Jenny Han’s summer love story The Summer I Turned Pretty has finally been transformed from a novel to a book, and I for one could not be more excited about it. It captures the story of a perfect summer and an equally perfect love triangle.
The show follows the main character Belly or Isabella (played by Lola Tung) as she returns to her childhood friends house for summer. All is exactly the same except for the fact that Belly is now grown up and wants to have the best summer of her life (and also get her first boyfriend).
While the show does stray from the novel, with the introduction of Belly attending a debutante ball, this story line fits in well. It adds to Belly’s character development as this summer is about her becoming a new version of herself. The love triangle itself is definitely a key part of what makes the show so great. Brothers Conrad and Jeremiah (played by Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno) are so opposite, that we could ship Belly with either one of them. Trust me, there are a lot of reasons why each brother should or should not be with Belly.
Apart from the main plot of the love triangle, the show delves into deeper topics like overcoming insecurities and shines a light on the parents’ stories and feelings which differs from other romcoms out right now. Also unlike other teen shows out right now like Riverdale and Outer Banks, The Summer I turned Pretty strays further from absurdity and focuses on more realistic and simpler things that make a summer great, like hanging out with friends or falling in love with your first crush.
The show provides an endless bucket list of things to do, like going to a bonfire party, going for a drive and hanging out with friends at the beach. Not to mention the soundtrack is the perfect summer driving playlist with nearly all of Taylor Swift’s discography as well as songs from Olivia Rodrigo and The Bleachers. The first episode opens with Mr. Blue Sky by the Electric Light Orchestra which complements the growing up montage at the beginning exceptionally well.
While it’s still winter in Australia and summer isn’t for a few months, The Summer I Turned Pretty gives you the ultimate escape to a classic American summer and lets us look forward to the warmer months while we’re all freezing our socks off.
You can watch The Summer I Turned Pretty on Amazon prime.
READ MORE: Why Greta Gerwig’s Barbie Movie Is Going To Be Extremely Iconic