The Summer I Turned Pretty has stuck pretty close to Jenny Han‘s book series — until season 3 when the show introduced some of the biggest onscreen changes.
Based on Han’s three novels, The Summer I Turned Pretty is focused on a love triangle between Belly (Lola Tung), Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). The current season is slated to be the show’s last as Belly finally makes a decision between the brothers.
The author — who previously brought her To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series to life with three Netflix films — has discussed how she approached evolving her stories on screen.
“There are surprises. And there are things that aren’t exactly like the books,” Han told Entertainment Weekly in March 2025 about the “satisfying” ending for everyone. “A successful love triangle is one where, no matter what happens, people are going to be devastated and heartbroken.”
She continued: “Because if the answer feels really clear and easy, then there’s no real conflict. No matter what you do, someone’s going to be hurt by it.”
Keep scrolling for every big change from the books in season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty:
A Bigger Time Jump
In the third novel, We’ll Always Have Summer, the story picked up as Belly finished her freshman year of college. Fans saw Belly and Jeremiah about two years into their relationship. But on the show, they have been dating for four years and Belly is a junior while Jeremiah is a senior.
The Narrations
Han’s books were written in the first person narrative, which offered Us a glimpse into Belly’s state of mind. There were occasional moments when Conrad or Jeremiah got to share their perspective, but it was primarily Belly’s POV. In the name of storytelling, season 3 removed Belly’s inner dialogue from crucial scenes ripped straight from We’ll Always Have Summer.
New Romances
More episodes meant more screen time that had to be devoted to other characters. As a result, Steven (Sean Kaufman) and Taylor’s connection was (Rain Spencer) explored more and Belly’s parents and their reconciliation a new plot point.
Jeremiah also may have a new love interest in Denise (Isabella Briggs). In We’ll Always Have Summer, Jeremiah had a date at the end of the book but her identity wasn’t revealed and his love life wasn’t the focus.
Flashback Sex Scene
Season 3 featured a flashback scene showing the last time Conrad and Belly were together before their breakup. We’ll Always Have Summer had was no mention of Conrad and Belly having sex. In fact, the books made it clear that Belly wasn’t intimate with Conrad or Jeremiah.
Steven’s Car Accident
On the page, Belly and Jeremiah got engaged after she found out he cheated and he tried to make amends by proposing. The TV version made it a bit more complicated by having Belly’s brother get into a car accident, which was more the catalyst for her to reconsider her split from Jeremiah.
Belly’s Time in Paris
The final chapters of We’ll Always Have Summer feature a time jump between Belly and Jeremiah’s failed wedding and her eventual nuptials with Conrad years later. Belly explained in the epilogue how she went abroad (to Spain) before reconnecting with Conrad.
On the show, viewers got to see more of her time aboard as the show devoted several episodes to Belly’s adventures overseas.
Conrad and Belly Reconnecting
As mentioned above, Belly and Conrad didn’t get in contact until he started to send the letters and then they met for the first time again at her graduation. The show took some liberties by having Belly nearly go to Conrad at the airport and then he was seen flying to Paris before the finale, which also didn’t happen in the book.
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