81 pages • 2 hours read
Jenny HanA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Belly Conklin is a 15-year-old girl standing on the brink of adulthood. The most pivotal memories in Belly’s life have occurred in the summer, but despite this, Belly knows that this summer will be even more life-changing: “It was the summer I turned pretty. Because for the first time, I felt it. Pretty, I mean. Every summer up to this one, I believed it’d be different. Life would be different. And that summer, it finally was. I was” (21). Throughout the text, Belly learns about The Challenges of Growing Up, The Power of First Love, and The Inevitability of Change.
The fact that Belly has grown up as the youngest and the only girl at times shapes her behavior and undermines her desire to be mature and grown up. Used to being called “Belly Button” by Jeremiah and Steven, at times, Belly reverts to immature behavior because it is how she is used to others treating her. Belly’s frustration at being treated like a child is especially acute when the person treating her as such is Conrad, her long-time crush. At the 4th of July bonfire party, Conrad refuses to let Belly drive home with her new romantic interest, Cam. As Belly walks back to Cam, she thinks: “I walked back to the bonfire, trying to keep my shoulders straight and high, when inside I felt like a kid who’d gotten yelled at her own birthday party. It wasn’t fair, to be treated like I was a kid when I wasn’t (118). Belly especially does not want Conrad to see her as immature or a child, yet Conrad refers to her more than once as “still such a kid” (244) while struggling with his feelings toward her as he becomes increasingly jealous of her relationship with Cam.
Belly transforms throughout the novel as she becomes less afraid of confronting change. She shows this bravery most when she confronts Conrad at the end of the text, no longer afraid of “tipping our little summer sailboat” (243). She sticks up for herself to Conrad, telling him that his treatment of her this summer has been hurtful: “You just want to keep me on this hook, right? So I’ll keep chasing after you and you can feel good about yourself. As soon as I start to get over you, you just reel me back in” (245). This marks the first time Belly sticks up for herself regarding her feelings for Conrad, as she often lets her love for him cloud her judgment and even hurts others in her life whom she cares for.
Conrad Fisher is the older Fisher brother and Belly’s long-time crush. Belly describes Conrad as brooding and observant: “For once, he had been watching me. But of course he’d noticed—Conrad noticed everything. [...] It wasn’t really a compliment to be noticed by Conrad. It was a matter of fact” (57). Though Conrad was often the one to stick up for Belly while the kids were growing up, Conrad often treats Belly like a kid as a way to avoid his true feelings for her. When Belly arrives downstairs to wait for Cam to pick her up for a party, Conrad tears Belly down by making fun of her: “What’s with the perfume? It’s giving me a headache. And why are you wearing all that makeup?” (139). Belly points out that she was not wearing all that much makeup, but she scrubs most of the makeup and perfume off, showing how much she remains under Conrad’s influence, even when he is not supportive of her.
Conrad mostly maintains a steely air throughout the text as he tries to keep others at a distance. Conrad struggles to admit or experience his true emotions, which causes him to hurt those around him, especially Belly. At different points throughout the narrative, Conrad’s inner anger begins to bubble over, such as when he almost gets into a fight at a party: “Conrad was like a soda bottle that had been shaken up; he was about to explode on somebody. It didn't matter who it was” (150). In these moments, Belly’s instinct to protect Conrad kicks in, and she intervenes, which sometimes only angers Conrad further.
When Susannah finally admits that she is sick again, Belly finally understands Conrad’s inner turmoil: “Conrad, though, his face was indifferent, detached. Like he wasn’t there. Until his face sort of opened up, and suddenly he looked about eight years old” (250). At this moment, Conrad finally lets go of the act he has been playing all summer and allows himself to give in to his feelings of despair about his mother’s illness.
Even after their kiss, Conrad struggles to let Belly in, even though he may want to. At their final dinner together at Cousins Beach, Belly notes: “Conrad kept sneaking looks at me, and every time I looked back, he looked away. I’m right here, I wanted to tell him. I’m still here” (267). Conrad looks for Belly and feels comforted by her presence, but something continues to prevent him from admitting his need or want for her. Something seems to change in him over the following months, as Belly gets a phone call one winter night from Conrad asking to see her. While Belly seems convinced that their clandestine meeting indicates that a big shift is finally in store for their relationship, Conrad’s thoughts and feelings remain tightly sealed and inaccessible.
Jeremiah Fisher is the younger of Susannah’s two sons. Jeremiah is outgoing and athletic and often joined Steven in teasing Belly when they were growing up. This summer changes the nature of Belly and Jeremiah’s relationship in unexpected ways. Jeremiah notices immediately that Belly has changed in the last year. When she gets out of the car to greet him, Jeremiah remarks: “Something looks different about you, Belly. [...] You just look different” (9). This comment sets the stage for the complications Belly and Jeremiah’s friendship will undergo as the summer progresses.
