The Summer I Turned Pretty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, we don’t know he hasn’t dated in the last 4 years. We just know he hasn’t been in love. I think it’s implied he hasn’t been in a relationship, but I also was assuming he and Agnes experimented with dating and it didn’t go anywhere despite her infatuation with him.

I don’t get the impression he dated Agnes at all.

I thought they alluded to trying it out and he not really being into it.

[Anonymous]

MS librarian here...this series (both books and show) has horrible characters and situations yet is the first "romance" many kids (mostly girls) want to read. SO many are asking for it this school year and our copies are out so I try to get them to read other, better romances.

Among so many issues, the whole "girl falls in love with boys who are like brothers to her" thing is skeevy...clearly she just likes the attention and they are all getting horrible experience with what to look for or expect from a significant other. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Good lord librarian, at least it’s not Flowers in The Attic like many of us read in middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MS librarian here...this series (both books and show) has horrible characters and situations yet is the first "romance" many kids (mostly girls) want to read. SO many are asking for it this school year and our copies are out so I try to get them to read other, better romances.

Among so many issues, the whole "girl falls in love with boys who are like brothers to her" thing is skeevy...clearly she just likes the attention and they are all getting horrible experience with what to look for or expect from a significant other. Ugh.

The brothers thing is weird, but that's one of the main reasons people are so interested in the story whether they want to admit it or not. It'd otherwise be another bland love triangle. I don't like that our tolerance for weird is going down, this is why we don't get those fun 90s rom coms anymore.

re: what to look for or expect from a significant other: I kinda agree with you on this though. People are gonna think guys like Conrad change, but they don't. But eh, at the end of the day it's fiction, so whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They're cute books. Light and fluffy, but fun to watch with teens.

I don't have any teens. I enjoyed Never Have I Ever, which is about teens. Would I enjoy this one? I was considering it because it was filmed in North Carolina, and I like seeing familiar sites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MS librarian here...this series (both books and show) has horrible characters and situations yet is the first "romance" many kids (mostly girls) want to read. SO many are asking for it this school year and our copies are out so I try to get them to read other, better romances.

Among so many issues, the whole "girl falls in love with boys who are like brothers to her" thing is skeevy...clearly she just likes the attention and they are all getting horrible experience with what to look for or expect from a significant other. Ugh.

What books do you recommend instead? Or at least in addition?

[Anonymous]

Haven’t read the books. I really thought season 1 was good! Season 2 and 3 have been insufferable and stupid and drawn out.

What I think the show did well was capture the magic of first love/young love; create a story that parents and teens could both watch; and mix in a great soundtrack.

Not so great: the young lead actors definitely have their limits. (Conrad has three facial expressions and that’s it!) The storyline feels badly paced and inconsistent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're cute books. Light and fluffy, but fun to watch with teens.

I don't have any teens. I enjoyed Never Have I Ever, which is about teens. Would I enjoy this one? I was considering it because it was filmed in North Carolina, and I like seeing familiar sites.

Never Have I Ever is soooooo much better that TSITP. It has funny, likeable characters, for one.