Teen Speak

We’ll Always Have Summer: A Summer Novel by Jenny Han

Genre: YA Fiction

Published: April 2011

"Belly has only ever been in love with two boys, both with the last name Fisher." This from the front cover pretty much sums up what this book is about. Isobel “Belly” Conklin is just finishing up her freshman year in college and is getting ready to spend the summer working at home and hanging out with Jeremiah, her boyfriend of two years. Things seem to be going perfectly for the couple, even though Belly had previously been in a relationship with Conrad, Jeremiah’s brother, and considers him her first love.

Belly’s faith is shaken in her relationship with Jeremiah when she discovers he cheated on her while on spring break. With Jeremiah’s desperate solution being to get married, Belly is forced to decide once in for all if Jeremiah is the right Fisher for her, or if her first love should be her last.

When I picked up this book, I had no idea it was part of a series (The Summer I Turned Pretty & It’s Not Summer Without You). My bad. Even so, it worked well as a stand-alone novel, though I’m definitely going to make a point of going back and reading the others. I love how real all of the characters are. Belly matures and becomes more self-aware as the book progresses. Jenny Han did an excellent job making the characters and story believable. There were numerous times you could really sense what the characters were feeling and going through, especially the desperation of keeping a relationship going even when you know the odds are against you. If you like Sarah Dessen’s books, I would recommend this series for you. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for donating this book to us!

---Posted by Lynn