The Summer I Turned Pretty — Review no spoiler
Landed on Prime Video, based on the novels of Jenny Han.
Plot:
It tells the story of Belly who every years spend the summer In the beach house of her mom’s best friend, since her birth, she has everything she needs. The Fishers have always considered Belly and her family a part of theirs.
Cast:
- Lola Tung as Isabel “Belly” Conklin
- Jackie Chung as Laurel Park
- Rachel Blanchard as Susannah Fisher
- Christopher Briney as Conrad Fisher
- Gavin Casalegno as Jeremiah Fisher
- Sean Kaufman as Steven Conklin
- Alfredo Narciso as Cleveland Castillo
- Minnie Mills as Shayla
- Colin Ferguson as John Conklin
- Tom Everett Scott as Adam Fisher
- David Iacono as Cam
- Summer Madison as Nicole
- Rain Spencer as Taylor
Episodes:
The series is based on the 2009 novel “The Summer I Turned Pretty” by Jenny Han. It is created and executive produced by Han. Also executive producing are Gabrielle Stanton, Karen Rosenfelt, Nne Ebong, and Hope Hartman. The episodes of the first season are 7.
Thoughts:
If you have already seen the Netflix films based on the American author’s novels, you will know that their target audience is young adult audiences, especially women. With The Summer I Turned Pretty, Jenny Han has expanded the target even to a more mature audience. The TV series retains the carefree, youthful and sparkling soul typical of the author’s texts but adds a storyline also centered on the adults of the two protagonist families, a dramatic subplot with a wide representation.
Love is the main theme of the show, all the stories of the characters revolve around this magical word, as difficult to pronounce as it is difficult to find. Belly has just begun to experience on her skin the sensations that this feeling can generate and the confusion that she is inevitably able to cause. The Summer I Turned Pretty faces the first love experiences in an extremely natural and realistic way.
The events are set in Cousins Beach in Massachusetts, it is a place invented by Jenny Han for her novels. The production to recreate the atmosphere chose to shoot the series in Wilmington, North Carolina.
The photography in pastel, cold and delicate tones completely immerses the viewer in the atmosphere of the series. Another point in favor of the original Amazon series is the great representation, both ethnic and the LGBTQ + community. Not a forced representation, inserted only because it is politically correct to do so, but wisely placed and developed in an extremely natural way. In The Summer I Turned Pretty everyone can feel represented, from the oldest to the smallest, regardless of their inclinations and origins, how it should be.
The soundtrack is specially designed for Taylor Swift fans, In The Summer I Turned Pretty you will find not only one but several Taylor Swift songs including: Cruel Summer, Lover, False God and The Way I Loved You (Taylor’s Version), in addition to the song that we had already had the opportunity to preview in the trailer, that is the brand new This Love (Taylor’s Version). Not only is Taylor Swift among the most popular pop singers accompanying the images of the series but we also find songs by Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish. The Summer I Turned Pretty has the most pop soundtrack ever.
We just have to wait for the second season to find out how the story of Belly and her family will continue.
Duration per episode: 39–52 minutesVote 7.5
Stream it now on Amazon Prime Video
If you have seen it and want to say your opinion, slip it into the comments or under the dedicated post on the instagram page @studiowhakan
Thank you for reading.
