It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

Title: It's Not Summer Without You (Summer #2)

Author: Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR

Release Date: April 27, 2010

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?

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 all started--at Cousins Beach.

A couple of months ago I read The Summer I Turned Pretty since it was summer and it was a good summer read. Now I decided to read It’s Not Summer Without You to trick myself into thinking it was summer again, especially since it’s been cold and rainy lately. It did a pretty good job of convincing me it was summer since it had me completely engrossed in the story. It was a good read and put a good end to the story that had started in the first book.

As far as she can remember, Belly has always gone to Cousins Beach for the summer. It’s what she looks forward to the whole year, just being able to spend time with Susannah, Conrad and Jeremiah. But this year everything is different: Susannah’s gone, everyone is grieving and no one is going to Cousins for the summer. So when Jeremiah calls asking for her help to find Conrad, Belly doesn’t hesitate one second and soon enough she finds herself back in Cousins with Conrad and Jeremiah for one last summer together.

I think I like Belly better this time around. She didn’t come off quite as whiny but there were still some moments where I just wanted to yell at her to get a grip and move on. On some points I was pretty much agreeing with her best friend Taylor, though not always. I was happy to see that as the story moved forward she came to terms with everything happening in her life and finally made the decisions I was waiting for her to make. She finally decided who of Conrad and Jeremiah she wanted to be with, and I have to admit I was really happy with her choice.

Jeremiah was my favorite when I read the first book and he just grew on me even more. I just love him and again I was totally rooting for him to end up with Belly in the end. There’s just something about him that you can’t help but love. He’s so easy going and always happy and his happiness is contagious. As for Conrad he was still his moody somewhat irritating self. I’m never completely sure what Belly sees in him. The guy has his moments but three quarters of the time he’s a moody jerk. But I like already said I’m was way happy with Belly’s final choice.

The story was nothing impressive but it was a good light read after reading some books that have a slightly heavier subject matter. I liked this story better than the one in The Summer I Turned Pretty. I’m not entirely sure why but I liked this one better. Maybe it was because everything wasn’t as light and happy as the first book but this one had something more to it. It was all about grief and letting go of the past, even if that past is difficult to let go of.

It’s Not Summer Without You was a good read and a great way to escape back to summer. It wasn’t anything exceptional but it was entertaining all the same and a great conclusion to a great story.