Review: It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han (Spoiler-Free)

This was messy and dumb but I still devoured it whole.

Having read the last book in the series at this point, this is where I'm going to now pretend the series ends. Because that last one is a dumpster fire. But that review is coming later.

Where I think Jenny Han excels is writing honest narratives about children. The flashbacks to childhood were definitely some of my favorite moments in this one—they were so honest and real and nostalgic.

I also enjoyed this installment because it actually began to dive a little deeper into the characters. Their flaws began to have some explanations as they were dealing with grief and family struggles.

I do wish though that the rest of this series delivered what the titles (and the first book) promised—a beach house summer romance. But after the first book that's gone and all we have are lukewarm, convoluted interactions that wouldn't have occurred if this wasn't a fictional book series.

Overall, I found this installment enjoyable and had some quotes from the flashbacks that will stick with me, but my hatred for the last book is starting to leech into my thoughts on this one.

I am glad I got to this though as the show has already been greenlit for season 2!