The television show of the summer for teens sprang from the pages of Jenny Han’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” trilogy. Season 2 of the Prime Video series, which debuted July 14, takes on the events of the second book, “It’s Not Summer Without You.” As with Season 1, several changes were made to the adaptation for the small screen, such as the addition of new characters and the expansion of certain storylines. Other details, large and small, make the show a bit different from Han’s second book, but with the author also serving as showrunner on the series, these changes come naturally.
Season 1 had its own changes that ripple into Season 2, such as Jeremiah’s bisexuality, Laurel’s career as an author (she is a professor in the books) and more. Kyra Sedgewick and Elsie Fisher joined Season 2 as completely new characters that don’t exist in the books. Cam Cameron (David Iacono), Taylor Jewel (Rain Spencer) and Belly’s brother Steven (Sean Kaufman) also have bigger storylines this coming season.
Broken down by episode, here are the biggest changes made in “The Summer I Turned Pretty” Season 2:
Episode 1: “Love Lost“
Something moves Belly (Lola Tung) to call Jeremiah at the end of the first episode, but in the books, it’s Jeremiah who calls Belly to deliver the news that Conrad has disappeared.
Jeremiah’s whole grudge against Belly doesn’t play as big a role in the second season in the books because Jeremiah and Belly didn’t kiss in the books, though he was her first kiss in a previous summer during a truth or dare game.
Episode 2: “Love Scene”
Belly’s mom Laurel Park’s (Jackie Chung) latest book is referenced in the first episode, but the title, “It’s Not Summer Without You,” doesn’t get revealed until the second episode. The memoir that Laurel wrote, “It’s Not Summer Without You” tells the story of her time with Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) as her best friend. The title nods to Han’s own book, the second in the trilogy.
The infamous hot cocoa scene that Han kept word for word in the show involves Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney) and Belly sneaking away to Cousins during the winter in hopes of seeing a snowy beach. This night was a peak in their relationship, almost the opposite of the prom scene earlier on in the story, but the show takes it a step further to suggest that Belly and Conrad have sex. That was not as explicitly described in the book, though they did talk about Conrad being more experienced in that area than Belly.
Episode 3: “Love Sick”
Instead of the boys’ dad Adam (Tom Everett Scott), Aunt Julia (Kyra Sedgwick) is the one putting Susannah’s beach house up for sale. While Adam wants to sell it in the books, Susannah’s older half-sister Julia justifies her decision by claiming she doesn’t have enough money to maintain the house. Julia also does not remember Cousins in the same fond way that Susannah did. She is looking for closure in getting the property out of her possession. Elsie Fisher also brings a new spin to the series as Skye, Conrad and Jeremiah’s non-binary cousin.
In the books, Conrad was in summer school, not a regular semester at Brown. His roommate was also described as red-headed, but Eric Trusky (Samuel-Taylor Augustin) is Black in the show.
Steven’s decision to go to Cousins — bringing Taylor along once she asserts that she wants to go with him — provides one other major difference that sets up this season. A small detail that changed in Taylor’s storyline involves her boyfriend’s name — it’s Milo in the show and Davis in the book.
Episode 4: “Love Game”
The fourth episode might be the biggest departure yet from the book. The whole boardwalk showdown doesn’t occur in Han’s book. Cam Cameron (portrayed by David Iacono) also gets a bigger part this season. That character doesn’t return in the second book at all. Neither does Cleveland Castillo (Alfredo Narciso), but his character didn’t exist in the books at all.
The flashback that Belly has about her stuffed polar bear Junior Mint also appeared in the first book of Han’s trilogy. Junior Mint appeared in the first season of the show, but Belly’s memory of Conrad winning him for her didn’t contextualize the bear until this episode of season two.
Episode 5: “Love Fool”
The addition of Aunt Julia, Skye and more screen time for Cam Cameron, the fifth episode shifts much of the story, adding in a night of shenanigans at the country club with a bigger group in Cousins than appeared in Han’s book. Cam Cameron got more of a backstory, which he shares with the whole group. His sister died when he was young, and he bonds over the grief of early death with the Fisher boys.
Episode 6: Love Fest
Belly and the boys do throw a party in the books, but Steven and Taylor don’t attend. Cam Cameron also isn’t present as he does not return to the story in the second book. Skye also doesn’t attend, so that kissing scene between them does not happen in Han’s book either.
Conrad and Belly have a similar confrontation on the beach where Belly opens up about what happened at the funeral and apologizes for it. Belly does drunk call Laurel (Jackie Chung) in the books, but she explains — drunkenly — that Mr. Fisher is selling the house over the phone. She begs her mother to come fix it and passes out like in the show.
Episode 7: Love Affair
Things get messy in the penultimate episode, just as they do in the book. Laurel comes to Belly and the boys’ rescue, but not before she gets extremely angry at her daughter for not being honest with her. Laurel’s jaw-dropping slap of Belly does exist in “It’s Not Summer Without You.” As does the argument between Laurel and Mr. Fisher (Tom Everett Scott), but with an additional Aunt Julia, who teams up with Laurel unlike in the book when she battles Adam solo. In the book, Adam makes Conrad promise to get passing grades (C’s) in school, which motivates him to study for his freshman psych final in addition to the biology final.
As for that kiss, Jeremiah initiates in the books! The following dialogue almost mirrors the text word for word.
Episode 8: Love Triangle
Episode 8, the finale of Season 2, unfolds pretty similarly as the end of “It’s Not Summer Without You,” except for a few minor details.
Christopher Briney’s entrance of Conrad’s “villain era” happened through dialogue much more in the show than it did in the books. He doesn’t harass Belly and Jere on the road in the rainstorm. Though Belly seems to have her mind made up the morning the three of them wake up in the motel in the show, in the book, she seemed like she still could have chosen Conrad.
The volleyball scene does not exist in the book, and even Belly’s “choice” in Jere seems less sure than the show sharpens it out to be. Overall, the love triangle tension became way more defined this season. Even Belly’s line at the end of the show: “The future is unclear, but it’s still mine” can be found at the end of “It’s Not Summer Without You,” but it references a chapter marked “A Couple Years Later” when she is running after ‘him’ in a white dress. That sounds like endgame.
All episodes but the finale of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” are streaming on Prime Video.