Literature & Fiction
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It's Not Summer Without You (The Summer I Turned Pretty)
Soon to be a streaming series in Summer 2022!
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 (now a major motion picture!), Jenny Han.
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.
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 (now a major motion picture!), Jenny Han.
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.
Readers Top Reviews
LyndaBernadine No
Good summer read. I read it in 2 days, while relaxing by the pool. I enjoyed it.
Heather K Barr Gr
I bought this series on my kindle. I liked it so much I finished all three books in just three days. I highly recommend.
Tania CardenasHea
loved this whollleee series. My favorite books ever
Roxiticus DesTani
This is really an amazing sequel to an already great start , the first novel. Most times in a series, the books start to lessen in greatness as you keep reading but that was not the case this time around. This book definitely earned its 5 stars. It was quite the page turner and I could no name one part that I didn't enjoy. I cannot wait to read the final book in this series, and possibly other books by Jenny Han. The author did a great job portraying characters which make the book even more enjoyable. In addition, this book ended in a sort of mystery type feel which made you want to read on. This book would be most appropriate for the 13-15 age category.
KindlerRoxiticus
Memories are always included throughout the summer. Laughs and forever adventures take place in the summer. There is summer love and this story has friendship love and real love. Enjoyed reading more family fun at the summer house. Loved references back to when they were kids and reading from Jeremiahs view. Thanks for another fun read!
Short Excerpt Teaser
Chapter One chapter one JULY 2
It was a hot summer day in Cousins. I was lying by the pool with a magazine on my face. My mother was playing solitaire on the front porch, Susannah was inside puttering around the kitchen. She'd probably come out soon with a glass of sun tea and a book I should read. Something romantic.
Conrad and Jeremiah and Steven had been surfing all morning. There'd been a storm the night before. Conrad and Jeremiah came back to the house first. I heard them before I saw them. They walked up the steps, cracking up over how Steven had lost his shorts after a particularly ferocious wave. Conrad strode over to me, lifted the sweaty magazine from my face, and grinned. He said, "You have words on your cheeks."
I squinted up at him. "What do they say?"
He squatted next to me and said, "I can't tell. Let me see." And then he peered at my face in his serious Conrad way. He leaned in, and he kissed me, and his lips were cold and salty from the ocean.
Then Jeremiah said, "You guys need to get a room," but I knew he was joking. He winked at me as he came from behind, lifted Conrad up, and launched him into the pool.
Jeremiah jumped in too, and he yelled, "Come on, Belly!"
So of course I jumped too. The water felt fine. Better than fine. Just like always, Cousins was the only place I wanted to be.
"Hello? Did you hear anything I just said?"
I opened my eyes. Taylor was snapping her fingers in my face. "Sorry," I said. "What were you saying?"
I wasn't in Cousins. Conrad and I weren't together, and Susannah was dead. Nothing would ever be the same again. It had been-How many days had it been? How many days exactly?-two months since Susannah had died and I still couldn't believe it. I couldn't let myself believe it. When a person you love dies, it doesn't feel real. It's like it's happening to someone else. It's someone else's life. I've never been good with the abstract. What does it mean when someone is really and truly gone?
Sometimes I closed my eyes and in my head, I said over and over again, It isn't true, it isn't true, this isn't real. This wasn't my life. But it was my life; it was my life now. After.
I was in Marcy Yoo's backyard. The boys were messing around in the pool and us girls were lying on beach towels, all lined up in a row. I was friends with Marcy, but the rest, Katie and Evelyn and those girls, they were more Taylor's friends.
It was eighty-seven degrees already, and it was just after noon. It was going to be a hot one. I was on my stomach, and I could feel sweat pooling in the small of my back. I was starting to feel sun-sick. It was only the second day of July, and already, I was counting the days until summer was over.
"I said, what are you going to wear to Justin's party?" Taylor repeated. She'd lined our towels up close, so it was like we were on one big towel.
"I don't know," I said, turning my head so we were face-to-face.
She had tiny sweat beads on her nose. Taylor always sweated first on her nose. She said, "I'm going to wear that new sundress I bought with my mom at the outlet mall."
I closed my eyes again. I was wearing sunglasses, so she couldn't tell if my eyes were open or not anyway. "Which one?"
"You know, the one with the little polka dots that ties around the neck. I showed it to you, like, two days ago." Taylor let out an impatient little sigh.
"Oh, yeah," I said, but I still didn't remember and I knew Taylor could tell.
