We all have our “guilty pleasures” that we feel absolutely no guilt for at all, and why should we? I love coming of age stories and even though there are so many examples of this theme; they all happen to be  just different enough to still pull you into the narrative, so that you care about the characters and the outcome of their transformation. Jenny Han’s new Amazon series, The Summer I Turned Pretty is the next hit to add to her list. I was made a fan of Jenny Han via my best friend, who fell in love with her popular Netflix trilogy and book series, To All The Boys I Loved Before. I am captivated by the way Jenny Han has taken on the feel of a nostalgic 90s teen rom-com and a traditional coming of age story and rolled it all into one aesthetically pleasing, modern day story you won't want to miss.  

 

This series follows Belly (Lola Tung) as she spends  the summer in the same place family has spent every summer of her life, Cousins Beach; a made-up location from Han. Imagine Cape Cod meets the Carolinas. Belly self-narrates her story, where we see glimpses of her childhood memories sprinkled throughout arriving at the current day, first day of summer. Lots of things have changed this year: Belly’s parents are divorced, Steven (her brother) has a job, and Belly has grown up (in more ways than one).

 

From the opening scene of the series we easily understand where the love triangle will come to shape, between the brothers—Conrad and Jeremiah; the two sons of her mom’s best friend who owns the house at Cousins Beach. Conrad has been her longtime crush—but Belly may have changed her tune and not to who you would think... After Belly sneaks out the first night to join the boys at the beach bonfire, she runs into an old friend. They share an adorable, shameless smooch and make plans for the next day. Maybe this love triangle will consist of more than the boys she’s grown up with throwing her in the pool with her clothes on. 

 

I knew I was hooked when I heard two different Taylor Swift songs within the first 10 minutes of the first episode. The eventual drama and assumed first love story will be what keeps me coming back for the next episode and the next one after that… who will Belly choose? How will she come to make her decision? If you love a beachy read or a chick flick style film, I think you’ve easily found your next watch with The Summer I Turned Pretty.