Below is the complete list of Jenny Han’s Summer I Turned Pretty books in order. For this series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Publication Order of Summer I Turned Pretty Books
About Summer I Turned Pretty
For Isabel “Belly” Conklin, summer has always meant returning to Cousins Beach, where familiar routines, childhood friendships, and the promise of romance make the season feel more important than the rest of the year. Jenny Han’s Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy follows Belly’s transition from adolescence into adulthood, exploring first love, changing friendships, family relationships, grief, and the difficult choices that accompany growing up.
The series centres on Belly and two brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher, whose family has shared summer holidays with hers for as long as she can remember. Their mothers, Laurel Conklin and Susannah Fisher, are lifelong friends, making the annual visits to the Fisher family’s beach house an essential part of both households’ traditions.
Belly has always been in love with Conrad, the older, more reserved brother. Jeremiah, meanwhile, is outgoing, affectionate, and one of her closest childhood friends. As their relationships change, the familiar boundaries between friendship and romance become increasingly difficult to maintain.
In The Summer I Turned Pretty (2009), Belly returns to Cousins Beach at sixteen, expecting another season of swimming, beach gatherings, and time with the Fisher brothers. Instead, she discovers that the boys are beginning to see her differently.
Conrad’s unpredictable behaviour frustrates Belly, particularly because her feelings for him have remained constant for years. Jeremiah offers a contrasting source of companionship and attention, creating emotional complications that Belly is not prepared to resolve.
Beneath the romantic tensions, the families are confronting circumstances that threaten their familiar summer traditions. Han gradually reveals that the adults are carrying serious worries, introducing a deeper emotional dimension to what initially appears to be a nostalgic coming-of-age romance.
It’s Not Summer Without You (2010) develops the consequences of those changes. A devastating family loss has altered the relationships that once made Cousins Beach feel like a permanent refuge.
Belly struggles with grief and the breakdown of her relationship with Conrad, while Jeremiah becomes increasingly important in her life. When Conrad disappears, Belly and Jeremiah undertake a journey to find him, returning to the beach house that holds so many shared memories.
The novel places greater emphasis on family obligations, emotional withdrawal, and the different ways people respond to bereavement. Belly must begin recognising that the relationships she idealised during childhood are more complicated than she once understood.
In We’ll Always Have Summer (2011), the narrative moves forward to Belly’s college years. After spending two years in a relationship with Jeremiah, she believes she may finally have found the stability and happiness she has always wanted.
However, unexpected revelations and renewed feelings complicate her plans. With Conrad still connected to her most significant memories, Belly faces difficult questions about loyalty, trust, and the difference between the love she imagined as a teenager and the commitment required in adulthood.
The concluding novel examines the consequences of decisions made under emotional pressure, bringing the central relationships toward a resolution without abandoning the family’s shared history.
Cousins Beach is particularly important to the trilogy’s identity. The beach house represents childhood security, but its meaning changes as Belly grows older and recognises that familiar places cannot prevent loss or preserve relationships unchanged.
Han also uses Belly’s relationships with Laurel, Susannah, and her brother Steven to explore the emotional complexity of family life. The adults’ experiences influence the younger characters, even when those influences are not immediately understood.
The trilogy consists of three novels published between 2009 and 2011. Collected editions and television tie-in covers have subsequently introduced the books to new audiences, but the original narrative remains a complete three-part story.
The novels inspired the Prime Video television adaptation The Summer I Turned Pretty, developed by Jenny Han, which premiered in 2022. The adaptation expanded the story’s audience while introducing changes to certain characters and events.
What distinguishes the trilogy is its portrayal of first love as part of a much broader experience of growing up. Through Belly’s changing understanding of Conrad, Jeremiah, and herself, Han explores the tension between cherished memories and emotional maturity, showing how the people who define childhood can remain important even as relationships take unfamiliar forms.