Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (April 26, 2011
Genre: Young Adult Source: S & S Galley Grab
WARNING! DO NOT read this review if you have not read the previous two books -- in which case. What are you waiting for already?!!
Rating:
"I’ve only ever loved two boys—both of them with the last name Fisher. Conrad was first, and I loved him in a way that you can really only do the first time around. It’s the kind of love that doesn’t know better and doesn’t want to—it’s dizzy and foolish and fierce. That kind of love is really a one-time-only thing."
"And then there was Jeremiah. When I looked at Jeremiah, I saw past, present, and future. He didn’t just know the girl I used to be. He knew the right-now me, and he loved me anyway."
My Thoughts - Two years on and 18 year old Belly is at college and for two years has been dating Jeremiah. They are happy and in love. What more could they possibly ask for?
Unfortunately Jeremiah slips up and it's no little mistake, but a mistake that has the potential to destroy everything. Due to this Belly has to re - evaluate everything -- everything she thought she had and wanted.
What struck me first was this new voice of Belly’s; it completely caught me of guard. Of course she is a lot more mature now but from being used to a much more sweet -- naive Belly to seeing this transition from this girl becoming a women it was almost all too much to take in at first -- don't think she is a complete changed women though; she still makes rash silly mistakes -- one to such an extent that it could be her worst mistake to date and that's saying something!
With that came things that bothered me; Jeremiah in particular. No longer is he described as; humble, sweet, caring and shy. It's almost as though the Jeremiah we grew to love and sympathise with is gone. Instead we are slapped with this; arrogant, spoilt, rich and oblivious boy who is Insensitive and at times mean. In contrast Conrad has matured. Through this book you see that the maturity really was always there. The sacrifices he had to make, the pain he has bared comes to light. It's startling and for many readers will be hard to comprehend. For two books we spent sympathising for Jeremiah, the younger brother always in Conrad's shadow who we all rooted for when seeing what a jerk his older brother was. Things are different now.
Everyone has changed.
I did feel a little cheated. The narrative switches between Conrad and Belly but never to Jeremiah. Since the plot focuses largely on all three of them it might have been a good idea to include his thoughts in there. We see Jeremiah through their eyes but what about his side of the story? If Conrad was not given the opportunity to express his POV in previous novels and in this book we might have continued to dislike him. Jeremiah never got that chance in this installment though and that made me a little sad.
Character's dear to Belly and the brothers are still there such as Belly's mother and father -- her brother Steven, and the boys father, not to mention Taylor Taylor
How could a book break my heart and put it together again so effortlessly? Each book has brought with it; sadness, laughter and tears. I have cringed, smiled and laughed with Belly, grown with her and the boys. It feels like one big adventure that is ending much too soon. I read the book in one sitting in under three hours, and it was faced paced just as the others. Although The Summer I Turned Pretty will always hold a special place this book comes pretty close if not better in its own right.
The fact that Belly's old traits shine through even now like her nativity, immaturity, her recklessness only humanises her character. After seeking that feeling for so long, that buzz, I finally felt it. That moment when your heart is beating uncontrollably fast, your eyes are open wide, your leaning in anxious as butterflies fill your stomach. I felt all of this the moment Conrad was introduced. It was almost as though I was seeing him through Belly's eyes for the first time. If this is how Belly feels every time she sees him then I give up, maybe all her yodelling, moaning and yearning for this guy have been with good reason. If this is what our Belly has been feeling for all these years then I felt like stepping aside and giving her a hug reassuringly and say "go to him" even though I have always rooted for Jeremiah -- probably because he was always so sweet to Belly, but secretly? My heart has always been with Conrad. I had always known that regardless of how much he frustrated me.
The ending turned out to be much more tricky than originally expected. I had my doubts and it took those doubts to make me realise how much I wanted it to end it the way it did. The possibility of the book ending any other way had me full on panic mode! I was anxious with the thought of it ending it any other way and had no idea what I would do if it did. When I found that it ended the way I wanted it to, it was just a breath of fresh air, such relief.
This series is loved by me hugely for a reason, there's just something completely wonderful about it that makes my heart drop, fill with hope, sadness and joy when I think of her story. The magic of it all is how many of us can relate to Belly, how we would love to have those summers away with family and experience those moments with Conrad's and Jeremiah's out there. I felt a little lost after closing the book because I'm not quite sure if I'm ready to let Belly go just yet. There's so much I want to ask her, face with her. I want to see her grow old with the person she loves, see her children and ask her how she has been lately. I think after all the heartache she grows through, after she shares so much of herself with you, you can't help but want to carry on the journey right alongside her. It's all this and so much more that makes this series so special. It is by far not your typical beach read. There is a lot more to her story; one that will pretty much amaze you by how involved and in love you will become. That's a promise.
"And after, when it was bedtime, I would sing, “We love you, Conrad, oh yes we do. We love you, Conrad, and we’ll be true” into the bathroom mirror with a mouthful of toothpaste. I would sing my eight-nine-ten-year-old heart out. But I wasn’t singing to Conrad Birdie. I was singing to my Conrad. Conrad Beck Fisher, the boy of my preteen dreams."
If you love this series then I highly recommend;
· Just Listen By Sarah Dessen
· Shug By Jenny Han
· Going too Far By Jennifer Echols
· Perfect Chemistry By Simone Elkeles
· Twenty Boy Summer By Sarah Ockler
· Amy & Roger's Epic Detour By Morgan Matson
· How It Ends By Laura Wies
"You Are The Milk To My Shake, forever and ever. Love, J"
Posts
