“The Summer I Turned Pretty” started as a trilogy, written by Jenny Han. During the summer of 2022, it came out as a series and has easily made its way up on the popularity charts. The first season set high expectations for season two, which was anticipated by all of the viewers. 

Those of you who have watched the show know that season one ended with Conrad and Belly at the beach. The two seemed to be having a moment together, which made “Team Conrad” fans over the moon. Season two begins at the beach with Conrad and Belly, continuing the scene from season one. Long story short, Belly and Conrad go through a lot of drama with Jeremiah, and eventually together. They end up getting themselves stuck in a love triangle, and Belly often makes decisions that can be hard to support and defend. Along with that, a majority of the viewers disagree with her decisions. Season two ends with a cliffhanger, similar to season one. This ending makes viewers intrigued and eager to see season three when it comes out. 

Here’s a quick recap of the series: Isabel “Belly” Conklin has been going to Cousins Beach for her whole life. She has an older brother, Stephen, and her parents are Laurel and John, who are separated. Susannah, Laurel’s best friend, owns the house in Cousins that the families stay at every summer. Susannah has two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Her husband is Adam, but their relationship is on the rockier side due to some conflict. Belly is the daughter Susannah never had, but she so dearly wanted. For Belly, Susannah was like the mother Belly always wanted. Even though Laurel was a great mother, Susannah, and Belly just had a very special bond. For as long as Belly can remember, she’s had a huge crush on Conrad. All she ever wanted was for him to feel the same way about her. Throughout both seasons, there comes conflict between Belly, Jeremiah, and Conrad, which is the main plot of the show.

One of the biggest weaknesses in the show is that it’s definitely on the cringe side. For example, in season one, Jeremiah practically begged Belly to “play” with him. That was a huge ick. Some parts of the show are unnecessary. Another weakness is that the show is not exactly like the books. A lot of new things are happening, along with new characters being introduced. 

One of the strengths is that the show ends each episode on a cliffhanger. This makes the watchers want to come back for the next episode. It’s a good hack to use, as it increases the amount of viewers the show gets. The show also goes deeper with the characters and their feelings. For example, in the books, it kind of glosses over the friendship Jeremiah and Belly had. In the show, viewers get to see more of the friendship, including its development. Viewers also get to see events happen that we didn’t get to read about in the book like the debutante ball. Another nice thing that happens in the show is that characters that played a smaller part in the book get bigger parts on camera, like Belly’s best friend, Taylor Jewel. Taylor was a minor character in the book, but in the show, she’s more of a main character.

Overall, I think this show deserves a watch. Personally, I love the show. I even waited every Friday for each new episode to come out. The amount of drama in the show is so interesting that it makes it hard to stop watching. This show is definitely like a Sour Patch Kid, except instead of it being sour then sweet, it’s cringeworthy but addictive. Honestly, if you’re into things that have to do with teen romance and drama, then this show is definitely for you, and you should give it a try!

Written by Maddie Mink