The Summer I Turned Pretty

In a flashback chapter, Belly recalls the summer she was 12 and first experienced a broken heart. Jeremiah and Steven are away on an overnight fishing trip and do not invite Belly. Conrad stays behind and asks Belly if she wants to go to the boardwalk with him, which thrills her. Belly takes care while getting ready, wanting to impress Conrad. In the car, on the way over, Susannah catches Belly’s eye and winks.

While at the boardwalk, Belly notices that Conrad seems nervous. Thinking this indicates his feelings for her, Belly feels sure that this is the night they will kiss. Suddenly, Conrad suggests going to the ring toss. Belly assumes he wants to win her a prize and already knows she will choose the stuffed polar bear. At the ring toss, Belly realizes that Conrad wanted to come to the boardwalk for the pretty girl running the ring toss. Belly leaves Conrad at the ring toss and walks away quickly, so they won’t see her crying.

Back in the present, Belly unpacks and goes outside to meet the boys at the pool. When Jeremiah sees her, he announces it is time for the “first belly flop of the summer” (16). Despite Belly’s protests, Jeremiah, Conrad, and Steven grab Belly and swing her back and forth before throwing her into the pool with her clothes on.

Belly explains that this tradition began years ago and is one of the only times the boys include Belly in their antics. Belly resents that she is the brunt of the joke and feels like an outsider in the group.

When she resurfaces, Belly asks Conrad to help her out. She pulls him into the pool by his arm. In retaliation, Conrad swims over to Belly and grabs onto her foot as she tries to swim away. She experiences a moment of romantic tension as Conrad holds onto her foot, and she tells him to let go. He obliges and then dunks her underwater.

Susannah finally appears after Belly and the boys dry off and change their clothes. Susannah and Laurel share a fierce hug, and Belly notes that her mother tears up, which is unusual for her stoic mother.

Susannah then hugs Belly, and Belly compliments Susannah on how thin she is, as Susannah is constantly on a new diet. Susannah marvels at Belly’s burgeoning beauty and how much she has grown since last summer. Susannah tells Belly that she will have a summer she will never forget. From some time in the future, Belly states that Susannah’s prediction was right: That this summer would change her life because it was the summer she turned pretty.

At dinner, Susannah pours everyone, including the kids, a glass of red wine to celebrate the first day of summer. Laurel tries to intervene but ultimately agrees. Belly notices that Conrad drinks his wine in two gulps as if he is used to drinking. Susannah insists that summer does not start until the Conklins arrive. While Susannah says this, she reaches for both Conrad and Belly’s hands, and Belly notices Conrad pull his hand away.

Jeremiah changes the subject by showing Belly his latest football scar. Belly can’t help but notice that Jeremiah has also grown up since last summer. Conrad teases Jeremiah about showing off his “two-pack” (23). Jeremiah retorts that Conrad is jealous because he quit football, which surprises Belly.

The conversation shifts, and Jeremiah asks Belly which of her “hot friends” (25) she plans to set him up with this summer. Belly teases Jeremiah by reminding him that the last time they tried this, it did not work out so well, which makes everyone laugh.

In another flashback chapter from when Belly was 10, Belly explains that Steven, Jeremiah, and Conrad have always been a unit that excluded Belly. Conrad was the default leader because he was the oldest, and Belly recalls watching the boys prepare for a camp out on the beach, wishing they would include her.

Belly finally asks Jeremiah if she can go too, and Steven responds with a resounding “No. Guys only. Right, Con?” (28). Conrad apologizes to Belly, who claims she does not care anyway, and Steven and Jeremiah proceed to tease Belly for being upset. Conrad comes to Belly’s defense, telling Jeremiah and Steven that they are immature.

Belly decides not to tell on Steven for excluding her, knowing that it will only make her look more immature and that her mother will insist that Steven needs his own time with his friends. As the boys head out for their camping trip, Belly laughs as Jeremiah dances a quick jig to try and cheer her up, and Conrad tells her goodnight. At that moment, Belly recalls: “And that was it. I was in love” (29).

Belly explains that despite the Fisher family’s wealth, the house remains cozy and unpretentious. As Belly unpacks her toiletries, she surveys the bathroom that she, Conrad, Jeremiah, and Steven have always shared. She remarks that the bathroom is another reminder of her difference from the boys: they refuse to put the seat down on the toilet and leave cologne and flecks of shaved hair in the sinks.

Downstairs, Belly sits on the couch with Conrad, who strums on his guitar. Belly asks Conrad about his girlfriend. Conrad refuses to share details with Belly about his girlfriend until he finally relents and tells her that they broke up and that she was the one who ended the relationship. Shocked that anyone could break up with Conrad, Belly asks why his girlfriend broke up with him. Conrad admits that she said he changed, and when Belly asks if that is true, he responds that everyone changes, including Belly. Belly tries to get Conrad to tell her how specifically she has changed. He refuses to answer and begins playing guitar instead.

Whenever Belly cannot fall asleep at the beach house, she goes down to the pool to swim laps and tire herself out. Belly recalls that two years ago, Susannah discovered Belly’s secret tradition, and she would join Belly in the pool some evenings. Belly remembers that these nights were the only times she saw Susannah without her wig, which she wore as a result of chemotherapy to treat breast cancer.

That first night, Belly makes her way down to the pool. As she begins to turn on her fourth lap, she notices Conrad watching her while holding a beer and smoking a cigarette. Belly asks how he knew she was in the pool, and he tells her: “You always swim out here at night, Belly. Come on” (38). Belly, surprised to learn that Conrad knows her secret, changes the subject and encourages him to quit smoking. When Conrad asks what Belly will give him if he stops, she feels something shift between them again and tells him that he should stop for himself.

Conrad gets up and tells Belly to be careful of monsters, an old reference to the scary stories he, Jeremiah, and Steven teased Belly with, and Belly splashes him. She stays floating in the pool long after Conrad leaves, thinking about how even though Conrad has changed, the way he makes her feel remains the same.

Laurel asks Belly if she has called her father yet. Wanting to avoid the subject, Belly asks Laurel if she has made Steven call their father. Laurel counters by reminding Belly that Steven will be leaving Cousins Beach early this year to go on a two-week college tour with their father.

Belly resents her mother’s ability to be practical and reasonable, even amidst her divorce from Belly’s father. Laurel hands Belly the phone and then leaves the room. Belly puts the phone back down, refusing to call her father because she believes that he, as the parent, should be the one calling her.

In a flashback chapter to the summer when Belly was nine, Belly recalls watching her mother and Susannah drinking margaritas and playing cards before dinner. Jeremiah asks Laurel why she is the only one that calls Susannah “Beck” and Laurel explains that they met before Susannah was married and Beck is Susannah’s maiden name. Laurel explains that a woman should not have to change her name for a man, and Susannah tells Laurel to shut up.

Changing the subject, Laurel suggests they should play “Go Fish” with the kids, but Belly refuses because she claims her mother always cheats. Belly insists that they play hearts instead because Conrad will be her partner. Susannah laughs and tells Laurel that Belly is “you all over again” (45), but Laurel disagrees and says Belly is her father’s daughter. Belly wants to know more about why Laurel thinks this but knows her mother, a lifelong “secret keeper” (45), would never explain.