The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer, #1)

by Jenny Han

For me, it was almost like winter didn’t count.

I didn’t call him. I put the phone back in its cradle. He should be the one calling me; not the other way around. He was the father; I was just the kid.

It had always been Conrad.

It occurred to me that I was going to have to make the most of this summer, really make it count, in case there wasn’t another one quite like it.

Conrad said, “Her mom is best friends with my mom.” So that was all I was to him? His mom’s friend’s daughter?

LOL

“Your hair is like a little kid’s, the way it’s always so messy,”

The thing was, whether he was pushing me away or pulling me toward him, I was still going in the same direction. Toward Conrad.

It’s hard to throw away history. It was like you were throwing away a part of yourself.

He made it so hard not to love him.

all I felt was a yearning that never went away.

I thought to myself, I will love this boy forever.

I couldn’t keep yearning for something, for someone who might or might not like me back.

Now or never.

It was twelve thirty in the morning. Boston was five and a half hours away. He had driven all night. He wanted to see me.

I used to believe. I used to think that if I wanted it bad enough, wished hard enough, everything would work out the way it was supposed to. Destiny, like Susannah said. I wished for Conrad on every birthday; every shooting star, every lost eyelash, every penny in a fountain was dedicated to the one I loved. I thought it would always be that way.