The Summer I Turned Pretty is a series of three books written by Jenny Han and published in 2009. In 2022, Han created a TV show based on her books, which started the Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah debate amongst viewers.
The series follows a love triangle between the main character, Belly Conklin and brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher.
Laurel, mother of Belly and Steven, and Susannah, mother of Conrad and Jeremiah, are childhood best friends who raised their children at the same time. Every summer, they all meet up at Susannah’s beach house in a fictional vacation town called Cousins Beach and spend the season together.
Just a short PSA before continuing: If you are Team Jeremiah, there is simply no point reading on because clearly, there is only one correct answer, and that is Team Conrad!
For as long as Belly can remember, she has had a massive crush on Conrad. However, she never thought she had a chance. The summer she “turned pretty” marked a difference in her life. After years of anticipation, the two finally build some ongoing tension.
It’s important to note that in all her years of friendship with Jeremiah, there has been no romantic tension whatsoever. They were strictly best friends. The expected romance of the series was between Belly and Conrad.
As they start to become closer throughout season one, almost having their first kiss, Jeremiah abruptly interferes. He suddenly confesses his love for Belly. This was a plot twist I didn’t even see coming! How is it possible that you haven’t shown any interest in Belly, but now that your brother is interested, you are too?
Long story short, the first season ends with Belly choosing Conrad over Jeremiah. A decision I was more than excited about.
Season two followed Belly and Conrad’s relationship, which came to an end after Susannah sadly died of cancer, causing a prominent shift in their relationship. The gang reunites in Susannah’s beach house as they try to save it from being sold. Throughout this healing process, Belly and Jeremiah start a romantic relationship. In a nutshell, the second season ends with Belly choosing Jeremiah over Conrad.
Throughout the series, it becomes apparent that Belly is also going through some internal issues as she continuously switches feelings on and off between each brother. That said, my issue doesn’t stem from Belly. My issue is with Jeremiah.
He started off as a character who had a beautiful friendship with Belly and who cared about her well-being. Suddenly, from one minute to the next, it became something romantic, which made me feel uneasy and uncomfortable. It didn’t make sense to me then, and it certainly doesn’t make sense to me now.
The worst part, out of all of this, is there is absolutely no chemistry between them! Although I admit Conrad has his flaws, he always protected and wanted the best for Belly. Jeremiah is the type of boyfriend who seems to give misguided advice, leading her into situations that may not be the best for her.
Despite all this, Jeremiah completely disregards his brother’s feelings and never apologizes for ruining his relationship with Belly. When Conrad and Belly started dating, Jeremiah broke contact with both, which took a toll on them. Despite Jeremiah’s feelings for Belly, they had a friendship that meant a lot to her, and he took that away — all because he was too upset to accept the real chemistry between Conrad and Belly.
Jeremiah’s argument for acting on his feelings was that he never knew something was going on between Belly and Conrad, even though we see him witness them together multiple times throughout the show. Instead, after he broke communication with Belly and Conrad when they started their relationship, he expected Conrad to be okay with it in the season two finale.
All Conrad ever wanted was to have Belly’s support throughout his hardships because he truly does care about her. All Jeremiah ever wanted was to ruin Conrad’s relationship because he had apparently “been in love” with Belly all these years.
When Belly needed Jeremiah the most, he left her. The minute he finds out it didn’t work out between his older brother and her, he decides to step in. This further shows his jealousy and disrespect towards his own brother. It’s one thing to care about Belly, but to confess feelings that were never there was so out of pocket.
I will forever stand by Conrad. As someone who just needed her support, he didn’t deserve to be treated that way by either Jeremiah or Belly.