Why The Summer I Turned Pretty is your ultimate summer series

You dipped your toe in the pool (and sighed with relief because the water was almost bath temperature warm), refilled your glass of rosé, and placed a bowl of olives on the table. It’s officially summer, and sometimes a series you can watch together fits in even more than a thick book. Not one full of dark plot twists or dystopian worlds, but one where your heart gently dances on the waves of love, nostalgia, and doubt. Let The Summer I Turned Pretty be exactly that. I’m so addicted that I watch while slicing the tomatoes for the bruschette all’ pomodorini. And if you were on the plane with me last Tuesday and saw me trying to push my tears back into their tear ducts; that was all because of the last episode of the first season of The Summer I Turned Pretty.

The Summer I Turned Pretty: the story that changed everything

The magic begins when Belly – Isabel Conklin for those who want to keep it formal – spends her summer again at Cousins Beach. In a house where you also want to live from now on, she spends the summer every year with her mother and her brother. In that house lives Susannah, the best friend  of her mother along with her exceptionally good-looking sons Conrad and Jeremiah. But this summer, not only is Belly different, her braces are gone, and her glasses have been replaced by contacts. Beneath the surface of many parties and traditions lies a great sadness. Conrad and Jeremiah suddenly see Belly with different eyes. For Belly, who has had a crush on Conrad for years, this is confusing, intense, and… also somewhat treacherously nice.

What starts as a coming-of-age love story quickly becomes a layered mix of family ties, sadness, and growing up, and, well, how life goes. And all of that in a setting where you also want to pack a suitcase immediately.

Why this summer series works so well

There are plenty of teen dramas, but The Summer I Turned Pretty has the perfect mix of recognition (didn’t we all have our own Conrad?), romance, and melancholy. Sure, there are quite a few continuity errors, and I found some things quite strange. For example, a charity football tournament is almost stretched into an episode, and the SPOILERALERT death of Susannah suddenly becomes a flashback at the beginning of season 2. And also strange; Susannah and Laurel go out old-school but have no money with them. They then decide to apply the old trick and flirt with men. We see Susannah, quite intensely erotic, kissing a random pub mate, but whether that payment problem gets solved, we don’t see. But hey, I forgive it all because it’s such a series that you want to have fluttering around you all day. The pace is slow enough to daydream, but sharp enough to give you a new reason to keep watching with each episode.

Jenny Han (yes, the one from To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before) knows damn well how to touch the hearts of young women (and their mothers obviously). Her stories are not polished or over-the-top – they are honest, vulnerable, and captivating.

Season 2: deeper, rawer, more emotional

In season 2, we see an older Belly. Still searching, still in love, but also more in charge. Her relationship with Jeremiah gains a new layer, and the friction with Conrad becomes even more complex. As Belly struggles with her choices, old secrets come to light. And then those musical moments… The trailer with Taylor Swift’s Back to December (Taylor’s Version)? The music choice is simply deliciously good.

For those who have read It’s Not Summer Without You (the second book): the season stays true to the core but gives just enough of its own interpretation to still surprise you. And Jeremiah and Conrad, they are so handsome that you wouldn’t have dared to fantasize about them like that. What I also find so good about the series is that it all feels very ‘real’. Belly is a beauty, but not a Doutzen. The house is stunning and large, but Belly still shares a bathroom with Conrad, Jeremiah, and her brother Steven.

Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty: more episodes, more drama

Season 3 is based on the last book by Jenny Han, We’ll Always Have Summer. Prime Video gives us 11 episodes – the most of all. And honestly: we need them. Because this season has to bring everything to a climax.

Belly is now studying at Finch University and is officially with Jeremiah. But as fans of the book know: love is rarely that simple. Conrad is still deep in her heart, and his feelings don’t seem to have faded yet.

Is Belly really going for the security of Jeremiah, or does her future lie with the unpredictable Conrad? The expectations are high, and the tissues are already ready. I’m on the plane again tomorrow, and the new episodes (Prime serves a fresh episode every week) are downloaded on my iPad.

Source: Ziggo | Image: Courtesy of Erika Doss/Prime Video