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It's Not Summer Without You

279p. 978-1-41699-555-5.
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Gr 7-10 Belly, 16, lives all year for her summers at Cousins Beach. But when a family friend dies and the beach house tradition is threatened, she faces the season without her second family and without the boy she loves. In this follow-up to "The Summer I Turned Pretty" (S & S, 2009), Belly is still reeling from the dissolution of her relationship with Conrad, her lifelong love, and the death of his mother. But mourning Suzanne is even harder since Conrad has shut down, refusing to talk to Belly or anyone else. When he suddenly leaves school without explanation, his brother, Jeremiah, recruits Belly to help find and mend him. The trio find themselves at Cousins Beach after all, and the memories and feelings of the past come flooding back. Complicated and fragile, Belly's relationships with the two young men are put to new tests as she and Conrad come to terms with their relationship, and Belly and Jeremiah begin to build a romantic bond of their own. This sequel is as quiet and thoughtful as its companion. The nostalgic imagery of a lifetime of experiences at a serene and magical place like Cousins Beach is alive once again, and the desperation the characters feel when faced with losing a loved one and possibly the beach house, too, is warmly imagined. Fans of the first book will enjoy this continuation in which nothing is easy for Belly, but the end result is worth the heartache."Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
In this melancholy sequel to The Summer I Turned Pretty, Belly faces a breakup with longtime crush Conrad and the death of Conrad's mother. While appealing Belly remains the central voice, Conrad's kind-hearted brother, Jeremiah, occasionally narrates, revealing his secret feelings for Belly. The heightened emotions surrounding the love triangle keep readers guessing which brother gets the girl until the very end.

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