It's Not Summer Without You: Book 2 in the Summer I Turned Pretty Series

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Although she attempts to convince herself otherwise, Belly is wrought with guilt following her subtle yet dramatic encounters with Conrad: first with the peaches and then when she nurses his surfing wound. Is Belly’s guilt justified? Why do you think these moments carry such significance for Belly? Belly and Jeremiah drove to the beach house in Cousins and found Conrad. Conrad was annoyed that they were there and told them they should just leave. Instead, they stayed and drank beer with Conrad, but he was in a bad mood, and he did not speak to Belly. However, he slowly started to warm up over the course of the day.

In July, Belly is still mourning Susannah’s loss and going through the motions of normal life. But then she gets a call from Jeremiah. Conrad has skipped his summer classes and has been missing from college for two days. Jeremiah wants Belly to come on a road trip to help him find Conrad. Belly agrees. It’s Not Summer Without You is a beautifully painful book. It perfectly defines “hurts so good.” To All The Boys author Jenny Han did an excellent job of portraying the reality of how trauma and grief can disrupt one’s life in different ways in this book. The title of the book undoubtedly says it all. As the characters are grieving the loss of their beloved Susannah, you will notice how they all handle their grief differently. You will witness the characters going through the five stages of grief, and it can be difficult to read and perhaps even triggering for some. However, this book can also be very comforting for someone currently mourning the loss of a loved one or who had this experience before. Especially a young girl like Belly who is just learning how to navigate life. While she’s in town, she has an uncomfortable conversation with some friends about Susannah’s death which reopens that wound. Because of the pouring rain, the group decides the safest option for the night would be to stay at a motel and wait the storm out.

Book 2 in the Summer I Turned Pretty Series

The trio plans a big party at the beach house, during which Belly gets drunk and calls her mother, Laurel. Through drunken tears, Belly begs Laurel to come to Cousins and stop Adam from selling the house. Laurel arrives and she convinces Adam to instead give the house to Conrad and Jeremiah, pending Conrad returning to school to finish his mid-terms. Maybe that was how it was with all first loves. They own a little piece of your heart, always. Conrad at twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, even seventeen years old. For the rest of my life, I would think of him fondly, the way you do your first pet, the first car you drove. Firsts were important. But I was pretty sure lasts were even more important. And Jeremiah, he was going to be my last and my every and my always.” I turned my head away from her and she said, “How about I French braid your hair for the party tonight? I can do the front section and pin it to the side like I did last time.” One thing that got just better is the writing. I don't know if it's because Belly is one year older or if Janny Han re-read her book and was like “What have I written?”, but this time it was a slightly nicer reading. Belly sets up a study area at the beach house, and she and Jeremiah help Conrad study all night. The next morning, Conrad, Jeremiah and Belly drive away from the beach house, and Belly cries because leaving the house feels like losing Susannah all over again.

This sends Belly into a whirlwind of thoughts. Did that mean Conrad wanted to be with her? Did that even matter after the kiss she just shared with Jeremiah? It’s Not Summer Without You Ending Chapter 43Finally, after three wonderfully suspenseful and poignant novels, we learn which brother Belly ends up with. Do you think Belly made the right choice? Were you surprised by her choice? Are you satisfied with this ending to the series?

Conrad finishes his last exam and finds his brother and Belly kissing in the car. When he runs away angrily, Belly runs after him. She and Conrad exchange some tense words, but even though he’s jealous, he won’t actually say that he loves her. Belly realizes that she should choose the brother who will say what he really thinks instead of always hiding his true feelings. Conrad tells her that he never wanted her. Belly soon realizes she has to choose between the two brothers who love her, and in doing so, will have to break one of their hearts. No.’ Cam ran his hand through his hair. He wouldn’t look at me. ‘It’s because I thought you were really pretty. Like, maybe the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.’” One of the hardest parts about going away to college—or moving, or simply starting a new school, for that matter—is making friends. Belly is tremendously relieved to be invited to her hallmate’s room to hang out with the girls. She confides, “maybe these were my people.” Who are your people? What qualities do you look for in new friends? What advice would you have shared with Belly for making friends that first semester of college? And she was bluffing. She had to be bluffing. No matter how upset or disappointed she was in me, I couldn’t believe that she would miss her only daughter’s wedding. I just couldn’t.”

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Mr. Fisher: A man who is known to have his way no matter what it costs or who it hurts. He is Susannah's husband and the father of Conrad and Jeremiah. After Susannah dies, he turns to whiskey. He drives Conrad away after Conrad saw how badly he began treating Susannah, such as cheating on her and running away when she got cancer. He tries to sell the summer house in It's Not Summer Without You following Susannah's death, and is barely stopped in time by Laurel and Conrad. In the final book, he tries to mend his relationship with his sons and pays for Jeremiah and Belly's wedding, despite not agreeing with them getting married at such a young age. While they’re sitting together on the trampoline, she compares the sweet simplicity of Cory to how Conrad could turn her “insides out with one look, one smile.” The summer before, Susannah’s cancer had returned just when Belly and her longtime crush, Conrad, were falling in love with one another. They started seeing one another during the fall and winter, but in the spring, when Susannah’s health took a turn for the worst, things fell apart. Belly forced Conrad to come to prom with her by threatening to go with another boy if he refused. Conrad agreed to come but was miserable the whole time and forgot to bring Belly a corsage. Belly assumed all this meant that Conrad wanted to break up with her, so she broke up with him first and ran away crying. They did not see or speak to one another until Susannah’s funeral a month later. This prompts Belly to silently decide for herself that she would let Conrad go once and for all, and that she would “evict him” from her heart. I used to believe. I used to think that if I wanted it bad enough, wished hard enough, everything would work out the way it was supposed to. Destiny, like Susannah said. I wished for Conrad on every birthday, every shooting star, every lost eyelash, every penny in a fountain was dedicated to the one I loved. I thought it would always be that way.