The beach house at Cousins is more than just a setting. It's a feeling. If you’ve spent any time on BookTok or scrolling through Prime Video, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The Summer I Turned Pretty isn’t just a show or a trilogy of novels by Jenny Han; it’s basically a cultural reset for the "coming-of-age" genre. People get obsessed. They pick sides—Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah—like it’s a high-stakes election.
Honestly, the core of the story is simple. Isabel "Belly" Conklin has spent every summer of her life at Cousins Beach with her mom’s best friend, Susannah, and Susannah’s two sons. For years, she was just the "little sister" figure, the tag-along with glasses and braces. Then, she turns sixteen. Everything shifts. The dynamic breaks. Suddenly, the boys notice her, and the messy, beautiful chaos of a first real love triangle begins.
But there’s a layer of grief underneath the tan lines and Taylor Swift soundtracks that most people don’t expect when they first dive in. That’s what makes it stick.
The Cousins Beach Magic and Why We’re All Hooked
What Jenny Han does better than almost anyone is capturing that specific, fleeting transition between childhood and being an adult. It’s that weird "in-between" stage. Belly is 15 turning 16, and she’s desperately trying to hold onto the traditions of her youth while her body and her heart are pulling her toward something much more complicated.
The show, which debuted on Prime Video in 2022, took the 2009 book and updated it just enough. It kept the heart but added things like the debutante ball, which—let’s be real—was a genius move for visual storytelling. It gave us a reason to see these characters in formal wear while dealing with absolute emotional wreckage.
You’ve got Conrad, the moody, eldest-son type who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. Then there’s Jeremiah, the golden retriever human who seems to be all sunshine until you realize he’s just as lonely as anyone else. Most viewers come for the romance, but they stay because the friendship between the two mothers, Laurel and Susannah, is actually the most stable love story in the entire series. It’s the anchor. Without it, the beach house is just a building.
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The Taylor Swift Effect
We have to talk about the music. It’s impossible not to. The relationship between The Summer I Turned Pretty and Taylor Swift is basically a symbiotic bond at this point. When the Season 1 trailer dropped featuring "This Love (Taylor’s Version)," it wasn’t just marketing. It was a signal.
Han has openly discussed how she listened to Swift while writing the books over a decade ago. Getting songs like "August," "The Way I Loved You," and "Back to December" into the show felt like a full-circle moment for the fans. It elevates the melodrama. Everything feels more urgent and more "end of the world" when a bridge is peaking in the background.
Realism vs. Tropes: Is Belly Actually Likable?
This is where the discourse gets spicy. If you spend five minutes on Reddit, you’ll see people dragging Belly for being indecisive. She hurts people. She makes selfish choices.
But isn't that being sixteen?
Teenagers are messy. They’re figuring it out. The beauty of this series is that Belly isn't a perfect protagonist. She’s impulsive. She’s learning that her actions have consequences for the people she loves most. The "pretty" in the title isn't just about her losing the braces; it’s about the external world reacting to her differently and her trying to navigate that power. It’s a heavy thing to realize people look at you differently than they did last year.
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The Grief Element
A lot of people think this is just a fluff story about a girl at the beach. It’s not. It’s a story about a woman dying of cancer.
Susannah’s illness is the ticking clock of the entire narrative. It’s the shadow over the sunny days. The way the show handles the realization that the adults in your life are mortal—and flawed—is incredibly grounded. Lola Tung (Belly), Christopher Briney (Conrad), and Gavin Casalegno (Jeremiah) play the grief with a lot of nuance. You see the cracks in the "perfect summer" long before the finale hits.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Love Triangle
The biggest misconception is that it’s a simple choice between the "brooding one" and the "nice one." It’s actually a choice between different versions of herself.
Conrad represents the past—the childhood crush, the dream she’s had since she was ten. He’s the person she wants to prove herself to. Jeremiah represents the present—the person who actually sees her now and wants to have fun with her. When you look at it that way, her indecision makes a lot more sense. She’s not just picking a guy; she’s picking who she wants to be as she grows up.
- Season 1 focused on the "becoming."
- Season 2 focused on the "aftermath."
- Season 3 (based on We'll Always Have Summer) is expected to deal with the "finality" of those choices.
The books give us a definitive ending, but the show has been known to tweak things. Fans are currently spiraling about whether Han will change the endgame. Honestly, given how much the show has expanded the side characters like Steven and Taylor, anything is possible.
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Navigating the Books vs. The Show
If you’ve only seen the show, the books might surprise you. They are shorter, more internal, and honestly, a bit more spare. Jenny Han’s writing style is very "less is more."
The show adds a lot of "meat" to the bones. For instance, the character of Taylor (Belly’s best friend) is much more developed on screen. In the books, she can feel a bit like a one-dimensional foil, but in the show, she’s a ride-or-die with her own complex motivations. Same goes for Steven. Giving him a real arc and a romance with Taylor was a smart way to keep the "Cousins" vibe alive even when Belly is spiraling.
What’s Next for the Series?
As we look toward the future of the franchise, the production of Season 3 has been the main topic of conversation. Filming in Wilmington, North Carolina (which doubles for the fictional Cousins Beach) has become a huge draw for fans.
The third book, We’ll Always Have Summer, jumps ahead a few years. This is a crucial pivot. We leave the high school drama behind and enter the world of college and "real life" stakes. Without spoiling too much for the non-readers, it involves a wedding, a massive betrayal, and a long-overdue confrontation in the rain. It’s the peak of the melodrama Han is known for.
Actionable Insights for Fans and New Viewers
If you’re looking to get the most out of this story, don’t just binge the show and stop there.
- Read the books last. If you start with the show, you get the expanded world first. Going back to the books feels like reading Belly’s private diary. It fills in the gaps of her internal monologue that even a good actress can't fully convey.
- Watch for the symbolism. Notice the infinity scarf, the glass unicorn, and the polaroid camera. These aren't just props; they are anchors for specific memories that pay off in the final act.
- Check out the soundtrack playlists. Prime Video has official playlists that are basically a "vibe check" for the entire Gen Z experience.
- Pay attention to Laurel. The relationship between Belly and her mother is the secret heart of the story. As Belly grows up, her understanding of Laurel changes from "strict parent" to "complicated woman with her own heartbreaks."
The reason The Summer I Turned Pretty works is that it doesn't talk down to its audience. It knows that being a teenager feels like a series of life-or-death emotional events. It treats those feelings with respect. Whether you’re a "Bonrad" shipper or a Jeremiah loyalist, you can’t deny that the story captures the bittersweet reality that you can never really go home again—not after everything has changed.
The best way to experience it is to lean into the nostalgia. Let yourself feel the "cringe" of first love and the ache of losing a piece of your childhood. That’s what Cousins Beach is all about. It’s a place where time stands still, even though we know it can’t.