order is that you really see the characters develop over the three books and you understand the complicated relationships they have weaved. I won't give any spoilers but this is a great beach book series about summer love that turns into the real thing and the challenges faced along the way."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2011', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "The book had me on an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to end. Everything Belly was feeling I was feeling. This review will be short because I don't feel like there are words good enough to fully express how much I like this book and how much I am now looking forward to the 3rd one coming out. A lot of time the 2nd book in a trilogy is just kind of a filler of information and gives a little more background on the characters. While this book had all that it was a beautiful compliment to the 1st book (The Summer I Turned Pretty) and never did I feel like it was a book to fill the space between 1 & 3.\n\nAs much as I love both boys I feel like Belly's heart and soul belong to Conrad.......I believe that's what Susannah felt as well. Keeping my fingers crossed that I'm not disappointed with the last book."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'When my granddaughter told me about this amazon series, I knew I had to read the book before watching. Love, love, love the trio. Short, quick, light hearted read.'}]