Jenny Han’s 2009 novel, The Summer I Turned Pretty, illustrates how two very different people can be best friends. Laurel Dunne, mother of Steven and Isabel (Belly) Conklin, and Susannah Fisher, mother of Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher, have the type of friendship that their children admire. Isabel Conklin thinks of Laurel and Susannah, “I envied their relationship. They were exactly like copilots, in perfect balance. [They had] the forever kind of friendship that will last your whole life through, no matter what” (p. 84). Friends since the age of nine, Laurel and Susannah choose to spend every summer with each other and the four children at the Fishers’ beach house. Throughout the story, the women’s strong bond, but also their stark differences become clear. Laurel and Susannah’s different approaches to daily life, their marriages, and children, show to Conrad, Jeremiah, Steven, and Isabel, that there is no one right way to be.

Behavior

At the beach house, the children witness Laurel and Susannah’s different behaviors in the home. Isabel notices: “When my mother cooked, it was always some sort of seafood with lemon and olive oil and a vegetable. Every time” (p. 87). Isabel says, “always” and “every time” to highlight Laurel’s predictability. When Laurel cooks, she prepares a healthy protein and vegetable. Isabel describes Susannah differently. Isabel observes: “Susannah only cooked every once in a while…you never knew what you were going to get. She might spend the whole whole afternoon puttering around the kitchen, making something I’d never had before, like Moroccan chicken with figs…Or she might make American cheese omelets with ketchup and toast” (p. 87). As predictable as Laurel’s cooking is, the children can never guess what Susannah will make. Susannah cooks on one end of the culinary spectrum or the other. Her meals are either international and gourmet or comically simple. One night at the dinner table, Steven claims casually that they live in a free country. Laurel considers her son’s words carefully, and responds: “Is it a free country? I want you to really think about that statement, Steven. What about our civil liberties? Are we really free if -” (p. 90). Laurel questions Steven, and challenges him to think more deeply. She steers the direction of the conversation towards the government and justice. Susannah interrupts Laurel, and requests that they not talk politics at the dinner table (p. 90). The moment shows Laurel’s tendency to start more serious conversation, and Susannah’s preference for lighter quality time. The day before they leave the beach, Laurel, Susannah, and the children begin to clean the house. Isabel reveals: “What [Laurel] didn’t know was that Susannah had cleaners come in after we left and before we came back…It was like a secret between us, and I liked that. My mother actually liked to clean and didn’t believe in housekeepers or maids or in other people doing what she considered our work” (p. 266). Susannah likes to hire people to clean, while Laurel believes that the family should clean their own space. The women disagree so strongly on the topic that Susannah does not tell Laurel about the hired cleaners. In the house with Laurel and Susannah, the children see different approaches to meals, conversation, and housekeeping.

Everyday Life

Although both marriages end in divorce, Laurel and Susannah make different choices as wives. One summer, a young Jeremiah asks what a maiden name is, and why a lady has to change her name when she marries. Laurel answers Jeremiah, “She doesn’t. I didn’t. My name is Laurel Dunne, same as the day I was born. Nice, huh? After all, why should a woman have to change her name for a man? She shouldn’t” (p. 43). Laurel keeps her maiden name after she marries. She explains to Jeremiah that women are not required to change their names after marriage. Susannah, on the other hand, makes the more traditional choice, and changes her last name to match her husband’s last name. She goes from Susannah Beck to Susannah Fisher after she marries Adam Fisher. Isabel relates that when Adam Fisher comes to the beach house, “Susannah would fix his favorite drink and have it ready, ginger and Maker’s Mark. My mother teased her for waiting on him, but Susannah didn’t mind” (p. 47). Isabel notices that Susannah likes to have nice things ready for Adam when he arrives, while Laurel thinks that Susannah behaves like a waitress when she does that. Laurel and Susannah also differ in the emotions they reveal. Isabel says of Laurel’s divorce: “I wasn’t sure if it was that she fell out of love or if it was that she just never was. In love, I mean” (pp. 50-51). Isabel isn’t sure of her mother’s feelings. However, Susannah’s divorce completely surprises Isabel. Isabel thinks, “Whatever love was, I was sure [Susannah and Adam] had it. I thought they had it a million times over. The way they gazed at each other at the dinner table, how excited Susannah got when he came to the summer house…” (p. 165). Isabel is uncertain about her mother’s relationship, but she thinks she has a clear understanding of Susannah’s relationship because Susannah shows more evidence of love. Isabel sees Susannah and Adam’s shared, loving looks, and sees Susannah’s excitement about Adam. Unlike Laurel, Susannah changes her last name, likes to perform acts of service, and publicly displays her affection towards her husband.

Children

As mothers, Laurel and Susannah have some different views on parenting. Isabel shares: “After the summer was over, when I got back home, I went to the music store and bought the sheet music and learned to play [Pearl Jam] on the piano…Susannah tried to get [a piano] for the summer house, so I could practice, but my mother wouldn’t let her” (p. 35). Susannah wants to buy anything she can to support Isabel’s interests. However, Laurel thinks a piano at the beach house is too much. Although both women want to support Isabel, Laurel thinks more about costs and practicality. The night before they leave the beach, the two families eat all the food in the refrigerator. Conrad complains that a rib on his plate has mold, so Laurel tells him to give it to her. Laurel says, “I swear you spoil these boys, Beck…Belly was raised on leftovers, weren’t you, bean?” (p. 267). Beck answers, “I do spoil them…They’re angels. Why shouldn’t I?” (p. 268). Laurel thinks that Conrad should simply scrape the mold off the rib and eat it anyway. She thinks that Conrad and Jeremiah are spoiled, and unaccustomed to leftovers. Laurel claims that her own children eat leftovers all the time. The women also differ in their affection towards the children. Isabel says: “[Susannah] touched my hair lightly, which I loved. Susannah was much more affectionate than my mother in those kinds of ways” (p. 56). Susannah offers the children physical affection in a way that Laurel usually does not. Laurel and Susannah differ in terms of what they feel happy to buy for the children, what they expect from the children, and the way they show their affection.

Best friends Laurel Dunne and Susannah Fisher exhibit contrasting approaches to everyday life, their marriages, and their children. In their everyday lives, Laurel is predictable and sensible when she cooks. Susannah remains unpredictable and takes more risks. The women prefer different topics of conversation at the dinner table, and they feel differently about the right way to clean a house. Regarding marriage, Laurel doesn’t believe that women should change their last names when they marry, and she never behaves in a way that reveals her true feelings for her husband. Susannah changes her last name to her husband’s last name and comfortably reveals her affection for her husband in front of others. Laurel prefers to be more selective when it comes to gifts for the children, and stricter regarding certain expectations. In contrast, Susannah enjoys gift-giving regardless of cost, and does not demand as much of the children. The two women also show affection to the children in unique ways. During the summers at the beach, Laurel and Susannah show their children how two people can have some different opinions and make different choices and still be great friends.

References

Han, J. (2009). The Summer I Turned Pretty. Simon & Schuster.