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Chapter 18, Age 14
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Summer I Turned Pretty, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Time and Change
Coming of Age and Selfishness
Puberty, Body Image, and Anxiety
Family, Romance, and Rules
Summary
Analysis
It’s already time for Steven to leave so he and Dad can go on their college tour road trip. Belly is sad that he’s going: he’s insufferable but also comforting in that he never changes. She calls him out for missing her birthday and asks him to get her a Princeton sweatshirt—that’ll make her feel mature. When he leaves early the next morning, Belly doesn’t try to go with Jeremiah and Conrad to drop him at the airport. Steven hugs her goodbye and tells her not to do anything stupid, like there’s something specific she should know. She doesn’t know what he means.
In Belly’s self-absorption, she doesn’t seem to consider Steven’s perspective or experience—she only considers how he makes her feel. She sees him as her ticket to maturity, since he can get her the Princeton sweatshirt she so badly wants. Steven’s warning adds one more piece of evidence to everything suggesting that something is amiss this summer. But as usual, Belly misses what he’s saying—and she doesn’t ask.
Themes
Once the boys are gone, Belly sits on the porch and feels sad. This might be the last summer at the beach house, as Conrad starts at Brown in the fall and Jeremiah might be at football camp next year. Realizing that she’s getting older too—she’s almost 16—Belly vows to make the most of this summer.
Themes
