The Summer I Turned Pretty – Jenny Han (2009)

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, published in 2009, is the poignant first installment in a beloved young adult trilogy that chronicles the tangled emotions, heartbreaks, and transformations of adolescence. Set against the sun-soaked backdrop of Cousins Beach, the novel follows Isabel “Belly” Conklin as she navigates the magic and melancholy of one unforgettable summer that marks her transition from girlhood to womanhood. With themes of first love, friendship, family, and the bittersweet nature of change, this story captures the fleeting essence of youth in a way that resonates deeply with readers.

Plot Summary

Every summer, the house in Cousins Beach waited. It waited with its wraparound porch, its sun-worn floors, and its familiar sea breeze that held the promise of something magical. And each year, when the Conklin family returned, it welcomed them like they had never left. But this summer, the house noticed the girl first. She was different now. Taller, leaner, with long dark hair no longer tangled and glasses replaced by clear, searching eyes. She had turned pretty, and everyone, especially the boys, could see it.

Isabel Conklin – Belly – had always been the tagalong. The little sister. The one watching from the sidelines while the three boys formed their world: her older brother Steven, and the Fisher brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah. But now the watching had changed. The gaze was no longer one-sided. This summer, they were all watching her too.

Conrad, with his stormy silences and unreadable eyes, was the boy Belly had loved since she was ten. He played the guitar now and carried something heavy beneath his quiet. Jeremiah, with his golden hair and unguarded grin, remained her friend – maybe more. And Steven, boisterous and teasing, was slipping further into the space between boyhood and manhood, the way older brothers do, without ever announcing it.

The beach house had its rituals. The first belly flop of the summer, always inflicted by the boys on Belly, even now. The pot of Susannah’s spicy bouillabaisse shared around the dinner table. Night swims in the pool when the world was asleep. The boys horsing around, throwing her in the water, laughing as they always had – yet even laughter sounded different now.

But shadows trailed behind the sunlight. Susannah, radiant and affectionate, bore the kind of sadness that clung to her bones. The cancer was back. Though no one said it aloud, everyone knew. Laurel, Belly’s mother, calm and unreadable, stood beside her oldest friend with quiet strength. The two women shared a bond forged through decades, through motherhood and memories and promises that held when everything else threatened to fall apart.

Belly, caught between the child she had been and the woman she was becoming, longed for Conrad’s attention. He gave it in fragments – a teasing comment, a lingering look, a moment stolen at the pool’s edge. Then he would retreat again, distant and cold. Jeremiah, steady and open, made her laugh and called her Belly Button like he always had. But his eyes had changed when they looked at her, and he wasn’t just her playmate anymore.

There were moments that shimmered. A swim in the moonlight interrupted by Conrad’s sudden presence. A cigarette dangling from his fingers. Their eyes meeting in the hush of the night, just before he walked away. A car ride with music and sunlight slanting through the windows, the world outside tinted with the scent of salt and summer. The flutter of hope when Conrad looked at her like he had never seen her before – and the ache when he turned away.

Belly remembered the caramel apple on the boardwalk, the night Conrad invited her out and then disappeared into the eyes of another girl. She had stood on the Ferris wheel alone, tears stinging her face while he tried to win a stuffed animal for someone he barely knew. And still, she kept loving him. Because that’s what first love does – it lingers, even when it hurts.

Jeremiah began to stir something new in her. He was present, always. He noticed when Conrad didn’t. He smiled when Conrad frowned. At the bonfire party near the end of the summer, when Belly wore the white sundress Taylor had insisted she bring, it was Jeremiah who danced with her. It was Jeremiah who kissed her first, tasting of beer and salt, under a sky split by fireworks.

But it was always Conrad who pulled her heart like the tide. When he finally kissed her, late in the summer, it wasn’t soft or shy. It was confused and urgent and filled with everything he hadn’t said. It was also followed by silence. He withdrew again, leaving Belly to wonder if it had meant anything at all.

The beach house bore witness to their messiness. To the unspoken truths and the slammed doors. To the boys’ fights and Belly’s tears. To the laughter that came in waves and the sorrow that never quite receded.

Steven left early for college visits with their father. Laurel stayed steady, always watching, always knowing more than she said. Susannah tried to hold the summer together like she always did, her laughter a little too loud, her silences a little too long.

