The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han is one of the most iconic television adaptations of the decade. Debuting in 2022 and wrapping up in 2025, each season of the show adapts Han’s Summer series, including The Summer I Turned Pretty for season one, It’s Not Summer Without You for season two, and We’ll Always Have Summer for the third and final season. The story follows Isabel “Belly” Conklin, Conrad Fisher, and Jeremiah Fisher as they grow up, fall in love, and deal with grief, all while set in the fictional Cousins Beach, Massachusetts. You’ve probably heard of the show—or even read the books—and you probably know about the famous debate over team Conrad and team Jeremiah. Now that the show has wrapped up (and a movie is on the way), have you ever wondered why it reached such a wide audience? What it is that makes this specific adaptation so great? It’s all thanks to the incredible soundtrack, the cast’s dedication, and Han’s love of the books.
The soundtrack for this show is one of my favorite things about it. The show has songs from all of my favorite artists, and has even helped me discover new music. I think the greatest thing about this legendary soundtrack—which includes music from icons like Taylor Swift and Fleetwood Mac—is that it really helps convey our narrator’s inner thoughts.
As a reader, the hardest thing about TV adaptations is that we lose so much of the characters’ inner voice, which is intrinsic to who they are. The way that Han crafts her show allows any lack of inner monologue to be replaced by a song that conveys the characters’ feelings. She’s done this countless times with Belly, using Taylor Swift’s “The Way I Loved You” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” to reveal Belly’s true feelings towards Conrad and towards her relationship with her mom, respectively. In the episodes where the point of view switches, Han still utilizes music to portray the characters’ inner emotions and help guide the story. In the second book, It’s Not Summer Without You, there’s an alternating point of view between Belly and Jeremiah, which is represented in season two episode five of the show, “Love Fool.” Niall Horan’s “Heaven” from his album The Show is used to represent Jeremiah’s perspective, and it perfectly encapsulates the way that Jeremiah is feeling about Belly during their complicated rekindling. Similarly in book three, We’ll Always Have Summer, Conrad has an alternating perspective with Belly, which is shown in season three episode five of the show, “Last Dance.” This episode features the iconic “Linger” from The Cranberries, and reveals how Conrad truly feels about Belly even after all they’ve been through. This helps viewers who may not have read the books understand what the characters are feeling, and gives readers the opportunity to recall these moments of inner monologue from the books.
Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, and Gavin Casalengo have definitely done their homework when it comes to their characters. These three have read all of the books and done such a wonderful job of understanding their characters.
Tung, who plays Belly, has always firmly been “Team Belly.” Tung’s desire to stick with Belly through all her trial and error is admirable, and it’s great to see someone understand such a complex female character and not shy away from the mistakes she makes. It’s obvious that Tung adores Belly the same way readers do, and I’m glad that someone was always in Belly’s corner cheering her on no matter what.
Briney, who plays Conrad, is really understanding of who Conrad is as a person. Conrad is the eldest child in his family, and the pressure is always on him to be perfect and to take care of Jeremiah, Belly, and Belly’s brother, Steven. Sometimes Conrad makes mistakes because of his lack of communication, which can make it seem like Jeremiah is the better choice for Belly at times. Briney understands that viewers may change their mind about who’s best for Belly, and it’s great to see someone root for the integrity of the story to remain the same. As someone who is firmly Team Conrad, Chris Briney was the perfect casting choice.
Casalengo, who plays Jeremiah, is someone who’s willing to work through their character’s mistakes. After it’s revealed that Jeremiah cheated on Belly while on spring break, it’s almost too easy for anyone who was unsure what team they were on before to quickly switch over to team Conrad. Not Casalengo, though. He is willing to look at the story from multiple angles, and he attempts to play his character in a way that shows Jeremiah truly has good intentions, even if that is overshadowed by colossal mistakes.
I’m a huge fan of the Summer series, both the books and the show, but if there’s one person who’s a bigger fan, it’s Jenny Han. As a showrunner, Han was able to have hands-on experience creating this adaptation, which allowed readers to see the scenes that we loved most from the books while introducing new plot lines. In season three, Han made her directorial debut for episode five, titled “Last Dance,” and it was incredible to see some of the most loved scenes from the book be portrayed on screen.
One thing I admire most about Han is her loyalty to the characters. Not every plot line from the books makes it into the show, and not every scene from the show is featured in the books, but Han never makes decisions that are out of character for Belly, Conrad, or Jeremiah. It’s nice to see the scenes that I’ve long loved finally have their moments on the big screen, and I loved being surprised by the new elements that Han added in. Season three somehow felt the most similar to the books, while simultaneously having so many new plot lines that the story felt fresh. I loved seeing Belly and Conrad spend time together in the summer house and watching her finally reconnect with herself in Paris. Belly’s study abroad journey brought the closure she needed to grow up and individuate, and I adored seeing that expansion in the show, since the books only hint at Belly’s study abroad experience. Han isn’t afraid to change things up, but she never abandons the characteristics that make up her cast.
It’s safe to say that I’m excited about the movie (which my friends and I have dubbed BellyConrad: The Movie) and I can’t wait to see where Han takes the story. From reading the books to watching the show, I feel like all the scenes are happening in the same world—not separated by “from the book” and “from the show”—and Han has crafted such a wonderful story with characters that feel real. This is definitely one of the best book to TV adaptations, and an absolute must read and watch!
Emersen Cooper, Pine Reads Review Writer and Editor
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I completely agree, and I love what you said about the soundtrack helping convey the narrator’s inner thoughts! This adaptation is so perfect, and I’m counting down the days to BellyConrad: The Movie!