Do I still agree with how he treated Belly? No. But I forgive him for it because I now knew what he was going through. Sometimes we become the worst version of ourselves, but that doesn’t mean we’re bad people. We’re just going through a bad situation. When they told their family, I already felt like Laurel was going to combust, Mr. Fisher was going to be confused, Steven was going to be shook, and Conrad was going to be heart-broken but numb. THat’s true that part of Conrad will always live in Belly’s heart because he was her first love. However, her inner monologue felt like she was convincing herself that she still loved Jere and that she was just giving a reason to why Conrad would still be in her heart. Because if her initial emotion to Conrad was that she still loved him, that’s a flag for her to consider—a self-red flag. What was also sketchy was how she didn’t tell Jere about her run in with Conrad at Cousins’s—they were still dating at the time. If her run in with Conrad hadn’t meant as much as it did, then it shouldn’t have felt weird for her to tell Jere. But she kept it a secret—she kept it private—-like that moment meant something.

When Belly tells Anika about Jeremiah’s infidelity, Anika replies, “Keeping a secret like that from the person you love is probably the worst part.” We learn of several secrets in We’ll Always Have Summer—Jeremiah’s, Belly’s, Conrad’s. How much of what happens in this third novel is influenced by secrets? Is it ever okay to keep secrets? Is it ever okay to keep secrets from the people you love, in particular? It took me a long time to figure it out. That I was the one who had put my dad on that pedestal. I did that, not him. And then I despised him for not being perfect. For being human.” (pg. 180-1) He just wanted Belly to be happy even if that meant he wasn’t the one who was making her happy 😭. Honestly, that’s pure, honest love right there—if they love you to let you go because your happiness matters more. Oh, and the conversation Jeremiah and Conrad had while they were surfing had me screaming too! I liked how even though I knew deep down Jeremiah being engaged to Belly probably tore Conrad a part, he never not took his brother seriously—he believed Jere. He also never outright lambast Jere for being stupid, but gave his concerns as an older brother. What made me scream was when Conrad said: Characters: Each character was flawed in a perfectly imperfect way that made them human and relatable. I loved getting to really know Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah and how much love they had but how much love connects with pain, a pain that they all carried and that brought them closer to each other eventually.Belly recalls how she and Jeremiah had gotten into a fight before spring break. They broke up, but Jeremiah thought the breakup was permanent while Belly understood the breakup to be a temporary moment of trouble in the relationship. To Jeremiah, getting physical with Lacie didn’t seem like cheating on Belly, but Belly interprets his actions as cheating. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I liked that Jere groveled on his knees, but I didn’t know he was gonna grovel and pull out a ring!!!!!!! My Jelly heart cried, but I also felt okay about it because they weren’t right for each other. It was hard to admit that. Laurel comes to Belly’s wedding shower, which makes Belly incredibly happy. Conrad feels increasingly agitated as the wedding day draws near, and an older friend of his advises him to tell Belly how he feels, even if it means breaking up the wedding. Belly also feels uneasy about the upcoming nuptials and imagines kissing Conrad, growing even more drawn to him when she learns that her mom only attended the wedding shower because Conrad personally convinced her. I loved loved loved that. He didn’t give her flowers or chocolate or cheesy teddy bear she didn’t need. He gave her the moon, the stars, and infinity. Get you someone who gives you the mom, the stars, and infinity!

UGUUUUUUUUGGGHGHGHGHHGHGH!!!! He screwed up!!!! He could have been with the woman he loved all this time if didn’t screw the freak up. *world’s biggest sigh* Based on the popular YA trilogy by Jenny Han, which includes "It's Not Summer Without You" and "We'll Always Have Summer," the series takes us into the lives of two families who spend every summer together in a fictional Massachusetts town called Cousins Beach because their moms are best friends. Laurel's kids, daughter Belly and older brother Steven, are best friends with Susannah's sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Conrad has had Belly's heart since she was 10, but it's his younger brother Jeremiah who's more willing to openly return her feelings and doesn't play games. Caught between the love of two brothers, Belly is forced to figure out who she really wants. Told primarily over the course of the warmest months of the year, the series serves as a coming-of-age story for the teens in both families. I loved that he did that. I loved how he let her enjoy the fresh peaches at the market and how she shared the taste of the peaches with him. OH MY GOODNESS, the moment when he took his shirt sleeve and wiped peach juice from her mouth 🙈!! Where was this move two years ago 🤪? Dang, sis I was shaking too. Contemplate Belly’s experiences from when we meet her in The Summer I Turned Pretty through the final book in the series. How would you characterize her journey, overall? When faced with a tough choice, did she always do the right thing? What were her biggest mistakes? Her greatest successes?Whereas The Summer I Turned Pretty took place exclusively at Cousins, the events of It’s Not Summer Without You take place in several different settings; Cousins, Belly’s house, Jeremiah and Conrad’s house, and Conrad’s college. Furthermore, the house at Cousins has a very different feel this summer, than it has for the characters in the past. How important is setting, in fiction? How important is setting to this story?