One of the biggest shows at the moment is The Summer I Turned Pretty. This dramatic story of a love triangle where a girl, Belly (Lola Tung), has to pick between two brothers, Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), has captured young audiences. The television series, available on Amazon, is based on the novel trilogy that includes the books The Summer I Turned Pretty, It’s Not Summer Without You, and We’ll Always Have Summer. While the television series is not over yet, there are already some clear changes between the books and the television series. The basic plot is the same in both, but there are some changes in other places. This is par for the course when it comes to adaptations, and here are some of the notable changes when the books were brought to life.
How does the perspective change?
One thing that often changes in book to screen adaptations is the perspective in which the story is told. That mostly comes down to the fact that books and television are different mediums, so their stories are going to be told in different ways. In the books, the story is mostly told from Belly’s perspective. The first book is just her, the second book is her and Jeremiah, and the third book is from the perspective of her and Conrad. In the television series, while Belly is clearly the protagonist, there is more of a third person perspective. This gives room to flesh out some more characters and see other characters’ emotions clearly.
How does Jeremiah’s sexuality change?
A change in terms of character traits comes with Jeremiah’s sexuality. In the books, Jeremiah is straight, or at least perceived to be straight due to only mentioning relationships and attraction to women. However, that is changed in the television series. In the series, Jeremiah has mentioned women and men that he has hooked up with in one scene, and makes out with a guy in another scene. Jeremiah does not explicitly label his sexuality, as he just calls himself “equal opportunity”. Author Jenny Han has said she would have changed Jeremiah’s sexuality in the books if she wrote it today. It goes to show how representation is changing and getting better by the day.
Is the debutante ball different?
In season one of the television series, a big debutante ball serves as a major plot point. It brought some characters together, had beautiful dances, and was a large party that ended the season. The debutante ball also served as an important piece to the love triangle that the show is centered around. However, this was pretty different in the books. In fact, there wasn’t a debutante ball in the books. It was added just for the television series as a new big event that could be important for Belly’s growth. Not to mention that it served as a new and unique way to start some romantic drama.
Is Taylor different in the books?
In the television series, Taylor is Belly’s best friend who is always there for her. They may get in fights from time to time, but they stick together. However, despite the television series’ portrayal of this strong friendship, the friendship is not like how it was portrayed in the books. In fact, Taylor is only in the books in flashbacks, not as an actual character. Taylor and Belly had a falling out in the books so they are no longer friends. This is very different from the tight best friendship portrayed in the television series that has made Taylor a main character.
What are the characters that are original to the show?
While the majority of the characters in the television series come from the books, that is not the case for all of them. There were some important characters in the show that did not exist in the books. First of all, there is Conrad and Jeremiah’s Aunt Julia (Kyra Sedgwick), their mom Susannah’s half sister. The brothers do not know their non-nonsense aunt that well, but she attempts to help sell their cousins beach house after their mom dies. This creates a difficult situation for everyone. Another new character is her child Skye (Elsie Fisher), who is non-binary. They are a little socially awkward and shy, but they are attempting to make friends in the summer. These characters may not be in the books, but they add a lot to the plot of the show.