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BOOK ANALYSIS
The Sumer I Turned Pretty is a coming-of-age novel about a teenage girl grappling with her
identity. As the youngest kid at the Fishers’ beach house and the only girl, Belly has always
been viewed as childish, and was often left behind by the boys. Belly’s biggest conflict in the
novel is her wish to be seen not as a child, but as grown-up and desirable.
While Belly has had a crush on Conrad since she was ten years old, he has never shown
romantic interest in her. The inciting incident that sets the story into motion occurs just after
this when Belly pretends to ask Conrad for help and then pulls him into the pool in a bold
declaration of her new ability to keep up with the older boys. After Belly pulls Conrad in, she
is surprised by the unfamiliar way he looks at her and how it makes her feel. Belly doesn’t
yet realize she’s taken the first step in changing how Conrad views her.

Throughout the book, the setting shifts from the past to the present. Flashbacks throughout
the novel show how Belly’s crush on Conrad develops and deepens over the years. The
summer Belly is ten, Conrad defends her when Steven teases her. At age eleven, Conrad
teaches her how to do a dance called the shag, and she enjoys being held by him. At age
twelve, Belly is crestfallen when she thinks Conrad has invited her on a date only to discover
that he likes another girl. Flashbacks form the foundation for Belly’s present feelings for
Conrad.

Belly’s first-person narration allows insight into her true desires and motivations. From the
start, the boys’ reactions to Belly suggests that she is prettier than she realizes. Belly’s beliefs
about herself are what make her feel unattractive, not her actual appearance. In fact, Cam
openly tells her she’s the prettiest girl he’s ever seen, but she doesn’t believe him. Belly’s
actions suggest she has strong feelings for Cam, but her thoughts don’t always match. For
example, she asks Cam to go skinny-dipping, which suggests that she wants to become
physically intimate with him. However, when Cam rejects her offer, Belly is secretly
relieved, revealing that she didn’t truly want to go skinny-dipping with Cam. Belly isn’t the
only character whose actions don’t match their true feelings. Although Conrad denies having
feelings for Belly, his actions tell a different story. Because the first-person narration only
reveals Belly’s inner thoughts, Conrad’s true feelings remain a mystery.

Intertwined with the complicated romance is Belly’s slow realization that Susannah’s cancer
has returned. Belly spends most of the novel declaring how grown-up she is, but her focus on
her own feelings causes her to ignore plenty of clues that Susannah is struggling, such as her
weight loss and frequent naps. In another example of this dynamic, Belly is too focused on
whether Conrad thinks she’s pretty to realize that he is struggling and really needs her
support. The climax occurs when Belly confronts all of these conflicting and unspoken
emotions by demanding that Conrad admit he has feelings for her. Her pressure is the final
straw that breaks him, which leads to Jeremiah releasing his frustrations through violence,
and ultimately, Susannah releasing the secret that has fueled much of the summer’s tension.
In a sad echo of Belly’s eternal status as a child, she’s the last to learn this secret.
Belly is devastated to discover that her mother’s friend is dying from cancer. Learning that
she will soon lose one of the people she cares about most in the world prompts Belly to shift
her focus to supporting people who need her, rather than fretting about crushes and romance
and what others think about her. This shift allows her to love Conrad without conditions,
even if that means waiting for him to pursue a relationship with her when he’s ready. Until
the climax, Belly believes that being pretty is the only requirement for gaining a boy’s
attention. Her new, mature way of showing love through patient support is the real reason
that Conrad can begin to see her in a romantic light. Although Belly’s demand for Conrad to
express his feelings does not result in the answer she wants, it does force everyone in the
story to express their true feelings. After the explosion, the Fishers and the Conklins can
enjoy the last few days of vacation without underlying tension. Finally, after being given
some space, Conrad shows that he views Belly as desirable by surprising her at home with a
visit.

BOOK SUMMARY

As far as teenager Isabel Conklin is concerned, summer is the only season that matters. For
Isabel, nicknamed “Belly,” winter and spring are merely waiting periods. Not only is her
birthday in August, but each June, she, her mother, Laurel, and her brother, Steven, travel to
Cousins Beach to spend three months with the Fisher family, at their beach house on the
Atlantic Coast.

Laurel Conklin and Susannah Fisher have been best friends since childhood, and now spend
summers together with their children. Susannah has two teenage sons: Conrad, the eldest, is
about to attend his freshman year of college, and Jeremiah is still in high school. The Fisher
boys have been a source of friendship and fascination for Belly for as long as she can
remember, and she’s been harboring a crush on Conrad for years. Both families have faced
challenges; Susannah had cancer, and the Conklins recently divorced.

The summer that Belly turns sixteen, major changes impact everyone staying at the Fisher’s
beach house. After the Conklins arrive, the two families begin to settle in for what at first
seems like a typical vacation—but it soon becomes clear that this summer won’t be the same
as those before. Belly has blossomed into a beautiful young woman, and both boys notice the
change in her appearance. However, Conrad’s moodiness makes Belly feel more distant from
him than ever before. She learns that Conrad has quit the football team, broken up with his
girlfriend, and started smoking. Initially, the cause of Conrad’s sullen mood is unclear. As the
story progresses, the reader learns more about the difficulties facing the Fisher family.

Fearing that Conrad will never reciprocate her feelings, Belly tries to ignore her crush on
him. Soon after her brother Steven leaves to tour colleges with their father, Belly begins to
pursue a relationship with a boy named Cam. They meet at a beach party and realize they had
met once before when they were thirteen, at a convention for Latin students in Washington,
D.C. Cam and Belly begin to date, and she likes that he is different from both Jeremiah and
Conrad. Cam is “straight edge,” which means that he does not drink alcohol, do drugs, or
practice other risky behavior. Although she appreciates this, Belly also becomes frustrated
with the lack of physical intimacy between the two of them. She wishes that he would kiss
her without asking first and take part in more risqué activities like skinny-dipping.

Flashbacks throughout the novel show moments from different summers from the years that
Belly was age ten through fourteen. Several chapters focus on the previous summer, when
Belly’s best friend Taylor comes to Cousins Beach to visit for a week. In the past, Belly was
something of a non-threatening sidekick for her pretty friend. However, during the visit,
Taylor notices that Belly is becoming attractive in her own right and begins to see her as
competition for male attention. On the other hand, Belly unfavorably compares her own
appearance to that of her friend, who wears makeup and flattering clothing. Belly has her first
kiss with Jeremiah during a game of truth or dare, and is mortified that Conrad and Steven
watch it happen. By the end of Taylor’s visit, the two girls are still friends, but are not as
close as they used to be.

Although Belly and Cam date throughout the summer, romantic tension between Belly and
Conrad grows. At a house party, Conrad becomes aggressive with a young man in his
twenties. To prevent them from coming to blows, Belly steps between them to break up the
argument. Later, as she sits alone with Conrad in a car, he gently strokes her hair. He is on
the verge of saying something to her, but the moment passes.

Toward the end of the novel, Belly’s attraction to Cam wanes, and after Jeremiah reveals his
interest in her, she can no longer deny her crush on Conrad. Unwilling to let her affection
remain unspoken, Belly confronts Conrad and tells him that she loves him. He rejects her,
which leads to a physical altercation between the Fisher brothers. After Laurel breaks up the
fight, Belly discovers the secret behind underlying tension in the house; Susannah’s cancer
has returned, and she does not have long to live. Belly switches her attention from romance to
supporting the Fisher family through their painful time. She comforts Jeremiah, promises
Susannah that she’ll look after Conrad when she’s gone, and listens to Conrad express his
devastation. Belly and Conrad share a kiss, but Conrad explains he is too distraught about his
mother to start a relationship now.

At the end of the summer, the Fishers and Conklins clean up the house and spend one last day
at Cousins Beach. Several months later, Conrad drives from Boston to see Belly in the middle
of winter. After her mother goes to sleep, Belly sneaks out of her house to meet him,
suggesting the start of a relationship between the two teenagers.