Warm weather, turquoise oceans, two families and one beach house. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” is a three-season show about romance, summer and, more specifically, a love triangle between two families: two brothers, one girl.
The show focuses on two families, the Conklins and the Fishers, who travel to Cousins Beach in Massachusetts every summer. The Conklins consist of the mom, Laurel, the dad, John, the son, Steven, and the daughter, (Isabel) Belly. The Fishers’ side consists of the mom, Susannah, the dad, Adam, and the two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah.
The families were connected because of the close relationship between the two mothers, Laurel and Susannah. Susannah owns a beach house that the families stay in every summer. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” is an entertaining encampment of the intertwining of two families.
Season One
Season one of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” focused on Belly’s view of summer at the beach house. Growing up, she had always loved the Fishers. They were basically family to her, all except for Conrad. Conrad was the love of Belly’s life from a young age which is a main reason why I believe she should end up with him.
In this season, Belly changes and both of the Fisher brothers begin to see her differently. Belly now has the attention of two brothers and is conflicted on which one to pick. Spoiler: she doesn’t. Well, not yet.
This is the best season of the show because it takes time to not only show the audience how Belly is stuck in an interesting relationship with the two brothers, but it also focuses on the highlights of summer and the relationships between other members of the family, specifically the moms.
Laurel and Susannah have been best friends since high school, but are put in a conflicting spot when Susannah reveals that she has cancer, again. This relationship, along with shopping, going to the beach, day trips and ice cream are just a few of the reasons this season is my favorite. I also love it because at the end, though conflicted between which brother she wants to end up with,—Jeremiah, who is outgoing, attractive and funny, or Conrad, who is mysterious and has a soul connection to Belly—she ends up with Conrad.
In this season, Conrad is hiding the secret of his mom’s cancer, which Steven, Jeremiah and Belly have no knowledge of. As a result of this, he is super moody. Even though Conrad is carrying this burden on his shoulders, he still manages to show up for Belly in every way which is why I am team Conrad. At the end of the day, Conrad is overall better for Belly because of their timeless bond.
Season Two
Season two of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” is my least favorite season. The season flashes back to between-season events, and while it is still very focused on activity at the summer house, it lacks the summery feel and excitement of the prior season.
In the beginning of this season, it is revealed that Susannah passed away. This shapes the whole season because we learn that the summer house was not just Susannah’s but instead a part of her family’s. One of the main reasons I don’t like this season is because of the major changes from the book. They add unnecessary characters such as Aunt Julia, who is Conrad and Jeremiah’s aunt and Skye, who is their cousin. This really just throws off some of the plot because now they are involved with selling the house and they are major characters who next season are just taken away.
While all of this is happening, Belly is still stuck between which boy she should end up with after her messy breakup with Conrad the previous spring.
I still love this season, but it lacks the summer feeling that season one has, mainly because both moms are not present at the summer house. Susannah not being there has a large impact on the mood of the season and overall, this is not the best work the show has ever done. The unnecessary characters, the lack of summer vibe and the loss of such detrimental characters is a real downgrade from previous seasons.
Season three
This season of ”The Summer I Turned Pretty” is solely focused on Belly and her relationship with the two brothers.
Not far into the season, Jeremiah is found to have cheated on Belly and thinks he has the solution to mend their relationship- propose to her to make it up to her. This aspect alone already demotes this season from being my favorite. After they are engaged, Jeremiah and Belly plan to announce it at a Cousin’s beach reunion, which ultimately causes chaos.
Conrad and Belly grow closer, ultimately ruining Jeremiah and Belly’s plan to get married. The breakup between Belly and Jaeremiah causes Belly to flee to Paris out of shame. Conrad visits her in France and so much goes down that ultimately results in the long awaited happy ending between Conrad and Belly. This season, while I hate some parts about it, I love it. Though it is not season one, it is still filled with so much chaos, traveling and drama that something new is happening every episode. The constant change and chaos made this season very entertaining, despite some inessential parts included. She also ends up with Conrad, who I believe is the best brother because of their deep connection, adding points to why I like this season.
We learn so much about the characters individually, and we also get to experience Conrad’s point of view of Belly in one of the episodes. Steven and Taylor’s relationship develops at the same time, which brings a much needed focus on a different relationship.
My least favorite thing about the season and the reason it is not my favorite is because it really only talks about Belly and the brothers, with a bit of Steven and Taylor’s relationship. It also mostly disregards Susannah’s death and the overall summery vibe that was present in the previous two seasons.
Final Review
Overall I would give this show a 7/10. I love the summery vibe and even though parts of it are a bit cringey, it is a good show to watch if you like cheesy romance shows and summer.
