Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Publication date: May 2009
ISBN: 9781416968290
Source: Won in a contest
Belly has spent every summer she can remember at the beach house with her second family. Every year, she's looked forward to her time spent there as the best of the year. She's been in love with Conrad for almost as long as they've visited, and best friends with his brother Jeremiah. But the summer Belly turns sixteen is special - things are different and she can feel it. It is a summer of romance and friendships and sorrow and joy.
Things I Liked: This was a perfect light read for summer (though, I read it in the middle of the cold spring - it made me long for the hot and lazy days of summer). Belly's casual and flirty summer reminded me so much of what I used to long for every summer as a teen. I loved how real she felt - falling for nearly every boy and simply wanting to be noticed and liked. I especially loved the flash backs to some of her previous summer experiences. It was a sweet story and a quick read.
Things I Didn't Like:
At times it was just a little too unbelievable. Belly was beautiful too suddenly (it's obvious from the title, but I hate those overnight make-overs) and attractive to any male. She was also really oblivious to some very obvious things going on during the summer. I found myself more interested in the past summers than in the present one. It was nice for a light read, but I definitely need to follow it up with something a little more complex.
Read-alikes:
Reminded me of Shug by Jenny Han
He's So Not Worth It by Kieran Scott
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@
some, nothing too strong
mrg-factor: X
some references, nothing actually happening
v-factor: none
Overall rating: ***
What do you read for a light end-of-summer read?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
Posts
She sounds just like a teenager - a bit self absorbed at the moment. Here's a tease from my current read.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. I've seen a lot of really glowing views on this one (and the other books in the series) but I haven't gotten around to them yet. I'll know to go in with more realistic expectations. :)
ReplyDeleteI had flashbacks as soon as I read the title of this one.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I finally stopped feeling awkward about myself. It was one of the most liberating experiences ever!
I'd pass on the read though, not my genre.....
Harvee, and probably some of us not-so-teenagers too! :)
ReplyDeletekathy, yeah I've seen lots of glowing reviews too. Maybe I missed something?
Shannon, I'm not sure I've ever stopped feeling awkward about myself - so good for you!
This is a great summer novel about love, heartache, and just having fun. I finished this book pretty fast but the only problem i had with it was that it left me wantin more. I wanted to know what happend to conrad and jeremiahs mother and i wanted to know at the end of the novel where conrad and belly were heading. But other than those flaws the book was great.
ReplyDeleteActually, there are several sequels to the book, so you can get more of Belly's story! Definitely check them out if you wanted more.
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