9 Reasons Why You Should Watch The Summer I Turned

Grab your beach towels as it is time to check in at Cousins Beach.

The second season of Prime Video’s hit series, The Summer I Turned Pretty, is fastly approaching.

If you aren’t already tuned into this series, and what it’s about, we have all the reasons why you should give this book-to-screen adaptation a chance if you haven’t already.

Whether you’re a teen romance or family drama fan, love a great playlist, have a soft spot for Taylor Swift, or need something to fill the void of Virgin River or binge alongside Sweet Magnolias, The Summer I Turned Pretty has it all.

Check out why we think you should check out this series!

1. Balances Young Adult Romance, Family Drama, and Coming of Age Well

Dismissing The Summer, I Turned Pretty as just another young adult romance series about a love triangle would be a massive disservice to the gorgeous storytelling within the book series and the show itself.

On its surface, The Summer I Turned Pretty is a coming-of-age story about a teenage girl who discovers herself, love, and what it means to grow into young adulthood during her coveted summers at Cousins Beach with her family and her mother’s best friend.

But it’s so much more than just that. The series balances a young adult romance and coming-of-age story with a heartrending family and multigenerational drama.

Isabel “Belly” Conklin is at the center of this tale, and who the audience follows as we meet all these characters through her eyes and follow her story. Still, her world expands to all these rich characters, from her family and friends to her romantic prospects and more.

The series is just as much about her mother, Laurel, and a deep friendship between Laurel and Susannah, as it is about Belly and the complicated feelings that arise when Susannah’s sons, the two brothers she grew up alongside every summer, also stir up complex, romantic feelings as the trio is deep in the throes of adolescence.

It also follows the complex family dynamics of the Conklins and the Fishers as separate entities and the special fond family they’ve formed through Laurel and Susannah’s half-a-lifetime friendship.

We follow things like Laurel dipping into dating again after splitting with Belly’s father, the strain of infidelity and secrets in a marriage, illness, family secrets, falling short of high expectations, and so much more.

It’s a wonderfully woven tale of various components, making it a series that appeals to people of all ages, lifestyles and spans genres.

2. Profoundly Strong Depiction of Female Friendship

The best aspect of this series is how this is explored on so many different levels, and we have women and teen girls alike who can pass the Bechdel test.

We see what female friendship looks like at two different stages, from Belly and Taylor’s tight-knit bond that faces its share of obstacles but always perseveres to the soulmate-like bond between Laurel and Susannah, without which none of the stories is even possible.

Belly and Taylor are wildly different in many ways, yet the series and the characters celebrate that in one another without any type of shaming.

The two girls have space for conversations that feel authentic to what you’d expect from real teenage girls without implying that their interests, goals, and discussions are frivolous.

They challenge each other and hold one another accountable while supporting each other.

And we certainly see that to the highest degree with Laurel and Susannah.

In many ways, the two women are total opposites in a way that feels akin to the leads in Beaches; ironically enough, they have such a rich, storied background that bleeds through in their every interaction.

They feel like real women, and their friendship feels that way too, what you’d expect from women in their 40s who’ve gone through many ups and downs in life but still manage to be fun, entertaining, loving, supportive, amusing, and more.

In many ways, the friendship between Laurel and Susannah is at the very heart of the series as we watch these two women, who are very much actual soulmates, create and affect this beautiful world around them.

The positive depiction of strong and authentic female friendships could bring you to tears and make you laugh from one second to the next.

3. The Phenomenal, Specially Curated Soundtrack

It’s not often that any project can just have full access to and the blessing of musical juggernaut Taylor Swift.

We know how rare it is for the creative to tie herself to anything, but the fact that this series can have such a symbiotic connection to Taylor Swift and her music is frankly iconic.

The internet sets ablaze with unreleased versions and all sorts of special content related to Swift through trailers and scenes in the series.

The storytelling very much matches with musical storytelling that takes place in Swift’s songs or captures the magic of her videos, or evokes a similar vibe of what can only be described as The Taylor Swift Experience.

And yet, The Summer I Turned Pretty Soundtrack expands beyond tapping into the diehard devotion of Swifties.

You can find some of the hottest chart-topping hits from many artists, obscure Indie bops, and even some classics sprinkled throughout, making the discography of this series one of the best in the game.

4. Truly Evokes Summer Vibes

Everything about The Summer I Turned Pretty feels like summer.

