http://www.lonelymountain.net/books/j... ( )

Jenny Han, The Summer I turned Pretty 288pp. Simon & Schuster (2009)ISBN:9781416968238 $16.99 (Junior High/High School) 4 stars.

Fifteen year old Belly goes with her mother and older brother to spend another summer at the beach with her mother's best friend and her two sons Jeremiah and Conrad. This has been a ritual for them since she was a little girl. She has always been the younger sister tagging along with the boys. This summer things change. Alliances, feelings, and perceptions are tested. Belly's summer is life changing. She learns a lot about herself and the people around her. Things aren't always as they seem. This book will draw you in from the beginning. You feel as if you are experiencing summer with all of its warmth and easiness. You will not want to put this book down. Han has written a book that will have mass appeal for your readers who enjoy books by Sara Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti.
Aida E. New York ( )

Reviewed by Angela S. for TeensReadToo.com

Belly lives for the Summer. To her, the months in between summer are nothing but passing time until the next summer starts. Summer is a time that everything happens, and when Belly is happiest.

Most summer's are the same . Driving down to the beach house with her mother and brother, Steven, swimming at night when she can't sleep, but finally, one summer, everything changes.

When Belly gets to the beach house, the boys she's known forever - Jeremiah and Conrad, who've been her crushes and brother figures all at once - look at her differently. They don't just treat her like one of the guys anymore. Conrad smokes now, and he quit the football team, something that Belly never saw coming. His brother, Jeremiah, is now a jock.

Belly wonders how everything has changed so quickly.

But when things start to change, they eventually end up just as they should have been all along. THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY is a wonderfully written novel that you won't want to put down! ( )

Belly has spent every summer tagging along with her brother and their two best friends, brothers Conrad and Jeremiah. They go to the beach house each summer with their moms, also best friends. This summer, Belly is turning 16 and things have changed. Her brother isn't really there, and Belly has become more beautiful. This is a perfect summer romance, only you aren't exactly sure who the romance is with - Conrad, the older, more sensitive brother, Jeremiah, the younger, funnier brother, or the new guy, Cam. This book is great - with some unexpected twists and a perfect summer feel. The book switches back and forth between the present and other memorable summers, and frankly it made me jealous - I wanted to live that perfect summer life with Belly. A great book. ( )