#summer trilogy

[brightbeautifulthings]

"But just because you bury something, that doesn’t mean it stops existing. Those feelings, they’d been there all along. All that time. I had to just face it. He was a part of my DNA. I had brown hair and I had freckles and I would always have Conrad in my heart. He would inhabit just that tiny piece of it, the little-girl part that still believed in musicals, but that was it. That was all he got."

— Jenny Han, We’ll Always Have Summer

[jessread-s]

✩🌅🫧Series Review: * Love Triangle * Friends-to-lovers * YA contemporary When the release date for the television adaptation of Jenny Han’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” was announced, I knew that I needed to read the series before watching each episode on prime video! I am so glad that my best friend @sarah.bee.123 recommended the books to me, because I cannot imagine summer without them! Han truly has a way with words. Throughout each book, she forms connections between her characters and her readers, making it all the more painful when they suffer deep losses or experience heartbreak. The more time I spent with Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah at Cousins Beach, the more I felt a part of their world. I am so excited to see Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah on the screen for the first time! If you have not yet read this devastatingly beautiful trilogy, it is essential that you do so! Summer is coming on June 17 😎 ➤ The Summer I Turned Pretty: 4.5 stars ➤ It’s Not Summer Without You: 4.5 stars ➤ We’ll Always Have Summer: 4.5 stars ➤ Overall Series Rating: 4.5 stars

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

@thesummeriturnedpretty​

[kumishona]

Alright y'all, let's do this.

Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022)

(no major spoilers!)

If you missed my long hate-rant about the book, here you are.

Jenny Han is a great contemporary author, I just feel like the book focused on the wrong (and often problematic) themes, and therefore didn't age well. Naturally, I was excited about the 2022 Amazon Prime adaptation for that reason—I binged it in one go, and I wasn’t disappointed!

What I disliked:

🥀 There's nothing particularly special or distinctly high-budget about the show (perhaps other than the marketing)—It definitely has that same old teen drama ambience with a generic original background music score, and sometimes doesn’t linger long enough on important scenes. The flashbacks are kinda eh because the characters just look like adults dressed like kids, so I'm glad they kept those to a minimum. (Some book fans were disappointed but tbh most of the flashbacks in the book were just depictions of Belly being bullied by the boys and then idolizing them for the bare minimum.)

🥀 Love triangles involving siblings are just icky, okay? I was hoping they'd tone it down a little in the show, maybe limit it to just a confession scene, some chaste and awkward dating, and then a heartbreaking rejection for the second lead, but ohhhhh no. ಠ_ಠ

🥀 Y'all ... it should be ILLEGAL for teen shows to depict PARENTS having sex or steamy makeouts. Look, I fully respect that all parents are individuals with their own lives, sexuality, et cetera outside of their roles as parents, but even for me as a grown adult it’s uncomfortable and traumatizing to watch, okay? WHY is it necessary??

🥀 It's looking like they're going to bring out further seasons, but man I hate the icky trash-drama plots of the sequels. I hope they heavily diverge from that, but really I wish they'd neatly wrapped up in one season while they were still ahead.

Okay, onto things I liked 💫:

🌻 THE CASTING?? The books made it seem like everyone was white, but the show is sooo inclusive! They made Laurel, Steven and Belly Korean-American just like Han, which I appreciated so much. ❣️ They're all amazing actors, perfect for each role and really brought the characters to life.

🌻 There's so much more content about the parents! (Aside from the unnecessary makeout/sex scenes) Laurel is an author (!! like Han!) and Susannah is an artist. The dads are around, too, and we get to learn so much about all the adults' dynamic!

🌻 BISEXUAL JEREMIAH! BISEXUAL JEREMIAH, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!! This was so perfect for his golden retriever-like character, like a missing puzzle piece. 💖💜💙 There's also a side-character sapphic couple, and a bi middle-aged man main character. The queer inclusion is perfect and never feels artificial.

🌻 THE MUSIC SELECTION?! Sooo high-budget and inclusive of POC and queer artists: Lots of Taylor Swift, plus Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Baby Queen, HAIM, Japanese Breakfast, Phoebe Bridgers, BLACKPINK, Bon Iver, Matt Maltese, Doja Cat, Hayley Kyoko, Tame Impala, and so many others. Amazon Prime does such a phenomenal job of matching specific lyrics and vibes to a scene, but again sometimes the fade-in/-out is abrupt, probably because of screentime limits.

