The Summer I Turned Pretty: Book vs. TV Show (Season One)

By Screenshot of the title card from an episode of the television series., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71054937

So, this was originally supposed to be a coolheaded comparison post between the Summer series by Jenny Han versus the TV show adaptation. I took notes as I watched (the advantage of watching something alone is that you can pause it whenever you want to take notes). I was going to clean them up later and present them all pretty, buuutttttt ... as you'll soon see, as Season 1 went on it morphed from detached comparing to shameless fangirling. Sooooo ... enjoy. Here is my stream of consciousness as I watched Season 1 of The Summer I Turned Pretty.

*WARNING: ABUNDANT SPOILERS INCOMING*

• Jeremiah and Steven are yucky. Foreshadows Jeremiah's behavior in third book/season.
• The TV show is a lot less innocent than the book.
• The whole debutante thing is new in the TV show. Susannah: "I want to see her in a white dress" foreshadows her cancer and death.
• Jeremiah being bi in the TV show.
• They had Belly discover the infinity necklace right after her birthday, instead of years later.
• "There's more than one story happening here, but you seem to only care about the one where you're the main character." – Taylor to Belly, Season 1 Episode 3 (A little metafiction-y, but I liked it).
• Susannah's cancer reveal in Episode 3 was strangely anticlimactic. I guess there was foreshadowing, with Conrad tearing up when he put the blanket over her in Episode 1 and then when Laurel thought he was upset about his breakup in Ep. 3 and he played it off like that was it but we know it's about Susannah's cancer. But still: anticlimax. And then just thrown around in casual references by the adults after that.
• I was confused about the whole Beck/Adam thing in Episode 4 because in the books, they were already divorced before the summer where it picks up.
• The whole of Episode 4 wasn't really in the books at all?! CERTAINLY NOT THE PART WITH LAUREL AND CLEVELAND–AHEM–IN THE CAR. Although, the blender incident from the books was mentioned and that made me happy :)
• In fact, Cleveland wasn't in the books at all. IN FACT, Laurel wasn't even a writer in the books!! She was a lawyer!!! Which fits better with her personality, if you ask me.
• After finishing Ep. 5, I've decided that I like Cam a lot better in the TV show than in the books. 
• Waaaaaay steamier than the books. The moms are so irresponsible! Like, half the bad decisions in the TV show are made by the moms! Not that they're perfect in the books, but whew!
• AHA! I understand! Two minutes and five seconds into Episode 6, I understand! They're going to conflate the deb ball with the disastrous prom, aren't they. But does that mean ... Conrad and Belly never date?? Or is this the thing that launches them into dating ...? In which case, they would still need the prom to help them break up.
• They did the "Never Have I Ever Game" in Episode 6 as "Put a Finger Down if ..." instead of having Belly do it in college. Are they just gonna make up the last two seasons??! They're using material from all 3 books in season 1! To be fair, book 1 is a lot of flashbacks of summers past.
• There's ... a lot of skinny dipping in this show.
• Conrad is really good at apologies.
• Also, going back to something that happened earlier in the episode, I really like how Cleveland's relationship with Conrad has evolved. Still not a fan of the Laurel/Cleveland ship, though.
• Awww, CONRAD! (End of Episode 6)
• Hm, I think I like the show better than I liked the books. Laurel and Susannah's antics notwithstanding.
• I also like that we get to see Jeremiah and Belly's relationship unfolding before Conrad sees them kissing.
• "Oh, please, you didn't hurt me; you wasted my time. There's a difference." – Nicole to Conrad, Season 1 Episode 6
• Episode 7: YES, I love that Nicole is calling Belly out on her shit! "You're playing with a lot of hearts, Belly."
• EEEEEEEE JENNY HAN JUST MADE AN APPEARANCE AT THE DEB BALL!!!!! She takes a glass of champagne, timestamp 13:50.
• Literally got CHILLS when Conrad got up to dance with Belly.
• Okay, I did cry when Belly found out about Susannah's cancer. And you know, good on Jere for not fixating on the fact that Conrad got the dance with Belly (although you could see he was thinking about it, and maybe that's where some of the violence came from), but putting that aside because his mom dying is bigger than that.
• "You really need someone right now, and I don't want to be the one to take advantage of that." Finally, Belly is showing some selflessness! Also, I LOVE that "This Love" plays during this scene with Conrad & Belly. The way he signals he wants to kiss her and she looks away ... "I don't want you to need me. I want you to want me."
• Susannah: "Since when do you believe in magic?" Laurel: "I believe in you." (Season 1, Episode 7)

The main thing I liked about the TV series was that a lot of people called Belly out on her behavior and actions (first Taylor, then Steven, then Nicole). And she herself actually started taking responsibility for her mistakes (more in Season 2, and she's still far from perfect, but it's a start). Still, though ... this graphic I found on Pinterest isn't wrong:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/2040762326360516/

Have you read the Summer series and/or watched the show? How do they compare in your mind? Do you love TSITP, or hate it? I still can't decide, lol.

Next Wednesday is my July 2024 Reading Recap, and then I'll be back with my thoughts on Season 2!