The Summer I Turned Pretty

Belly recalls the summer she was 13 when the kids realized Susannah and Laurel were smoking marijuana in the house. While Jeremiah and Steven are incredulous when Belly identifies the strange smell as marijuana, Conrad, unfazed, explains that it’s Susannah’s medicinal marijuana that she uses to soothe the effects of chemotherapy.

Belly notices that Jeremiah is hurt to learn that he did not know this about his mother beforehand, and Steven and Belly share an awkward glance like they do whenever the subject of Susannah’s cancer comes up.

Sometime later, Susannah and Laurel make their way downstairs, giggling and looking for snacks while trying to act normal. Conrad calls them out, stating that they all know they were smoking upstairs, and the women laugh. Belly notices that Jeremiah does not find this funny and instead stares at his mother, worried that she might “vanish into thin air while his back was turned” (58).

Later that day, Belly and Jeremiah overhear their mothers arguing inside the house. When Susannah claims she would rather “die than lose my breast” (59), Laurel tells her that she does not mean it. Susannah snaps at Laurel, telling her not to assume she knows how Susannah feels, and begins to cry. Belly grabs Jeremiah’s hand and explains that this was when she and Jeremiah became true friends.

Belly and Jeremiah walk back to the beach together to join Conrad and Steven. Sensing something important has just happened, Steven asks whether Belly and Jeremiah have shared their first kiss. Jeremiah gets up and walks back to the house without a word. Steven calls after him, but Conrad tells him to leave Jeremiah alone. Seeing Conrad stick up for Jeremiah causes Belly to feel a surge of love toward him. Later that night, Jeremiah decides to stay home from a night fishing trip though it is his favorite activity. Instead, he stays home with Belly.

After three days of rain, Jeremiah suggests they go to the movie theater in town. Conrad declines, preferring instead to spend time alone in his room. Jeremiah, Steven, and Belly go together. Belly convinces Steven and Jeremiah to watch a romantic comedy, but Steven leaves after five minutes. Steven asks Jeremiah to go with him; Jeremiah declines and stays with Belly.

Jeremiah gives Belly his seat so she can get a better view of the screen, and when he abruptly leaves in the middle of the movie, he returns with snacks for them to share. Belly senses a shift between them as she and Jeremiah lean toward one another to share the soda. She wonders if other moviegoers think they’re on a date and gets the sense Jeremiah wants to kiss her. This development confuses Belly, who has only ever considered Jeremiah a friend.

This shift in her relationship with Jeremiah reminds Belly of the summer she brought her best friend from home, Taylor Jewel, to visit Cousins Beach. Belly recalls that while she was the funny one in the friendship, Taylor was pretty and always had boys following her. By inviting Taylor to Cousins Beach, Belly thought that the boys would finally accept Belly as one of them.

Immediately upon introducing Taylor to Conrad and Jeremiah, Belly feels jealous of the attention they give her. Belly feels rare affection for Steven, who refuses to acknowledge Taylor. In Belly’s room, Taylor shares that she finds Conrad the most attractive of the two Fisher brothers. Not wanting to admit her crush, Belly nonetheless tries to convince Taylor to go after Jeremiah instead.

As the girls get changed for the pool, Taylor comments on the size of Belly’s chest, which has blossomed in the last year. Taylor tries to get Belly to wear a more revealing swimsuit to show off her new figure, and while part of Belly wants to, she knows that the boys are more likely to tease than admire her.

At the pool, Taylor exclaims that she is going to “lay out” (74) and tan for a bit while Belly jumps into the pool. Jeremiah soon suggests that they all play Chicken and requests that Taylor climb on his shoulders to be his partner. Steven complains that he will have to carry Belly, who is heavier than Taylor, which upsets her. Jeremiah chooses Belly to be on his team and assures her that she weighs “like, nothing” (76). Belly pushes Taylor off Steven’s shoulders and into the pool, securing a win for her and Jeremiah.

