What do You think about El Verano En Que Me Enamoré (2012)?
3.5 *sigh* This had so much potential. For non-spoilers: Belly is fifteen years old, and every summer is spent at Cousin's Beach with the Fisher family, long-time friends with Belly's mother. Belly spends those hot summer months with her brother Steven, and the two Fisher boys, Jeremiah and Conrad. Jeremiah is a goofball, and he and Belly are close, practically siblings. Conrad is the picture of tall, dark, and handsome. Also, Belly might just be madly in love with Conrad. Might.For fans if Sarah Dessen, this is right up your alley. Coming of age, simple and sweet, a not-too-mushy love story. I just came off of a dark, intense high fantasy series finale when I picked this up ten minutes after turning the last page, and transferring to a contemporary was jarring. I may have liked it better if I hadn't just finished a fantasy series. Oh well.*SPOILERS AHEAD*Onto my thoughts on the characters:Belly- I was actually quite irritated with our narrator. What a drama queen! She's a good friend and I can see where she's coming from, but it's still hard to look over he selfishness and whining.Taylor- Ugh. Can I reach into this book and slap her?! Yes, that is exactly what she deserves. Not only is she a TERRIBLE friend, but her character is set up for pure torture. Talk about fake.Conrad- I felt eh with him the whole 300page story. Not impressive or incredibly hot as Belly thinks. He just seems moody to me. Good-looking, but dark and grumpy. I wasn't thrilled that he ended up with Belly.Jeremiah- Now THIS is the boy I shipped with Belly! I like my men with a sense of humor and a goofy grin. Plus, Jeremiah was consistent throughout, while Conrad was off at points.Susannah- She was always there for Belly, esp. when Belly's mom was not. I liked her personality, and I really hope she survives the cancer. I was not impressed with some of the themes. Divorce comes off as really cliché, and while cancer is sad and tear-jerking, it's kind of overdone. I also found a bit of the writing to be childish. (I swear, I ALWAYS have this problem!) Sixteen years olds don't act or talk like that. So yeah, it was frustrating. But some loved this, so I'll give the rest of the Summer trilogy a shot.
—meli_29
I absolutely love this book. This whole trilogy was very heartbreakingly sweet. Jenny Han successfully managed to connect with her readers and make her writing very relatable.I decided to read this book because I had read the second and third books in this trilogy recently, but had read the first one a very long time ago. I needed to re-read this to completely comprehend and analyse the last book, and draw connections between the two books.I'm really attached to the characters, Isabelle and Susanne in particular. The author included some very relatable and personal relationships in the book, e.g. (sibling-sibling), (mother-daughter), (child-role model), (girl-crush), and explored each in depth.I recommend this book to anyone who has any of these relationships in their life, and of course, anyone who loves summer.
—Meerie69
Wine, wine and more wining - yuck. Really don't think this even deserves one star.
—babycakes