🌻 THE BOYS AREN’T ASSHOLES!! Applauds wildly Steven is sometimes bossy, insecure and mean, but he's quick to see sense and apologise. Jeremiah is only reasonably protective and rarely immature; for the most part he's so, so selfless and adoring. The show does a MILES better job in portraying Conrad NOT as a selfish asshole, but as a usually gentle and attentive person who is very bothered (for GOOD reasons) and not himself this summer. He doesn't have the headspace to indulge in serious romantic pursuits, but his emotions often get the better of him and he acts impulsively, letting people down. He eventually realises his wrongdoings and always makes proper amends. Cam is the gentleman he always is, and the other boys respect that—any jibes they initially make at him are significantly more light-hearted. Toxic masculinity is NOT romanticised like it is in the book.

🌻 Belly is the exact character I wanted in the books. She knows what she wants—personal growth and respect from others. AND she stands up for herself several times. She is not a pick-me girl and calls out bullshit. Most of all, she doesn't mistreat Cam.

🌻 Women in general are portrayed better. There are many complex teen girls in the series, all with their own individual backgrounds. Taylor and Belly have their fights but then they talk things out like real friends. It's really refreshing and more accurate to real life.

🌻 New scenes were added with all the important conversations and communication between the characters that never happened in the book. It made the series so much more comforting and wholesome, and didn't leave me with that uneasy feeling.

🌻 The new plotline additions were highly appreciated! They're nothing ultra-original, but they subtly enriched the narrative and removed the overly serious focus on the romance that the book had.

🌻 The theme (or at least, one of the major themes) was the correct one!—That all teen girls (and anyone!) deserve to feel both pretty and independant whenever they want to, regardless of what they look like, what they're wearing, where they are. This does not make them less worthy of respect, and is not an excuse to infantilise or dismiss them. A true coming-of-age.

🌻 The summery beach setting really is soothing and lovely. 🌅

🌻 This time, I totally shipped Belly with whoever the show was going for. The sparks were there, and it felt warm and bright. It just worked and made sense, every time. They definitely did that part right. ✨

That's all from me, folks! It's not a must-watch show by any means, but definitely more worth your time than the book, especially since Jenny Han was involved in the writing process. 🌸 Have fun!

[booksaremyadventures]

“Would you rather live one perfect day over and over or live your life with no perfect days but just decent ones?” - The Summer I Turned Pretty

By Jenny Han

I find a lot a beauty in the decent days. What about you?

[thesetrappedwords]

Nothing beats my favorite summer trilogy

[brightbeautifulthings]

"'It's not all of a sudden,' he said, his eyes locked on mine. 'It's always.'"

— Jenny Han, We’ll Always Have Summer

[brightbeautifulthings]

"That’s when I finally got it. I finally understood. It wasn’t the thought that counted. It was the actual execution that mattered, the showing up for somebody. The intent behind it wasn’t enough. Not for me. Not anymore. It wasn’t enough to know that deep down, he loved me. You had to actually say it to somebody, to show them that you cared."

— Jenny Han, It’s Not Summer Without You

[jessread-s]

✩🐚🌸Review: “The Summer I Turned Pretty” was recommended to me by a friend and I am so glad I decided to read it during my summer break! I absolutely love Han’s writing! The content in the first book of the "Summer” trilogy is easy to relate to and humorous at times. Each chapter is short and breezy, alternating between the past and the present. A lot of the past memories were triggered by present moments, establishing connections. Han’s choice to write her chapters in this way allows the reader to feel as though they are growing up with Belly and experiencing her full range of emotions—the sadness she feels as a result of her parents’ divorce, the annoyance she feels when she is not noticed by others, the fear she feels for Susannah, and the love she feels for her childhood friend Conrad. Han really knows how to capture what a first love is like. She first establishes the friendship Belly has with Conrad. Han then details the exact moment Belly starts to develop feelings for him and how those feelings grow in a span of years. Belly tries to move on with other men, but fails when she can’t get her first love off of her mind, making the words on the page all the more realistic. Towards the novel’s end, Jeremiah, Conrad’s younger brother, throws a wrench in Belly’s plans with a shocking a confession of his own. Torn between her love for both of the Fisher boys, Belly’s next summer at the beach house is about to get complicated…and interesting! ➤ 4.5 stars

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

@thesummeriturnedpretty​