We'll Always Have Summer (Reprint) (Summer I Turned Pretty)

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We can tell a lot about a person by the company she keeps. In We’ll Always Have Summer, we’re introduced to Belly’s friendship with Anika, in addition to her ongoing friendship with Taylor. How are the friendships similar? How are they different? What roles do Taylor and Anika play, respectively, in Belly’s life, at the time when the novel takes place? Taylor insists, “You should have everything you want, Belly . . . You only get married once.” Describe your ideal wedding. What would you prefer to have, but could do without, when push comes to shove? What features of your dream wedding are “deal breakers”—what do you consider absolutely imperative?

Oh, and the conversation Jeremiah and Conrad had while they were surfing had me screaming too! I liked how even though I knew deep down Jeremiah being engaged to Belly probably tore Conrad a part, he never not took his brother seriously—he believed Jere. He also never outright lambast Jere for being stupid, but gave his concerns as an older brother. What made me scream was when Conrad said: I know in Conrad’s letter to Belly, he mentioned how he had dinner with Jere and how it felt awkward but Steven helped ease the tension and they just watched movies and talked like old times. I really wanted Steven to have his moment to shine more in this book too. I mean, he was more in the book, but Steven deserved more 😅. I also loved how Belly cut her hair while she was in Spain and that Jere and Belly had a friendship where he was talking to her and knew about her hair cut. Go Belly—becoming a new and stronger version of herself! run after him. Tell him anything, everything. Just don’t go. Please just never go. Please just always be near me, so I can at least see you.That was what I would be doing. I would be betting my whole life on him. And I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t.” (pg. 245) The day before her wedding, Belly is in a quandary, loving both brothers but not knowing which one to choose, since her decision will permanently wound the remaining brother. She tells Jeremiah about Conrad’s love confession, and Jeremiah realizes that Belly also still cares for Conrad and might only be marrying him to erase her memories of loving his brother.

Laurel knew the under text of Conrad’s meaning. We all knew. Because he wouldn’t have inserted himself into the situation if he wasn’t torn up about Belly crying and wanting to help her because he loved her and wanted her to be happy. Laurel knew Conrad loved Belly, but wasn’t going to push him on it because that’s not their style. Whereas The Summer I Turned Pretty took place exclusively at Cousins, the events of It’s Not Summer Without You take place in several different settings; Cousins, Belly’s house, Jeremiah and Conrad’s house, and Conrad’s college. Furthermore, the house at Cousins has a very different feel this summer, than it has for the characters in the past. How important is setting, in fiction? How important is setting to this story? Not, let me marry you because I cheated and broke your heart, but here’s a ring to make it better and let’s move in because I love you and I want to prove it. Explain Belly’s feelings for Cam over the course of the novel. Did she ever really like him? What stopped her, ultimately, from falling in love with him?Maybe that was how it was with all first loves. They own a little piece of your heart, always. Conrad at twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, even seventeen years old. For the rest of my life, I would think of him fondly, the way you do your first pet, the first car you drove. Firsts were important. But I was pretty sure lasts were even more important. And Jeremiah, he was going to be my last and my every and my always.” College freshman Belly Conklin was in love with Conrad Fisher for most of her life. Her mother Laurel was best friends with Conrad’s mother, Susannah, so Belly and her mom would go stay at the Fishers’ summer house in Cousins Beach every summer. Belly’s childhood dreams of dating Conrad came true in high school, but Conrad’s emotional distance eventually broke them up. Susannah’s death from cancer drove them further apart, and Belly began dating Conrad’s younger brother, Jeremiah. Contemplate Belly’s experiences from when we meet her in The Summer I Turned Pretty through the final book in the series. How would you characterize her journey, overall? When faced with a tough choice, did she always do the right thing? What were her biggest mistakes? Her greatest successes? Ernie, two commercial breaks ago, you told me that if I didn’t try and break up my brother’s wedding, I was a punk!’

Belly soon realizes she has to choose between the two brothers who love her, and in doing so, will have to break one of their hearts. Describe your first love. How has this first experience shaped who you are today? Discuss the significance of first love, versus “last” love, as movingly articulated by Belly:I have nothing against people getting married young because I have many friends who were married young, I just didn’t like how they were getting engaged to rectify the fact that he cheated. That’s not okay. They should marry out of pure love and not desperation. If anything they should communicate about how to actually move past him cheating and to rebuild that trust and then maybe move in together to see how that dynamic works. Then they should get married. It’s been two years since Conrad told Belly to go with Jeremiah. She and Jeremiah have been inseparable ever since, even attending the same college—only, their relationship hasn’t exactly been the happily ever after Belly had hoped it would be. And when Jeremiah makes the worst mistake a boy can make, Belly is forced to question what she thought was true love. Does she really have a future with Jeremiah? Has she ever gotten over Conrad? It’s time for Belly to decide, once and for all, who has her heart forever. Review At the garden dedication event, Conrad arrives late and the narration switches to his point of view. Conrad still loves Belly, though he’s aware he has no right to discuss his feelings with her since he treated her badly when they were together and she’s now in a long-term relationship with his brother. When Belly tells Anika about Jeremiah’s infidelity, Anika replies, “Keeping a secret like that from the person you love is probably the worst part.” We learn of several secrets in We’ll Always Have Summer—Jeremiah’s, Belly’s, Conrad’s. How much of what happens in this third novel is influenced by secrets? Is it ever okay to keep secrets? Is it ever okay to keep secrets from the people you love, in particular?