The Summer I Turned Pretty

The popular book series by the name The Summer I Turned Pretty was made into a movie series on June 17, 2022. Different viewers had multiple different opinions on the rising series. The series follows the main character, Belly, throughout her summer. Belly goes through love, heartbreak, and most of all drama. But this summer is different from all her other summers; Belly is now grown up, she’s much more mature and this is her first summer as a developed teenager. 

Belly, the protagonist, goes through lots of ups and downs throughout both the book and the show. While they are similar to one another, there are some great differences that occur. The show struggles to show Belly’s point of view and the relationship between the characters. In the book, Conrad’s (one of Belly’s crushes) thoughts and point of view are shown. On the other hand, the movie only conveys Belly’s inner thoughts (third person limited). Conrad, who is struggling with keeping the secret of his mum having cancer from his other siblings, falls in love with Belly but does not want to hurt her. He knows that he’s not good enough for her, but Belly wants him more than anything. The show fails to portray Conrad’s loving feelings towards Belly. Another factor the show miscommunicates is the characters. In the show, they are seen as sloppy, drinking every so often and getting drunk every other evening. In the book, however, the characters are illustrated as more responsible teenagers. 

Amid these technicalities, I believe that the show is impressive. The acting, the words, and the setting were just right. I also think that the actors did a great job with the acting. Lastly, if I were to change anything in the show, I would add more character points of view, and make the characters less sloppy. I would’ve also added some of the additional details found in the book. For example, in the book, Belly wrote a secret love letter to her lifelong crush; the movie doesn’t include this.

In conclusion, many viewers who reviewed the series online were disappointed with the show and how different it was from the book. According to my observations, the viewers either love or hate the show. As a fan, I hope that the upcoming season will surprise us, and be better than the last.