From the coloring, shots, the local, every aspect of the cinematography, and more, it feels like summertime. The series succeeds in transporting you to a world of sandy beaches, sea breezes, sunhats, shorts, bikinis, and icy cold drinks.

Every touch of the series, from costuming, cinematography, hair, and music, fully captures the vibe, making this series the perfect beach binge or something to cling to in the brisk days of autumn or dreary days of winter when you’re chasing after the feeling of the sun on your face and sand between your toes.

5. Impressive Book-to-Screen Adaptation

There’s no shortage of book-to-screen adaptations happening these days, and the consensus is that one would rather read the books than watch the series or film.

But similarly to the other Jenny Han book adaptations, Netflix’s To All The Boys franchise, including XO, Kitty, and The Summer I Turned Pretty, feels like an adaptation that pays homage to the book series while also making itself distinct from the books and sometimes even elevating it.

Much of this is due to the fact that the author, Han, herself is the showrunner and executive producer of the series, and she also makes a cameo as well.

The series takes full advantage of the chance to expand on its storytelling through television form.

It allows specific plot points to breathe a bit more, adding more depth to things in a way that naturally happens when one can see the vision onscreen rather than in one’s imagination.

And there’s room to add more depth to the characters and change things up a bit.

Namely, things like Jeremiah’s bisexuality, expanding on female characters like Taylor and even Laurel and providing us with more than just Belly’s perspective on everything.

6. Well-Balanced Love Triangle

Love triangles are an everyday staple these days; sometimes they work, and other times they do not.

While we’re not reinventing the wheel here with this one, this love triangle is satisfying because there are genuinely solid bonds with both suitors.

While we know that Belly has always had a crush on Conrad over the years, it doesn’t exactly mean that he has the upper hand in the love triangle out of the gate as it would in most series.

Belly has unique relationships with each of the Fisher brothers, both of them bringing out different sides of her and holding their own in bringing something vital to Belly’s life.

You can genuinely understand why she’d want to be with either one of them.

Both brothers are endearing in different ways but also flawed in others, and it makes things interesting, grounded, and real.

We don’t have a dog in this race regarding whether or not we’re Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah, but we’re more than content to enjoy the ride.

7. Strong Casting and Performances

For starters, it’s a genuine relief that the television series is more diverse in its casting, and the characters are captured so well.

The color-conscious casting makes for a more inclusive, sure but genuinely refreshing, and real experience while watching.

The series is full of talent with a strong cast who deliver powerful performances. They truly bring these characters to life onscreen, and everyone has great chemistry, making for a compelling watch that you can’t take your eyes away from in the end.

It’s also genuinely refreshing to have a nice blend of familiar faces and breakout stars.

8. Doesn’t Shy Away from Tough Topics

As we said, this series juggles serving as many different genres, from a family drama to a teen romance and much more. As a result, it also juggles a lot of topics, some of them incredibly heavy or dark.

It’s not too many issues this series won’t delve into, exploring things like racism and microaggressions Belly or Steven may face from others.

The series subtly addresses class differences, something that can come to light more, even when it comes to the differences between the Fishers and Conklin.

Through the series, some difficult conversations arise as it explores divorce and the ramifications of it on a family, infidelity, finding oneself in all stages of life, friendship, love, terminal illness, and so much more.

And the series handles these topics deftly and effortlessly, weaving them into the storytelling naturally without anything coming across as heavy-handed or forced.

9. It Works as A Quick or Slow Binge

During the first season of The Summer I Turned Pretty, the entire season dropped at one time, making it an emotional and addictive quick binge that would have folks glued to the screen for a weekend.

Prime Video is doing things differently during The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2, and we’ll get a weekly drop of the installments.

Fortunately, both ways of viewing this series work well for the subject matter.

If you’re interested in powering through the entire series in one long go, the episodes flow nicely into one another, and the drama and storytelling will leave you on an emotional high. But on the other hand, there’s something to be said about slowing things down, allowing each episode to breathe a bit.

Given the nature of this series and how much drama it generates at once while juggling multiple storylines and more, trickling out the episodes a bit at a time builds the anticipation.

You can find the entire first season of The Summer I Turned Pretty streaming on Prime Video. The series returns with three all-new episodes on July 14. Check back in with us for full reviews!

And if you just want a recap of the Best of the first season, check out the spoiler-filled video below!

Edit Delete

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You’ll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on Twitter.

Read The Full Article Here