Originally based on novels written by Jenny Han, ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ has
been turned into a new Amazon Prime show, and people seem to be loving it. With Lola
Tung playing the main quirky character, Belly Conklin, the show revolves around a girl
trying to navigate through her summer, boys, and even family. The directors and
producers do a wonderful job making the book come to life, and viewers can’t seem to
get enough of it.
The Prime show follows Belly, a teenage girl whose family and her stay in a beach
house with family friends each summer. The family friends consist of her mom’s best
friend, and her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. The two families have seen their
children grow up together, and form a close bond. This first season of the show shows
Belly in the summer right before she turns 16, and everyone in her life seems to come
to the realization that Belly isn’t a kid anymore.
With this realization follows the new realization of feelings. Belly has always had a
childhood crush on Conrad, and it seems like this summer she is ready to either
confront those feelings, or move on. At the same time, Jeremiah has always had a
crush on Belly, and he seems ready to finally act on those feelings. Without giving out
too many spoilers, we see the childhood friends try to navigate through their feelings for
one another.
All in all, the show does a great job encapsulating Belly and her coming of age story.
From showing what it’s like when all your friends start drinking, to talking about sex, the
show is able to properly portray what it’s like being a teenager. In addition to that, the
show also does a good job when it comes to keeping things modern and ‘with the
times.’ Although the books were published back in 2009, the show is more evolved and
keeps up with current trends such as fashion, music, and slang.
If you are looking for a good summer show to watch, I highly recommend ‘The Summer
I Turned Pretty.’ It’s an easy watch, plus it’s entertaining!
