Just So Stories

Book 2 in the Summer I Turned Pretty Series

April 2023

• ISBN: 9780241636015
• Imprint: Penguin
• RRP: $19.99

Twelve years after its initial release, the second in Jenny Han’s Summer trilogy is the third of her books to be adapted for the screen, and little wonder as these have been some of the hottest books in the secondary library/young adult stakes.

Belly believed that the perfect things would never change: summers at Susannah’s, dishy Conrad being into her, and his younger brother, Jeremiah, being her best friend, lazy days messing around with the special friends-like-family along with her mother and brother, Stephen.

But when Susannah dies, not only is her best friend, Belly’s mum, devastated and filled with immeasurable grief but it seems like the whole dynamic between Belly and the two boys has shifted seismically.

The romance with Conrad, which she had waited for so long, comes crashing down and she simply can’t seem to get past it. Jeremiah knows that his feelings for Belly go well beyond that of just best friends, but how can he compete with his older brother, even though Conrad is being a complete tosser.

Then, when Conrad appears to go AWOL, Jeremiah enlists Belly’s help and after investigating in the most likely places to start with, the pair realise the only place left is Susannah’s summer house. Conrad’s motive has nothing to do with college or technically even his mother’s death but for what he sees as a righteous fight, to prevent his father from selling their beloved summer house. The trio have much to reconcile, uncover and determine about themselves and their relationships and it makes for the kind of narrative with which Han has become so adept, with splendid characterisations and young people who are engaging and authentic.

The complexity of family and near-family dynamics is the thread that runs throughout, and as each person mourns the loss of Susannah, so each becomes more self-aware, intuitive and accepting. The ones who have already read it and loved it will, no doubt, enjoy the Prime adaptation, and it is equally likely that having watched the series, they might be inclined to pick up the books. They won’t be disappointed. Highly recommended for your readers from early secondary upwards.