the summer belly couldn't make up her mind

Why more people aren't talking about Lola Tung narrating this audiobook is beyond me. You mean the actual Belly is in my ear, telling me her story? I love it. I have fond memories of watching the first season of the show adaptation by myself in COVID quarantine. I cried just as hard on my rewatch with my mom about a month later. And while the second season didn't feel like it hit quite as hard as the first one, I still enjoyed gathering friends in my apartment to watch it together. I don't usually read books I've already seen the movie or show adaptations of, but this felt like an exception I was willing to make. And I can still read/listen to the third book before the third season comes out. There's something about reading a book steeped like iced tea in the concept of summer during the height of a San Diego summer. Granted, Cousins Beach and Belly's emotional rollercoaster of a love life are located on the East Coast. But as I said with Happy Place, until I'm able to experience what summer's like on the opposite coast, I'll settle for reading about it. I have my fair share of critiques for this book (and most of them have to do with Belly's decisions and attitudes), but I really think time jumps and well-placed flashbacks strengthen the overall story. For one thing, this novel is about more than love triangles and a fifteen-year-old girl beginning to hit puberty in a good way. It deals with sibling relationships, divorce, and the effects of cancer. Showing bits and pieces of summers in Cousins that were completely carefree, where Belly has tunnel vision for Conrad and enjoys the company of those around her in a more childlike way, paves the way for greater emotional reactions when the current summer is irrevocably different. It captures that bittersweet realization that some of the "lasts" of childhood slip by without enough time to turn one's head and watch them go. I also like how Conrad's uncharacteristic behavior gets an explanation at the end, that he doesn't remain an asshole, as at least every character ends up calling him at least once, through to the end. With that being said, though, I kind of got incredibly sick of Belly swinging like a pendulum between Jeremiah and Conrad. I know she's 15 and hormones rage, but she really wasn't fair with either of them, playing with their emotions and being indecisive. And bringing Cam Cameron into the equation stirs the pot, sure, but I feel so bad for him and what I suspect he knew from the beginning: Belly's heart wasn't ever really his to have. There's a lot of emotional manipulation going on on all levels (I won't say Laurel and Susannah are exempt), so at times I just wanted to take whoever was acting out by the shoulders and give them a little shake. Belly's best friend Taylor, especially. Talk about emotional manipulation. I don't have much else to say other than, somehow, I might be sidestepping from Team Conrad to Team Jeremiah. I get snagged on Belly's ideology that no matter what, Conrad is it. Romantic as the ideology is, it just limits her frame of mind and confidence so much. And when Conrad acts like he could care less about anything Belly's doing, it's just annoying to see her pining. Who's to say where I'll end up by the end of the series, though. I think if I were Belly, I'd just take a giant step back and do everything I could to make sure I didn't lose them both as close friends. But, alas, I am not Belly.

​
Some of my favorite quotes from The Summer I Turned Pretty:

"In the dark you can feel really close to a person. You can say whatever you want."

"Victory is a thousand times sweeter when you're the underdog."

"I wondered if this was the way old crushes died, with a whimper, slowly, and then, just like that—gone." 

---