The Summer I Turned Pretty author and co-showrunner Jenny Han opened up about why the show's ending deviated from the book. The Summer I Turned Pretty premiered on Prime Video on June 16, 2022, and is a TV adaptation of Han's book series of the same name. The series follows Isabel "Belly" Conklin (Lola Tung), who heads off to Cousins Beach with her mom and brother for their annual summer vacation with her mother's best friend, Susannah "Beck" Fisher (Rachel Blanchard), and her two sons - Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and Conrad (Christopher Briney).
Conklin has been going to Cousins Beach for as long as she can remember with the Fishers. However, things are different this time. For years, she has maintained a crush on Conrad, but he has always thought of her as just a little sister. Now, though, he finally starts to reciprocate those feelings, but Jeremiah and another boy, Cam (David Iacono), also develop feelings for her. Hence, Conklin ends up stuck in a very complicated love triangle and ultimately must choose which boy to be with. It's a tricky situation, considering that Jeremiah and Conrad are brothers and tensions are bound to flare.
In an interview with Variety, Han opened up about why the show's ending deviated from the book's ending. Han explained that she wanted to give fans of the book what they wanted but also acknowledged that this is an adaption in a different medium, so it won't be exactly the same. While writing the show, she felt empathy for Jeremiah's point-of-view and, thus, gave him a brief relationship with Belly in the series, despite Belly turning him down in the book. Overall, Han is keeping an open mind in regards to the show, and there's really no telling what other directions it might take. Check out her statement below:
It’s a bit of a balancing act, because I really had to weigh what the fans are expecting with where the show is going creatively and find that balance. My priority has always been that I want fans of the book to feel really satisfied by the story we’re telling, but also for them to know that this is an adaptation in a new medium, so it’s not going to be exactly the same. I think those are sort of the two things that are always in my head.
Yeah, that was kind of moved up in the first season. When I was doing Jeremiah’s POV in the second book, I was very much swayed in all directions. I don’t want to spoil too much but the books have been out for a while. You never know what could happen with the show. I was open minded going in to it. I was considering a lot of different possibilities.
The Summer I Turned Pretty author makes a very good point about the balancing act that film and TV adaptions of books require. If one deviates too far outside the realm of the books, it can be ill-received by fans. However, at the same time, transferring a book word for word to the screen doesn't add anything to it and doesn't sound very appealing either. While The Summer I Turned Pretty boasted some changes to the ending and content, it still followed the basic plotline of the book. It just added more depth, explored more relationships and possibilities, and also further explored the adults in the story rather than just the teenagers.
Ultimately, the only real difference in The Summer I Turned Pretty show was that it took a longer way around to get to the conclusion and also added a bit of ambiguity to the end, thus, paving the way for season 2. With Han being open to changing the series further from the books, it's really difficult to even say yet whether Belly truly ends up with Conrad or not. While The Summer I Turned Pretty ending isn't identical to the book, it still works well and adds another layer of complexities and possibilities to the future of the show.
Source: Variety