The Summer Series by Jenny Han

 

"Belly has always lived for the summertime because it means all her favorite things: swimming, the beach and the Fischer boys, Conrad and Jeremiah. She has spent every summer with them at Cousins Beach for as long as she can remember. She has always been in love with Conrad and finally, one summer, it seems like he might have feelings for her too. But it turns out, so does Jeremiah. As the summers go on, Belly has to choose between two brothers who love her as she comes to the realization that she will have to break one of their hearts. For the first time, all three Summer novels are in one boxed set, including The Summer I Turned Pretty, It's Not Summer Without You and We'll Always Have Summer."

-GoodReads

896 pages (all three books) 

by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers 

This trilogy...oh my gosh. I laughed, cried, fell in love, and ended up feeling like an incredibly awkward teenager again when reading these books. From the very first chapter I felt connected to Belly and her life at the Cousin's beach house. Reading about her summers actually made me jealous. I started wishing I had a beach house to go to, and a best friend like Jeremiah (though I was completely Team Conrad, Jeremiah was a great best friend). Belly did not have a perfect life...far from it actually. But these stories felt real because of that. It wasn't just her laying on the beach staring at Conrad all summer. They were all fighting their own battles, and trying to grow up and figure out who they were and who they were going to be.

One of the best coming of age stories. Ever. No joke.

Jenny Han is amazing  I met her at the Austin Teen Book Festival last year and she was just so incredibly sweet. While I gushed about how much I loved Conrad and Belly and couldn't wait to see who Belly picked, she just smiled and kept saying thank you and signed my books. I'm so sad that I did not yet have the 3rd book when I met her...so now my set is incomplete. Guess that means that I will have to meet her again.

If you are in the process of making a summer reading list, add these three books to your list. I cannot wait for summer to be here because I plan on rereading these. I'm getting excited just thinking about it.

Also, after reading all three books, I think Conrad needs his own book. I want inside his head and know what he is really thinking in some situations. That would be a good book.

Have you read the Summer Trilogy? Link me your reviews, I would love to read them!