Throughout the summer, Belly picks up on subtle hints that Jeremiah might harbor deeper feelings for her than he previously let on. At the movies one afternoon, Belly is surprised to find Jeremiah looking at her like he wants to kiss her: “I’d never seriously considered Jeremiah, not with Conrad standing there. And of course, Jeremiah had never looked at me that way before either. I was his pal. [...] I wasn’t the girl he kissed” (65). Despite their closeness, Belly makes it clear that her feelings for Jeremiah are only that of friendship and she maintains romantic feelings for Conrad. Conrad, for his part, mostly ignores Belly or treats her with derision during the summer, while Jeremiah takes time to hang out with Belly and teach her how to drive.
On her birthday, Jeremiah gives Belly a key charm for her charm bracelet, “It’s a key, because you’ll be driving soon. Get it?” (226), while Conrad completely forgets Belly’s birthday. All these signs building throughout the text come to a head when Jeremiah admits that he has romantic feelings for Belly. Belly tells Jeremiah that she only views him as a friend, and while Jeremiah assures her that “I’m not mad at you. I’m just—why does it always have to be Conrad?” (238), his response indicates his deeper feelings of resentment toward his brother.
The role Jeremiah plays in the narrative is to challenge Belly’s ideas of what love is and to make her realize where her feelings truly lie. This conversation inspires Belly to take a risk and tell Conrad about her feelings for him. Belly admits that part of her reason for not telling Conrad sooner was because she was afraid of change but that “Jeremiah had already done that, and look, we were still alive. We were still Belly and Jeremiah” (243). Their relationship remains intact, if not entirely unaltered, despite their difficult conversation. The fact that Belly and Jeremiah remain close friends despite her not returning his feelings also shows Belly that while change is inevitable, it does not always have to be destructive or feared.
Laurel Dunne is Belly’s mother. Belly struggles with Laurel partly because of her perceived lack of emotional availability. While Belly’s emotions are a driving force in her decision-making, Belly describes Laurel as “so calm, so placid” (48), even in the face of emotionally complicated situations. Belly’s resentment toward her mother this summer, in particular, stems from her parents’ divorce: “At least my father cried. At least he was in pain. My mother said nothing, revealed nothing. Our family broke up, and she just went on. It wasn’t right” (48). Belly blames her mother for the divorce, specifically her mother’s inability to show emotion.
Belly feels this lack of emotion extends to everything in her mother’s life, including her, and often feels that her mother is judging her. In a flashback to the summer Belly’s friend Taylor visited Cousins Beach, Belly recalls her mother chastising her for fighting with Taylor: “Best friends are important. They’re the closest thing to a sister you’ll ever have [...]. Don’t squander it” (181). When Belly accuses her mother of blaming her for the argument, her mother responds: “I’m not blaming you. Why must you always make everything about you, dear?” (181).
Susannah acts as a bridge between Laurel and Belly, though Belly makes it clear that she feels closer to Susannah and finds it easier to connect with her. Susannah understands Laurel better than Belly does and tries to encourage Belly to see her mother’s behavior in a different light: “She does care. [...] Your mother is your biggest fan, next to me. She cares about everything you do. Don’t shut her out” (163). Susannah teaches Belly throughout the text that “you’re the luckiest girl in the world to have her for a mother. Know that” (261). Laurel and Belly do not repair their relationship completely by the end of the text, but given Susannah’s condition, mother and daughter may soon be forced to figure out how to navigate their relationship without the bridge that has always connected them.
Susannah “Beck” Fisher is Conrad and Jeremiah’s mother and the owner of the Cousins Beach home. Belly feels particularly close to Susannah and connects with her more than her mother. Susannah is vivacious and full of life. She places great emphasis on her intuition, especially concerning Belly’s future with one of her boys: “Susannah told me that when I was born, she knew I was destined for one of her boys. She said it was fate. [...] ‘Belly, you have my unequivocal blessing. I’d hate to lose my boys to anyone else’” (4). This early prediction of Belly’s fate to end up with one of her boys perhaps influenced Belly’s strong connection with Conrad.
While everyone around Belly tries to convince her to stop pining for Conrad and move on from her crush, Susannah has always quietly encouraged Belly’s feelings for her oldest son. There is strong evidence to suggest this at the end of the text when Susannah asks Belly to “look after him [...]. […] He needs you” (259) (meaning Conrad) after Susannah dies. This conversation with Susannah softens Belly’s feelings toward Conrad and encourages her to approach him on the beach even after his rude treatment of her earlier. When she sees him on the beach, all her anger melts away, and she thinks: “I would take care of him, just like Susannah wanted” (261). Belly loves Conrad for many reasons, but as Susannah’s fate comes into focus, Belly’s love for him takes on a new dimension and meaning.
Susannah’s transformation throughout the work is tragic as she comes to terms with the fact that her illness has returned and is terminal. She also must face the reality that hiding her illness from her family to shield them from the pain of knowing has caused them more harm. When Susannah finally tells the truth, and everyone is forced to confront this uncomfortable fact, she reminds them of her wishes: “This is where I want to be. With the people who matter most to me. Okay?” (269). Despite the pain she has caused them this summer in hiding the nature of her condition, Susannah continues to influence those that love her as they agree to abide by her wishes.
By Jenny Han