Season 2 ofThe Summer I Turned Prettyis coming out on Prime Video on July 14. Following the success of the book series of the same name, the first season was also a hit. Like many other book adaptations, there are some aspects of the story that transfer right from the page to the screen, but with that come some inevitable differences.
The story is about a young girl named Belly and the summers shespends at Cousins Beachwith her family and their close family friends, the Fishers. Belly and her brother, Steven, along with their mother, Laurel, have stayed with Susannah and her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah every summer for as long as the kids can remember. For almost as long, Belly has had an undeniable love for Conrad and both the book and movie start during the summer things could finally change between them.
This summer, Belly has grown up and despite being the baby of the group, finally starts to feel like more of an adult. Since the baby is finally growing up, things begin to change at the summer house. Her absence isn’t the only thing different this summer, though. Throughout the course of the first season and first book, it is slowly revealed that Susannah’s cancer is back and that she and her husband are getting divorced, putting insurmountable strain on the boys. While the general plot follows the same story, there are some places where the show veers off the written path.
10New Perspective
The first big difference between the book and the show is that we are no longer listening to Belly exclusively. In the book, readers see Cousins through Belly’s eyes, and while it was effective in the book for understanding her as the main character, the removal of it in the series allowed for other characters and plots to develop naturally. Belly is still the main character in the series, but unlike the book, she is not the only character with feelings and explanations of those feelings. This extension of the plot could possibly allow the books to go on for more than three seasons since there are only three books.
9Deeper Characters
Because Belly doesn’t have to narrate and be in every scene in the show, smaller characters in the book got a huge story upgrade in the show. The biggest transformation from the book to the series is Belly’s mom, Laurel. In the book we only know Belly doesn’tunderstand her mom, so we don’t really get to either. Her personality and humanity are put on display in the series, showing that despite her growth, Belly still has a lot of growing to do before she can understand her mother is just a person too.
Related:The Summer I Turned Pretty: Best Moments of Season 1, Ranked
With that, viewers see Laurel in her professional and personal life as an author, friend, and romantic interest. In the series, Laurel is an author who goes through some very genuine ups and downs that come with being a writer. The series also allows Laurel and Susannah’s friendship to be fleshed out so much more because most of their real moments happen while Belly is off doing something else. Seeing Laurel and Susannah’s relationship play out makes Laurel a much more understandable and lovable character. Laurel also experiences love after divorce in the series with a fellow author who wasn’t even in the book, Cleveland Castillo.
The other character who has a huge expectedly character arc in the series is Belly’s brother, Steven. In the book, Steven is Belly’s taunting older brother who insists on leaving Belly out of his trio with Jeremiad and Conrad before skipping out early in the summer to visit colleges with their dad. In the series, Steven still taunts and leaves Belly out, but he also works at the country club, develops a winning (and eventually losing) streak in poker, and gets a girlfriend.
8Plot Variations
There aresome small plot differences throughout the seriesthat make the story largely different from the one on the page. Some of these come from character additions and some from characters making different decisions than the book versions of themselves. In the book, Susannah doesn’t work on a painting of Conrad and Jeremiah. Truthfully, it probably wouldn’t have held the same weight reading about the painting as it does to see her paint them, but nonetheless, it’s a very heartfelt addition to the series.
In the book, nobody understands why Conrad is so different that summer, but in the series, it is obvious that he is trying to stay strong despite his mom’s cancer relapse and his anger towards his father. Cleveland, Laurel’s lover, is a character that helps Conrad through his emotions in the series.
Belly also doesn’t find Conrad’s birthday gift in the first book. In fact, readers don’t even know in the first book that Conrad secretly bought her a birthday gift as they do in the show. This leads to Belly’s realization that Conrad loves her back, leading to another difference in the book and series plots. Belly and Conrad get together in the first season, but not in the first book. After finding the necklace he got her for her birthday, Conrad and Belly have an iconic romantic scene on the beach that ends in an epic movie-magic kiss. Speaking of kisses, in the book, Jeremiah is Belly’s first kiss, but that fact is left vague in the series.
