Conrad Fisher or Jeremiah Fisher?
Warning, this does include spoilers.
Alright for starters, lets describe both Conrad and Jeremiah. Conrad describes a more deeper, sometimes painful, childhood love; Belly’s first love. However Jeremiah offers stability, warmth, and open communication.
Starting off with the first and second book (Season 1 and partially 2), Jeremiah was like an actual golden retriever ball of sunshine in human form. He and Belly were best friends; Belly could talk to him and joke with him and he always came when she called. He’s always like Belly and waited patiently in the background as she obsessed over Conrad. Meanwhile, Conrad was always distant and was constantly upsetting Belly. Now I don’t want to lean towards any sides but Jeremiah started becoming this arrogant and mean boy to Belly. It’s not just the cheating (and yes, it was cheating even if they were on a “break”) nor is it the irresponsibility or the credit card debt. It’s how Jeremiah went from this always-reliable, understanding best friend to this unavailable person who doesn’t seem to know Belly well or even put much thought into who she is or what she wants. Maybe Conrad is the rightful sweet, charming guy for Belly. But yes, for those who are Team Jeremiah I totally understand. Conrad was always a bit distant and moody for the first two books (season 1 and 2). However he was always carrying a heavy burden, by himself. With his mom dying of cancer and his dad cheating on her, no wonder he did act like this!
I was fortunate enough to be able to survey one class in both grades 6 and 7! Let’s hear from a few students and their insights (two students (one team Conrad and one team Jeremiah) per grade)! One student, from 6th grade, choose team Jeremiah. The student wrote, “I choose team Jeremiah because Jeremiah is so good to Belly. Even when she was going though hard times he was always there for her. Even though Belly loved Conrad more, she still had a little room for Jeremiah and spent timeless memories together and when Belly was going through hard times Jeremiah was there, NOT Conrad but Conrad was her first love. And if I was her I would be Team Jeremiah ALL THE WAY.” Now let’s hear from a team Connie-baby fan! “I chose Conrad because Conrad is loyal, kind, sweet, and thoughtful. The only reason why he was not such a kind soul in the beginning is because he was going through a hard time with his moms death and with his dad. While Jeremiah is always trying to be the center of attention for Belly and doesn’t seem like he cares for anyone but himself and Belly. This is why I am Team Conrad!” I totally agree on both sides, it’s hard to be dealing with so much things by yourself but sometimes Conrad was unavailable and not there for Belly, meanwhile Jeremiah always was. Moving on to the 7th graders, one student wrote, “Conrad is more mature and is a better person to honor what Belly needs. He supports her and will be a rock for the two to start a family. Jeremiah on the other hand is immature and often puts himself before Belly. Conrad and Belly work as a pair and are there for each other. Conrad also worked on himself so he could be the best person that Belly needed.” And the rest of the 7th grade students who filled out the form, chose TEAM CONRAD!!
Mrs. Kepke, a beloved 7th grade English teacher says, “I always felt like Conrad was the more sensitive brother, and he had the burden of always caring for everyone, including Jeremiah. Jeremiah was able to be carefree and have fun because Conrad was out there taking care of everything. Over and over, he had to deny or ignore his feelings for Belly because he felt that it was inconvenient for other people.”
All in all, fifteen of the nineteen people (78.9%) choose team Conrad and the rest (four of the nineteen (21.1%)) choose team Jeremiah!
As you go over these responses and what other readers and students think, carefully consider which team you’re on. You may also want to take into consideration that, not all parts of the book and movie are “shown”. If you’re team Jeremiah, you might not want to show that parts where he was not being the best (like when he cheated on Belly during their “break”) and vise-versa. Make sure to comment below which team you think you are on!
