The Summer I Turned Pretty
- Genre: Fiction; young adult romance
- Originally Published: 2009
- Reading Level/Interest: Lexile HL600L; grades 7-12
- Structure/Length: 46 chapters; approximately 276 pages; approximately 6 hours on audio
- Protagonist/Central Conflict: The protagonist, Isabel “Belly” Conklin, spends every summer at Cousins Beach with her mother, brother, her mother's best friend Susannah Fisher, and Susannah’s two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. The central conflict revolves around Belly's coming of age, her evolving relationships with the Fisher brothers, and the complexities of love and friendship as she navigates the transition from childhood to adulthood.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Romantic relationships and teenage crushes; emotional turmoil; family dynamics and loss; profanity, crass language, and slurs; use of cigarettes, alcohol (including underage use), and marijuana; cancer
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:
- The Challenges of Growing Up
- The Power of First Love
- The Inevitability of Change
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will: