Book Review: We’ll Always Have Summer

Title: We’ll Always Have Summer
Author: Jenny Han
Genre: Romance, Young Adult, Fiction

What It’s about: Belly studies for a Psych exam with Taylor and Anika, her college friend, at the end of their first year of college. After the exam, she returns to her room where she finds Jeremiah in her bed. They have been dating for two years now. Later that day they go to a frat part–one that Jeremiah is a part of–and while in the bathroom, Belly overhears that Lacie and Jeremiah had hooked up in Cabo over spring break. He had initially planned to go home to see his dad and then changed his mind when his fraternity friends had said they have deals to go to Cabo. Belly and Jer had gotten into an argument over this trip, resulting in them taking a break for spring break. They were back together a week later, and Jer had never mentioned anything about the fling. She goes to speak to Jeremiah and he tells her that it was when they were broken up, so how was he supposed to know that they would get back a week later–he reveals that he and Lacie actually had sex during the trip. This devastates Belly and she spends a couple of days moping around. She talks to Annie and Taylor, who are both shocked about this situation.

When she does finally talk to Jeremiah, and tells him that she doesn’t know how to move forward with trusting him again, he proposes to her with a ring he purchased using his dad’s credit card. She says yes, and later announces it to Taylor then Anika. The couple decides to break the news at the family dinner after the dedication that will be held in Susannah’s memory by a foundation she strongly supported.

At the dedication, they all wait for Conrad who was supposed to be flying in from California, where he has been going to college, but he doesn’t show up. Jeremiah says to not hold their breath–that’s just Conrad, and that he didn’t even show up to Laurel’s 50th birthday, even though they have a close relationship. The family goes into the auditorium area, where the dedication is being held. Conrad does actually show up, but late due to his plane being delayed from California, where he is studying at Stanford–and even speeding in his car he was late to the dedication. He watches Belly from afar in the event and realizes that she has grown up; that maybe he doesn’t even know her anymore. But then he sees a bandaid on her food, and it’s the same Belly he’s always known. He thinks to himself that it’s a mistake coming home.

On their way to the restaurant, Belly tells Jeremiah that maybe they shouldn’t announce their engagement but leave it to be all about celebrating Susannah. Jer tells the families at the dinner anyway, and they all have a negative reaction–Laurel thinks that Belly is pregnant. After they leave the restaurant without touching the appetizers, Laurel tells Belly and Steven to get in the car. They drive home. Laurel does not give them their blessing to marry, and they spend a week not talking while Belly begins to work in order to get money to make the wedding happen. Then her father gets involved and Belly stays adamant about marrying Jeremiah that August. Taylor then begins to help her with planning the wedding and getting the wedding dress.

Seeing that Belly is struggling with her mom, Jeremiah comes over to try to win Laurel over, but she tells him that she cannot give them her blessing because they are too young to marry. She asks them to wait until after college to marry if that’s what they still want. Belly and Laurel argue and belly packs up her things to go to Cousins so that she can continue to plan the wedding. To their surprise, Conrad is at the beach house. 

After they say hi, and hang out, Belly avoids Conrad for the first week after Jeremiah leaves. It’s only in the second week that they start talking and Conrad helps her out with buying jars for the arrangements and sending out the wedding invites. He is stuck in what to do because he’s conflicted. After all, he promised his mom to look after Jer, and he loves Belly–but they are together and he doesn’t want to get in the way of the two of them. It is pretty much why he moved out to California to study–to get away from Belly and in that way look after Jer. Conrad had realized he was deep in love with Belly when he talked to a girl he was seeing casually in California and she had asked if he had ever been in love, to which he responded that yes–with Belly.

When he overhears Belly suffering and crying from not having Laurel there by her side, Conrad goes to see Laurel. He tells her that Belly needs her and while she may not want to give her blessing to Belly, she should still be there for her daughter. As a result, Laurel shows up to Belly’s bridal shower that is thrown by Taylor’s mom, and things seem to go back to normal.

As the wedding comes closer, and things are set, Belly cannot help but feel like something is missing. She’s had two moments with Conrad while they were alone–one quite recently when he injured his legs surfing, but since nothing happened, Taylor tells her it’s okay. Taylor–unbeknownst to Belly–also told Conrad during a visit to the beach house to stop playing around and let Belly go.

Jer, Conrad, Steven and a couple of their local friends, go out to the Bachelor’s party and Conrad is the deignated Drive. He buys them drinks but then overhears one of Jer’s frat brothers talking about Jer and Lacie in Cabo. Conrad realizes that Jer had cheated on Belly which pisses him off. When they return, and Jer goes to bed, Belly finds Conrad on the beach. He admits to her that he had made a grave mistake at the motel the night they were taking her home after his exam and that he truly loves her–always had. Belly is upset and confused at the confession as he’s spent all this time pushing her away. He gives her back the infinity necklace–the one that she had found in his dorm room when he went missing and the one he took back from her when he found her kissing Jer. He tells her that he bought it as a birthday present for her 16th birthday–the one he supposedly forgot. Belly rejects him. The next day they also get into another argument because she doesn’t want to talk to him.

Ultimately, Belly decides to tell Jeremiah the truth about Conrad’s confession the night before their wedding, and Jeremiah runs off. The next morning, Laurel gives Belly a letter from Susannah that was meant to be given to her on her wedding day, but Belly doesn’t read it as she doesn’t know if she will be married. Laurel then hands Jeremiah’s letter to Conrad, telling him that it will look better and be more meaningful if it comes from him. Conrad, having found out that Jer has gone missing, goes looking for his brother, ultimately finding him at the garden that was dedicated by the foundation in Susannah’s memory. they fight and tussle, with Jer telling Conrad that he’s dead to him. Conrad hands him the letter, which turns out to really be to Conrad–Susannah probably mixed it up–and so Conrad reads it. He then comes back to the house and tells Belly good bye.

Jer comes to see Belly in his wedding outfit and asks her if she still loves Conrad, because he wants all of her, not a part of her. Belly is unable to answer the question, and so they do not go through with the wedding. Instead, she does a semester abroad in Spain, and Conrad starts sending her both letters and gifts.

A couple of years later, Belly reads the letter from Susannah, and then she looks up at Conrad. Conrad and Belly take a moment to run down in the beach in the rain on their wedding day.

My thoughts: Finally we see Conrad’s side of the story. I was wondering if we’d hear from him in this book or not. I feel like we finally get some depth to the feelings and thoughts of these characters and can see that it’s not always so clear cut. Overall, it sounds very unrealistic that Belly would go from being mad at Jeremiah for cheating on her while they were on a break, to agreeing to marry him, especially with how lukewarm she is throughout the series about anything in general. So at this point my expectation was that she would be like “eh okay,” when she got pushback about getting married so early, and I was surprised when she got into a fight with her mom on something that literally sounded illogical for Belly. Maybe she is the illogical type of person, I don’t know, but it also feels like she had this idea instilled in her that she will marry one of the Fisher boys and so that’s what she wanted to do at whatever cost. It’s nice to see that she did end up with Conrad, and took some time from pining for one of the Fisher boys by traveling for a semester abroad, though I wish that Conrad (who undoubtedly has known for the longest time that she was in love with him) would fight for her. He just kind of went “oh okay, Belly loves me but she’s kissed Jeremiah so I’m just gonna stay out of it.” Who does that? Overall, the series just feels juvenile, like it’s written by someone immature in high school.