The Summer I Turned Pretty is all about those early teen summer nights that seemed endless. A time when romance hangs in the air and all things are possible. Jenny Han’s YA series chronicles the adventures of the young Belly as she navigates the terrain of youth. Belly measures her life in summers, where all of life’s important moments happen between the months of June and August. The boys who were like brothers to Belly when she was younger are now becoming her crushes.
During the summer Belly’s life revolves around Jeremiah and Conrad, and the beach house where her family spends their summer vacation is an entire universe unto itself. One where the soul-sucking realities of non-summer life–like the awful Susanna–can’t touch her. As far as Belly is concerned, winters are simply a purgatory to be endured until the next summer rolls around and life begins anew.
The Summer I Turned Pretty centers around Belly’s love triangle between the brothers Jeremy and Conrad. The sweetness of first love, lessons in young heartbreak, and the relationship between mother and daughter are seen through the lens of Belly’s relationship with the brothers throughout a magical and formative summer.
Coming Soon To Amazon
Author Jenny Han signed a deal with Amazon for an 8-part series based on the books. Han wrote the pilot script and will also serve as showrunner and executive producer. For Han, this series adaptation has been a long time coming. Lionsgate originally optioned the rights to The Summer I Turned Pretty back in 2013, but the deal never came to fruition.
In a statement to Deadline about Amazon adaptation, Han says,
“The Summer I Turned Pretty is many years in the making, and I’m so excited to tell Belly’s story in 2021. For the longtime book fans, I think it will have been worth the wait. For those newly discovering the Summer series, I hope you fall in love with these characters and this place that is so dear to my heart.”
Now Amazon is getting it done, and so far 2021 has seen plenty of pre-production momentum building. Deadline announced the primary cast list this July and it’s full of up-and-coming stars as well as a few newcomers. Lola Tung is cast in the lead role of Belly, Rachel Blanchard will play the dreaded Susanna. Christopher Briney will play Belly’s first love interest, Conrad, and Gavin Casalegno will play the popular boy Jeremiah. Jackie Chung is cast as Belly’s mom, Laurel.
The supporting cast includes actress Rain Spencer (The Super Man), Summer Madison (Teenage Bounty Hunters), David Iacono (The Good Doctor), and Tom Everett Scott (La La Land). Additionally, Sean Kauffman (Manifest) and Alfredo Narciso (The Dark Tower) are cast alongside newcomer Minnie Mills.
Jenny Han, Author Of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Series
Jenny Han broke through with her #1 New York Times Bestselling series To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. The current Amazon adaptation of Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty is not her first venture into film adaptations of her work. In 2018, Netflix adapted her To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series as three feature films, all of which she executive produced. Han is the author of three YA trilogies and two children’s books. The former librarian received an MFA in creative writing from The New School and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Patrick Salway is a writer, musician, and actor living in Los Angeles. Follow him on social media @blone_noble and @veneer_publications. Listen to VENEER.
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