Before the next round, Taylor requests to be Jeremiah’s partner, and Belly is jealous as Taylor and Jeremiah flirt with each other. Belly is thrilled to be perched on Conrad’s shoulders with a renewed sense of wanting to beat Taylor. Belly once again pushes her into the water. Now twice-dunked, Taylor proclaims the game over, and Belly shares a rare high-five with Conrad.

A few days after they went to the movie, Jeremiah offers to teach Belly how to drive a stick shift. Steven complains that he and Jeremiah already had plans to go to the driving range, but Jeremiah offers to meet him afterward. Belly is thrilled not only for the driving lesson but also to give Steven a sense of how it feels to be left out.

In the car, Jeremiah tells Belly that he likes it when a girl can drive a manual car because it shows she is confident, and Belly teases him because he had a crush on Taylor, who is “not like that” (82). Jeremiah implies that Taylor knew what she was doing concerning intimacy. Belly challenges Jeremiah’s claim, and while Jeremiah capitulates, he closes the argument by stating that while Taylor was a good kisser, “you were the best, Bells” (82). Embarrassed, Belly punches Jeremiah but is secretly pleased that he even remembered their kiss from a few summers before, and even admits to Jeremiah that he was her first kiss.

When they return from the driving lesson, Belly finds Laurel and Susannah watching movies in bed. At first, she feels left out again, knowing she lacks close female friendships like Susannah and Laurel’s, but soon the mothers invite her to join them. Belly tells Susannah that Jeremiah has been teaching her how to drive and reflects on how kind Jeremiah is for taking the time to teach her.

Belly again recalls the summer Taylor visited Cousins Beach. Belly grows increasingly frustrated with Taylor’s insistence on always looking cute to impress any boys they might encounter. At dinner, Taylor asks Laurel and Susannah what the craziest thing they ever did together was. The mothers make up a story, refusing to reveal their true secret, and Susannah reminds her boys that she would not ask about their secrets. Jeremiah protests this, and finally, Susannah relents and says that she would only try to uncover Conrad’s secrets because he keeps everything bottled up. Jeremiah is frustrated when his mother states that he wears everything on his sleeve and insists that he has his own secrets.

Belly asks if she and Taylor can get a ride to the boardwalk that night, and suddenly Jeremiah is also interested in going to the boardwalk. Steven reluctantly agrees to go as well. As they wait for the others, Taylor confides in Belly that she might decide to pursue Jeremiah instead, and Belly confronts her. Taylor tells Belly that she has to “pick one. You can’t have them both” (92), and Belly insists that she has no interest in either Conrad or Jeremiah romantically. To drop the subject, Belly gives her blessing for Taylor to pursue Jeremiah on the condition that Taylor treats Jeremiah well.

As Steven’s departure date draws near, Belly feels sad knowing that Steven will not be at Cousins Beach for the rest of the summer. She realizes that even though Steven annoys her, without him, “everything would be off balance—He was the […] real-life reminder that nothing really changes, that everything can stay the same” (95). Before he leaves, Belly and Steven share a hug, and, suddenly serious, he tells her not to do anything “stupid” (97) in such a way that Belly feels there is some underlying meaning to his words.

Conrad and Jeremiah drive Steven to the airport, and Belly realizes that this summer is the last one in many ways, with all of them heading in different directions. With this realization, Belly decides to make the most of this summer.

In chapter 20, Belly details a memory from the summer she turned 11 in which the boys included her in a game of “Would You Rather.” During the game, Belly states that she would rather live her life with decent days in the hopes of one perfect day rather than experience one perfect day over and over. Steven and Jeremiah challenge her choice, but Belly feels a swell of love for Conrad when he agrees with her. Steven notices and begins teasing her for her crush on Conrad. The siblings argue until Conrad tells Steven to leave Belly alone and suggests the boys go in the water. Belly stays behind, thrilled that Conrad defended her.