7Flashbacks
In the book, there are flashbacks between each chapter, revealing the backstories of details mentioned in the book. In fact, Belly’s friend Taylor only exists in flashbacks in the book. In the series, characters refer to the past and that’s how viewers learn more about backstory, but it’s seriously lacking in comparison to the amount of backstory and flashbacks in the book. It’s an interesting decision not to include as many flashbacks in the series because they’re not complicated to plug into a show, and would possibly provide more perspective into different characters' lives since Belly isn’t the central narrator in the series.
6Taylor and Belly
Taylor isn’t afan-favorite characterin the book or the series, but she has at least a few redeeming moments in the series. In the book, Taylor is left in the past. She is seen in flashbacks, where she puts Belly down and makes her feel weird about herself. She visits Belly at Cousins one summer in both the series and the book, and neither goes very well.
In the book, her visit is in the past, while in the series it’s in the present. In both, she flirts with Conrad and Jeremiah, leaving Belly out in the process, and eventually kisses her brother, Steven. In the book, Taylor and Belly never truly recover from the fight that ensues after Taylor kisses Steven. In the series, it opens up a dialogue about their friendship where they both discuss what they need in their friendship and Taylor gets it together as a friend afterward. Despite her questionable behaviors, since Taylor and Belly make up in the series, there is a possibility she will return in Season 2 and grow a little.
5The Debutante Ball
The Debutante Ball is a huge plot addition to the series. Not only did Belly not participate in a debutante ball in the book, but there wasn’t even one at Cousins. The Debutante Ball introduced a lot of tension and tied a lot of the new series plots together at the end, including Steven and his girlfriend, Susannah’s secret, Belly’s growth, and her relationship with Conrad. The Debutante Ball was also a very clear depiction of Belly becoming a woman. In the book, readers were privy to Belly growing up because they were inside her head, but in the series, the ball helped viewers understand who Belly was and who she had become.
4Jeremiah’s Sexuality
Jeremiah is the golden retriever of characters inThe Summer I Turned Pretty. He is funny, flirtatious, a good friend, and sweet to his mom. He is the character that is most similar on the page and on screen but with a big difference: his sexuality.
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In the series, Jeremiah is bisexual and more actively flirtatious. His more-present flirtatiousness in the series could be due to the shift in perspective, but in the book, he only dates girls. Despite him being straight in the book, it makes total sense that in the series, which came out in a different era, he could be bisexual. This is supported in the book by Jeremiah calling out Taylor for calling Conrad gay for not wanting to play a game. He might be straight in the book, but he’s definitely an ally.
3Cam and Belly’s Relationship
While Belly is trying to get over Conrad, she meets Cam. In the same way in the book and series, Belly and Cam met at a Latin competition in eighth grade, and he remembers her when they meet again in Cousins because he thought she was pretty when they first met. This means a lot to Belly because she didn’t realize she was pretty until this summer.
After their meeting,things differ from the book to the series. The biggest variation in their relationship is how much more present Cam is in the book and how they break up. In the book, Cam is always around and interacts with Conrad and Jeremiah much more than in the series. Also in the book, Cam breaks up with Belly when he realizes she doesn’t feel the same way he does about her and that she is in love with Conrad. He leaves it open-ended in hopes she’ll choose him. In the series, Belly breaks up with Cam because she realizes her feelings for Conrad are never going to go away.
2Content Changes
Thebook is much more of a YA fictionthan the series. In the series, Conrad smokes weed instead of cigarettes. which holds the same effect but feels more grown up. There is also a lot more drinking and kissing in the series than in the book. In the series, Belly gets drunk on the Fourth of July and there is more drinking at parties. Additionally, the series has several steamy kisses whereas the series has a few pecks and a rejected suggestion of skinny dipping.
1The Ending
The ending varies between the book and the series heavily. At the end of the first season, Conrad and Belly are together, Susannah decides to do an experimental treatment, and everyone’s emotions are high. At the end of the first book, Susannah is adamant about not seeking treatment and Belly is not concretely with anyone. The series and the book both end on a cliffhanger, but the series’ cliffhanger feels much more optimistic than that of the book. Despite the optimistic nature of the season finale, the previews for the second season seem to align more closely with the book: Conrad and Belly are on the outs and Susannah passed away.
To see what happens next, readIt’s Not Summer Without Youand watch Season 2 ofThe Summer I Turned Prettyon Prime Video starting July 14.
