《这个夏天没有你》

    In this second book of the planned trilogy* that began with “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” 16-year-old Belly Conklin feels displaced.

    Unlike years past, she won’t be at the beach with her mother’s best friend, Susannah, and Susannah’s sons, Jeremiah and Conrad.

    This summer, “I wasn’t in Cousins. Conrad and I weren’t together, and Susannah was dead.” When Conklin learns from Jeremiah that Conrad has disappeared, she immediately agrees to help; their search leads them to the beach house, where Conrad is hiding out.

    Conklin’s plaintive* voice sometimes makes her sound too young, but author Jenny Han realistically touches upon the characters’ various reactions to grief*—Conklin’s mother becomes withdrawn*, Conrad fiercely* protects the house (his father wants to sell it), Conklin has trouble processing the permanence* of loss — as well as Conklin’s emotional troubles with the brothers (occasional chapters are told from Jeremiah’s perspective, and Conklin thinks about her failed romance with Conrad).

    Though the fate of the summer house is resolved* a bit quickly, Conklin’s difficult relationship with her best friend and her standing with the boys hang in the balance, which should leave readers anxious for the final book.(SD-Agencies)