March 15, 2010
In this second book of the planned trilogy that began with The Summer I Turned Pretty
, 16-year-old Belly Conklin feels displaced. Unlike years past, she won't be at the beach with her mother's best friend, Susannah, and Susannah's sons, Jeremiah and Conrad. This summer, “I wasn't in Cousins. Conrad and I weren't together, and Susannah was dead.” When Belly learns from Jeremiah that Conrad has disappeared, she immediately agrees to help; their search leads them to the beach house, where Conrad is hiding out. Belly's plaintive voice sometimes makes her sound too young, but Han realistically touches upon the characters' various reactions to grief—Belly's mother becomes withdrawn, Conrad fiercely protects the house (his father wants to sell it), Belly has trouble processing the permanence of loss—as well as Belly's emotional entanglements with the brothers (occasional chapters are told from Jeremiah's perspective, and Belly reflects on her failed romance with Conrad). Though the fate of the summer house is resolved a bit quickly, Belly's difficult relationship with her best friend and her standing with the boys hang in the balance, which should leave readers anxious for the final installment. Ages 12–up.
April 1, 2010
Gr 7-10-Belly, 16, lives all year for her summers at Cousins Beach. But when a family friend dies and the beach house tradition is threatened, she faces the season without her second family and without the boy she loves. In this follow-up to "The Summer I Turned Pretty" (S & S, 2009), Belly is still reeling from the dissolution of her relationship with Conrad, her lifelong love, and the death of his mother. But mourning Suzanne is even harder since Conrad has shut down, refusing to talk to Belly or anyone else. When he suddenly leaves school without explanation, his brother, Jeremiah, recruits Belly to help find and mend him. The trio find themselves at Cousins Beach after all, and the memories and feelings of the past come flooding back. Complicated and fragile, Belly's relationships with the two young men are put to new tests as she and Conrad come to terms with their relationship, and Belly and Jeremiah begin to build a romantic bond of their own. This sequel is as quiet and thoughtful as its companion. The nostalgic imagery of a lifetime of experiences at a serene and magical place like Cousins Beach is alive once again, and the desperation the characters feel when faced with losing a loved one and possibly the beach house, too, is warmly imagined. Fans of the first book will enjoy this continuation in which nothing is easy for Belly, but the end result is worth the heartache."Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA"
Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2010
In this melancholy sequel to The Summer I Turned Pretty, Belly faces a breakup with longtime crush Conrad and the death of Conrad's mother. While appealing Belly remains the central voice, Conrad's kind-hearted brother, Jeremiah, occasionally narrates, revealing his secret feelings for Belly. The heightened emotions surrounding the love triangle keep readers guessing which brother gets the girl until the very end.
(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)