I started to say something else, something nice about the dress, but suddenly I felt ice-cold aluminum sticking to the back of my neck. I shrieked and there was Cory Wheeler, crouched down next to me with a dripping Coke can in his hand, laughing his head off.
I sat up and glared at him, wiping off my neck. I was so sick of today. I just wanted to go home. "What the crap, Cory!"
He was still laughing, which made me madder.
I said, "God, you're so immature."
"But you looked really hot," he protested. "I was trying to cool you off."
I didn't answer him, I just kept my hand on the back of my neck. My jaw felt really tight, and I could feel all the other girls staring at me. And then Cory's smile sort of slipped away and he said, "Sorry. You want this Coke?"
I shook my head, and he shrugged and retreated back over to the pool. I looked over and saw Katie and Evelyn making ...
It was a hot summer day in Cousins. I was lying by the pool with a magazine on my face. My mother was playing solitaire on the front porch, Susannah was inside puttering around the kitchen. She'd probably come out soon with a glass of sun tea and a book I should read. Something romantic.
Conrad and Jeremiah and Steven had been surfing all morning. There'd been a storm the night before. Conrad and Jeremiah came back to the house first. I heard them before I saw them. They walked up the steps, cracking up over how Steven had lost his shorts after a particularly ferocious wave. Conrad strode over to me, lifted the sweaty magazine from my face, and grinned. He said, "You have words on your cheeks."
I squinted up at him. "What do they say?"
He squatted next to me and said, "I can't tell. Let me see." And then he peered at my face in his serious Conrad way. He leaned in, and he kissed me, and his lips were cold and salty from the ocean.
Then Jeremiah said, "You guys need to get a room," but I knew he was joking. He winked at me as he came from behind, lifted Conrad up, and launched him into the pool.
Jeremiah jumped in too, and he yelled, "Come on, Belly!"
So of course I jumped too. The water felt fine. Better than fine. Just like always, Cousins was the only place I wanted to be.
"Hello? Did you hear anything I just said?"
I opened my eyes. Taylor was snapping her fingers in my face. "Sorry," I said. "What were you saying?"
I wasn't in Cousins. Conrad and I weren't together, and Susannah was dead. Nothing would ever be the same again. It had been-How many days had it been? How many days exactly?-two months since Susannah had died and I still couldn't believe it. I couldn't let myself believe it. When a person you love dies, it doesn't feel real. It's like it's happening to someone else. It's someone else's life. I've never been good with the abstract. What does it mean when someone is really and truly gone?
Sometimes I closed my eyes and in my head, I said over and over again, It isn't true, it isn't true, this isn't real. This wasn't my life. But it was my life; it was my life now. After.
I was in Marcy Yoo's backyard. The boys were messing around in the pool and us girls were lying on beach towels, all lined up in a row. I was friends with Marcy, but the rest, Katie and Evelyn and those girls, they were more Taylor's friends.
It was eighty-seven degrees already, and it was just after noon. It was going to be a hot one. I was on my stomach, and I could feel sweat pooling in the small of my back. I was starting to feel sun-sick. It was only the second day of July, and already, I was counting the days until summer was over.
"I said, what are you going to wear to Justin's party?" Taylor repeated. She'd lined our towels up close, so it was like we were on one big towel.
"I don't know," I said, turning my head so we were face-to-face.
She had tiny sweat beads on her nose. Taylor always sweated first on her nose. She said, "I'm going to wear that new sundress I bought with my mom at the outlet mall."
I closed my eyes again. I was wearing sunglasses, so she couldn't tell if my eyes were open or not anyway. "Which one?"
"You know, the one with the little polka dots that ties around the neck. I showed it to you, like, two days ago." Taylor let out an impatient little sigh.
"Oh, yeah," I said, but I still didn't remember and I knew Taylor could tell.
I started to say something else, something nice about the dress, but suddenly I felt ice-cold aluminum sticking to the back of my neck. I shrieked and there was Cory Wheeler, crouched down next to me with a dripping Coke can in his hand, laughing his head off.
I sat up and glared at him, wiping off my neck. I was so sick of today. I just wanted to go home. "What the crap, Cory!"
He was still laughing, which made me madder.
I said, "God, you're so immature."
"But you looked really hot," he protested. "I was trying to cool you off."
I didn't answer him, I just kept my hand on the back of my neck. My jaw felt really tight, and I could feel all the other girls staring at me. And then Cory's smile sort of slipped away and he said, "Sorry. You want this Coke?"
I shook my head, and he shrugged and retreated back over to the pool. I looked over and saw Katie and Evelyn making ...
