The New York Times Best Seller, The Summer I Turned Pretty, is coming to the silver-screen sometime in the near future! The novel is by Jenny Han, the author of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. The beloved Isabella “Belly” Colkin is followed through the summers of her life. She talks through her self discoveries, her friendships, and more importantly her love life. Belly and her family spends the summers with Susannah, her mother’s best friend, and her family. Susannah has two sons, both of which have played both brother figures, as well as love interests in her life. The story follow Belly the summer everything changes.
Release Date
Although a formal release date is yet to come, according to Jenny Han’s Instagram stories, we should be expecting the show to release in late 2021 or early 2022. The first season is currently in production. Jenny Han has been posting updates with shooting locations. She’s also been providing a space for readers to ask questions about different aspects of the show.
Casting
Belly will be played by Lola Tung. Lola Tung is a newcomer to the screen but fits the role of Belly perfectly. Lola’s Instagram handle is @lola.tung. Christopher Briney will be playing Conrad Fisher, one of Susannah’s sons, and Susannah will be played by Rachel Blanchard. Gavin Casalegno will play Jeremiah Fisher, the other of Susannah’s two sons. Jackie Chung will be playing Laurel, Belly’s mother. Steven, Belly’s brother will be played by Sean Kaufman. More updates will be given on both Amazon’s Prime Video Instagram and The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Instagram. The Instagram handle for The Summer I Turned Pretty is @thesummeriturnedpretty.
The Books
There are 3 in total to this series. All of them focus around the lives of all the afore mentioned characters. The books take place over a span of 3 years in which Belly goes from 15 to 18. It is a classic “teen drama” with grief and heartbreak. The books take place in a multitude of places, but each summer is spent on Cousins Beach. Belly continues to grow and flourish through the series. The books keep the plot line running by providing strategic plot twists for the reader to discover. It is a page turner.
My Thoughts on the Series
I absolutely adored the book series and am excited to see what Jenny Han comes up with for this show. She did a phenomenal job with the To All the I’ve Loved Before series. I hope to see certain scenes taken line by line from the book. Since there is greater amounts of screen time than the average film, I hope it is utilized so that we are actually able to see all the events that made the books what they were. Some stills have been released for public viewing on the Instagram page, but details are sparse. Hopefully more concrete answers start to come in. Something I’m excited for is being able to see the characters and how they develop. Over all the novels were amazing, and I can’t wait to see what is done with the show!
