Billie reviews: The Summer I Turned Pretty.
I’ll be honest, I’m a sucker for any teen TV series. Gossip Girl, The OC, Riverdale - you name it, I’ve binged it.
So when I heard about The Summer I Turned Pretty I was immediately on board.
And then I heard it was adapted from a book by the same author (Jenny Han) as To All the Boys I’ve Loved and I was double sold. Because those are the only decent original movies Netflix has ever made. Change my mind, I dare you.
Disclaimer: if you hate cheesy teenage romance, read no further. This is NOT for you.
Quick synopsis:
The story follows Belly (Isabel) during her summer holiday, coincidentally the one where she “turned pretty”. Turns out this involved merely ditching her glasses and braces so you know, HUGE transformation 😂
As with every other summer in her lifetime, she travels to the beautiful seaside town of Cousins with her brother and mother, to stay with their very best (and very rich) family friends Susannah, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher.
Naturally she is now all grown up, having celebrated Sweet 16 and the Fisher brothers are starting to take notice… but of course there is only one Belly.
At the risk of ruining anything else, I will not divulge any further plot of the series but let’s just say there’s a whole lot of love, longing, and drama.
Of course, like any teen-based content, this was full of cheesy moments and for some reason really raunchy make out scenes. Like has anyone ever had a first kiss that full-on?
But when it comes to any teen show/movie, I’m willing to overlook any cheese and cringe because that’s what I signed up for when I turned it on. And after six seasons of Riverdale, everything else looks boring in comparison. P.S. Can anyone give me a simple breakdown of season six?!
Probably the best parts of it are:
1. The friendship between Belly’s Mum Laurel and the boy’s mum Susannah. I love any depiction of a rock-solid, ride-or-die female friendship and I aspire to have a friend like that when I’m their age.
2. The boys - will she choose broody Conrad, absolute delight Jeremiah or sweet Cam Cameron? You’ll have to watch to find out…
Honestly this show was such a lovely escape from reality. Beautiful people, lovely scenery and multiple love stories made it a welcome distraction from real life. I managed to watch all seven episodes over three nights, however if I didn’t have to do boring things like work or sleep I would have watched it all in one go.
As this was originally a book, I thought it would only be fair that I read it and compared the two.
In terms of sticking to the book plot, there are definite similarities such as the characters and of course the love triangle however there was plenty that happened on the show that doesn’t happen in the books - as far as i’m aware. I’m still desperately seeking the second book in the trilogy to find out what happens next, however every bookshop I’ve visited only has the third.
I think comparing the first book to the first season is a bit like comparing apples and oranges and that you should probably just binge both immediately haha.
I rate it 5 Mickey Mouse Pancakes out of 5 Mickey Mouse Pancakes.
The Summer I Turned Pretty is available to watch now on Prime Video.