It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han


Publication Date: April 27, 2010


Plot: Belly finds out what comes after falling in love in this follow-up to The Summer I Turned Pretty from the New York Times bestselling author of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Jenny Han. Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?


It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come. But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started—at Cousins Beach.




MY THOUGHTS:

What did I tell you—I knew I was going to fly through this series. The second one was almost as good as the first, but I am so sucked into this series at this point, I can't believe it took me this long to read it for the first time.

After being such a fan of To All the Boys I Loved Before, I’m surprised it took me this long to dive into these. I read this book in one day, which if you know me, is a certain sign that it will be one of my most-loved books for eternity. In this book, you see more of the love triangle between Belly and Beck’s boys. The writing in this book really handled heavy topics beautifully.


It was so fun to get Jeremiah’s point of view in part of this book! New versions of the audiobooks were released with the characters doing the narrating, so you know I had to listen to it as well as read it. While I’m not team Jeremiah in the books, I loved the actor Gavin Casalegno that plays him in the show, and I adored getting to hear him tell Jeremiah’s POV in the book.


The funeral and the moments at the summer house were the best parts. It definitely was very sad to read, but I love books that make me cry! Stop what you’re doing + go grab this series right now 👏🏻

☆ Rating: 4.5/5 stars 

FAVORITE QUOTES


“I will never look at you in the same way ever again. I'll never be that girl again. The girl who comes running back every time you push her away, the girl who loves you anyway.”


“How do you regret one of the best nights of your entire life? You don't. You remember every word, every look. Even when it hurts, you still remember.”


“And no matter what you do or how hard you try, you can’t stop

yourself from dreaming."


“We stood there, looking at each other, saying nothing. But it was the kind of nothing that meant everything.”


“I release you. I evict you from my heart. Because if I don't do it now, I never will.”


“There are moments in life that you wish with all your heart you could take back. Like, just erase from existence. Like, if you could, you'd erase yourself right out of existence too, just to make that moment not exist.”


“But I had loved him. I loved him longer and truer than I had anyone in my whole life and I would probably never love anyone that way again. Which to be honest was almost a relief.”


“Nothing, nothing felt better than the way sand felt beneath my feet. It was both solid and shifting. Constant and ever-changing. It was summer.”

FAVORITE QUOTES


“I will never look at you in the same way ever again. I'll never be that girl again. The girl who comes running back every time you push her away, the girl who loves you anyway.”


“How do you regret one of the best nights of your entire life? You don't. You remember every word, every look. Even when it hurts, you still remember.”


“And no matter what you do or how hard you try, you can’t stop

yourself from dreaming."


“We stood there, looking at each other, saying nothing. But it was the kind of nothing that meant everything.”


“I release you. I evict you from my heart. Because if I don't do it now, I never will.”


“There are moments in life that you wish with all your heart you could take back. Like, just erase from existence. Like, if you could, you'd erase yourself right out of existence too, just to make that moment not exist.”


“But I had loved him. I loved him longer and truer than I had anyone in my whole life and I would probably never love anyone that way again. Which to be honest was almost a relief.”


“Nothing, nothing felt better than the way sand felt beneath my feet. It was both solid and shifting. Constant and ever-changing. It was summer.”