65 pages 2 hours read

Jenny Han

We'll Always Have Summer

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2011

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Background

Series Context: The Summer Trilogy

Han’s Summer trilogy tells the story of Belly Conklin’s relationship with the two Fisher brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah. In the three novels, Belly learns important lessons about growing up and the power of first love, and she makes difficult decisions, knowing that she cannot have everything that she wants.

In the first book, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Belly introduces the most important setting in the series, Cousins Beach, and the family that ties her so closely to it: Susannah Fisher and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. This novel explores Belly’s coming of age as she navigates her long-time crush on the older brother, Conrad, burgeoning feelings for the younger brother, Jeremiah, and a summer romance with another local boy, Cam. At the novel’s end, Susannah reveals that she has been diagnosed with cancer for a second time, and this time, it’s more aggressive. Belly and Conrad share their first kiss, setting the stage for their romance to develop over the next two novels.

The second novel, It’s Not Summer Without You, takes place the following summer. Susannah has recently died after a long fight with cancer. The characters cope with Susannah’s passing differently, but they are brought together again when Conrad returns to the house at Cousins Beach to prevent his father from selling it.