Summer, #1
The Summer I Turned Pretty
by Jenny Han
Contents
chapter seven
Overview
Belly reflects on the Fishers’ comfortable, timeworn beach house and how room arrangements evolved as everyone grew up. Shared spaces, bathroom habits, and the boys’ cologne underscore changing adolescence and Belly’s lingering sense of exclusion. Her unused perfume from her father’s girlfriend highlights her uncertainty about identity and belonging.
Summary
Belly recalls not first noticing the Fishers had more money, because their beach house felt lived-in and unpretentious—faded couches, peeling paint, sun-bleached floors—but large enough for everyone due to an old addition.
She describes the room layout: her mother’s room, Susannah and Mr. Fisher’s room, and a guest room on one end; on the other, Belly’s room, another guest room, and the boys’ shared room. As a child, Belly envied the boys’ late-night camaraderie through the wall, sometimes joining only when they wanted to scare her with gruesome stories.
With age, the arrangements shifted. Steven began staying on the parents’ end, while Jeremiah and Conrad moved to rooms near Belly. The kids still shared a bathroom on their side of the house, while the mothers had their own. Small routines marked their differences: the boys never put the seat down, and the childish splashing mess gave way to shaving hairs and crowded counters of deodorants and cologne.
Comparing the boys’ many colognes to her single perfume—a pink bottle her father gave her, likely chosen by his grad-student girlfriend—Belly keeps it on her dresser and almost never wears it. This detail crystallizes her mixed feelings: separate from the boys’ world, unsure of how to present herself, and quietly aware of what sets her apart.
Who Appears
- Belly (Isabel Conklin)Narrator; reflects on the house, evolving room and bathroom dynamics, and feeling set apart.
- Conrad FisherNow has his own room near Belly; his habits mark the group’s growing up.
- Jeremiah FisherAlso on Belly’s end of the house; his shared-bath routines highlight adolescence.
- Steven ConklinMoved to the parents’ end; part of childhood room-sharing Belly once envied.
- Susannah FisherOwner of the beach house; her room anchors the parents’ side.
- Laurel (Belly’s mother)Has a room and separate bathroom on the parents’ side.
- Mr. FisherMentioned as sharing the master bedroom with Susannah.