By Diya Harish
When Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty series was adapted for television by Amazon Prime in 2022, fans had expected a heartfelt coming of age story about love, loss and transformation. The series follows Isabel “Belly” Conklin, a teenager who spends every summer at Cousins Beach with her mom, her brother, and the Fisher family – Susannah, her mom’s best friend, and Susannah’s two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. What starts as a light, nostalgic beach-house complicates quickly as Belly finds herself caught in a love triangle between the fisher brothers while also navigating the tragedy of Susannah’s illness.
With the themes of first love, heartbreak, friendship, and grief, the story has all the ingredients for a moving teen drama. Yet, instead of being swept up in belly’s journey, many viewers were left frustrated by her choices and questioning how the supposed heart of the story became its weakest link.
Although Han designed Belly to embody the relatable awkwardness of adolescence, her portrayal on screen and page often exposes traits that are less charming and more grating. Her self-centered worldview, chronic indecisiveness, and failure to develop real maturity would definitely make her the worst character in the entire story. Instead of rooting for her, viewers and readers often find themselves frustrated by her behavior, overshadowing the beauty of the world Han carefully created.
The most obvious flaw in Belly’s character is her self-centeredness. From the very beginning, Belly immediately shows how she views the world through her own experiences. Whether it’s her complicated crush on Conrad, feeling awkward in social situations, or worrying about being left out of events with the fisher family, she constantly centers herself in every scene. These early moments set up her character for the rest of the series, showing her teenage insecurities and hinting at the self focused patterns which will cause tension in her friendships and romantic relationships.
Take, for example, how she relentlessly centers herself in every situation. While Susannah’s illness is the emotional anchor of the series, Belly constantly shifts the spotlight back to her romantic worries. Susannah is the mother figure of the Fisher family and has been seriously ill for years, so much of the story revolves around her health and how her loved ones cope. Yet belly often ignores these serious moments, focusing instead on whether Conrad or Jeremiah, Susannah’s two sons, are paying attention to her. A scene that could have been about supporting a sick family friend, or reflecting on the importance of friendship instead becomes another opportunity for belly to wonder which brother glanced at her across the room, showing how her self-centered perspective dominated the story.
Critics have noticed the same issue, for instance, take Vogue as an example, in their 2025 article “The Trouble with Belly”, which described Belly as the only character without any character development throughout seasons 1-3. That kind of character would work only if they were a side character, but as the lead, it would undermine the story’s heart. While some flaws can make protagonists compelling, such as Katniss Everdeen’s stubbornness, for instance, which is part of what makes her strong, Belly’s flaws don’t deepen her character. They just drag the narrative in circles.
The other glaring issue is her repeated choice of Jeremiah over Conrad– a decision that many fans see as choosing the easier or less passionate option instead of the person she truly loves. The biggest myth about Jeremiah is that he’s the “safe” or “loyal” option when compared to Conrad. In reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In the books and the series, Jeremiah actually cheats on Belly when they are on a “break”, which Jeremiah translated into a breakup. Belly then finds out during a frat party at her university. This is an undeniable betrayal that completely undercuts his image as the dependable younger brother. What makes this worse is that Belly treats him more like a safety net than a partner. She gravitates to him whenever Conrad is distant, only to drop him when Conrad circles back into her orbit. Instead of recognizing that Jermiah’s actions show that he is immature and not committed, Belly quickly moves on and continues to act as if he is the “safe” choice compared to Conrad. But how stable can someone be if they can’t stay faithful in the first place?
On top of her selfishness, her chronic indecision becomes its own kind of villain. Entire chapters, and now episodes, are consumed with her endless back and forth: Conrad or Jeremiah? Jeremiah or Conrad? What could have been a poignant exploration of first love turns into a huge loop. Goodreads reviews echo this a lot, with one saying, “I think my brain cells are dead after reading this trilogy.”
And that’s the final nail in her coffin as a protagonist: the near-total absence of development. Coming-of-age stories are supposed to show change. Conrad grows as he learns to carry grief. Jermiah, though, stays the same. Belly, meanwhile, makes the same impulsive, self-centered decisions again and again. The repeated choice of Jeremiah over Conrad is even harder to think about. Conrad, despite his walls and mistakes, never cheats on her. He does struggle with grief and communication, but at least his love for the belly is genuine. By choosing Jeremiah, Belly not only disrespects himself, but she also disrespects Conrad, who deserved way better than to be sidelined for someone who betrayed her trust.
At its core, The Summer I Turned Pretty is supposed to be about change, the transformation from childhood to adulthood, from innocence to maturity. However, Belly Conklin definitely fails to embody this. Instead, she becomes a symbol of selfishness, indecision, and stagnation. The real tragedy isn’t that Belly can’t choose between the Fisher brothers; it’s about how she never learns to grow into someone worthy of either one of them.
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