And then the truth couldn’t be hidden anymore. Susannah was sicker than anyone had admitted. The boys were breaking in their own ways. Conrad withdrew completely. Jeremiah tried to pretend everything was fine. Belly felt everything unraveling – the house, the summer, the illusions they had all held so tightly.

There was one last night. Belly, sitting outside the house, the sky above heavy with stars. Conrad approached her quietly. He asked if she would come with him. Not where, not why. Just – with him. And she said yes. Because no matter how much it hurt, no matter how much she wished she could choose someone easier, softer, less broken – she couldn’t.

The house didn’t ask questions. It just watched them walk down the porch steps into the humid night, where childhood ended and something new began.

Main Characters

• Isabel “Belly” Conklin – At the heart of the story is Belly, a teenager who returns to Cousins Beach every summer, harboring deep feelings for Conrad Fisher. Over the course of the summer, she begins to see herself – and be seen – in a new light. Her journey is one of emotional awakening, marked by first love, jealousy, self-discovery, and a longing to be included in the boys’ world.

• Conrad Fisher – Moody, mysterious, and emotionally withdrawn, Conrad is the older of the two Fisher brothers and the object of Belly’s long-standing affection. As the summer unfolds, he struggles with personal turmoil and the weight of his mother’s illness, often pushing others away. Yet, he remains a quiet center of gravity in Belly’s world.

• Jeremiah Fisher – The younger Fisher brother, Jeremiah is warm, funny, and outgoing. Unlike Conrad, he is open with his emotions and shares a genuine friendship with Belly. His growing feelings for her complicate their easy rapport and place him in an emotional triangle with his brother.

• Laurel Dunne (Belly’s mother) – Practical, perceptive, and reserved, Laurel is a steady presence who shares a deep and complicated friendship with Susannah. Her quiet strength anchors her children and reflects the emotional maturity Belly is learning to emulate.

• Susannah Fisher – Vibrant, ethereal, and motherly, Susannah is the heart of the summer house. Her battle with cancer casts a long shadow over the summer, adding depth and fragility to every moment. She represents warmth, hope, and the inevitability of change.

• Steven Conklin – Belly’s older brother, Steven is sarcastic, protective, and occasionally oblivious. His teasing demeanor masks a loyalty to his family and a reluctance to accept his sister’s growing up.

Theme

• Coming of Age – Belly’s emotional and physical transformation during the summer is the central theme. Her evolution from an overlooked little girl into someone seen, desired, and conflicted mirrors the complexity of growing up and stepping into a new identity.

• Unrequited and Complicated Love – The push and pull of Belly’s feelings for Conrad, contrasted with Jeremiah’s affections for her, form a tangled triangle that encapsulates the confusion and depth of first love. These dynamics explore the heartbreak of loving someone who can’t or won’t love you back in the same way.

• Family and Friendship – The lifelong bond between Laurel and Susannah is a quietly powerful force throughout the novel. It models enduring, selfless friendship in contrast to the frictions and frailties of romantic love. Similarly, the sibling dynamics between Belly and Steven, and between the Fisher brothers, ground the emotional stakes in shared history and loyalty.

• Change and Impermanence – The summer house represents a space frozen in time, but beneath its surface lies the slow unraveling of the past. From Belly’s maturing perspective to Susannah’s declining health, the story gently mourns the loss of innocence, youth, and the immutable nature of summers past.

• Beauty and Identity – The novel interrogates what it means to be “pretty,” both in how others perceive Belly and how she begins to perceive herself. Her external transformation sparks internal shifts, challenging her sense of worth and complicating her relationships.

Writing Style and Tone

Jenny Han’s prose is both lyrical and grounded, weaving sensory details with introspective reflections to immerse the reader in Belly’s emotional world. The narrative voice – honest, uncertain, and intimately first-person – captures the turbulence of adolescence with raw authenticity. Han balances poetic musings with colloquial, believable dialogue, crafting a tone that is both dreamy and heartbreakingly real.

The tone oscillates between nostalgia and anticipation, with interspersed flashbacks that blur past and present to illustrate how memory shapes perception. Han writes with subtlety and restraint, often allowing what’s unsaid to echo louder than dialogue. The idyllic summer setting, with its boardwalks, bonfires, and beach breezes, is used not just as a backdrop but as a living metaphor for the ephemeral beauty of youth and love. This contrast between sunlit innocence and impending sorrow gives the novel its emotional depth and lingering impact.