If you enjoyed the New York Times Bestselling series, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”, I have another recommendation for you! 

Jenny Han, the author behind the “To All the Boys…” book series is the same author behind the popular “The Summer I Turned Pretty” book series! Which you might be familiar with if you’ve seen the TV show adaptation of it on Amazon that came out last summer. 

“The Summer I Turned Pretty” series follows Isabel “Belly” Conklin and her summer adventures in Cousins Beach as she navigates through the trials and errors of being teenager, including balancing her crushes on the charming brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad, a duo she has known since she was a kid. But things have changed for Belly, she used to go unnoticed by the brothers, but this summer seems to be different, as they have finally noticed Belly.  

The series focuses on Belly’s character growth, her entertaining adventures in Cousins, and on the important question, does Belly want to end up with Jeremiah and Conrad? And are they really the “one” for her?  

For the most part, I enjoyed the series. It was a quick and easy read, and the settings and drama kept my attention. There are some not so great parts at times like Belly’s dialogue or some of the actions that take place in the book, but I believe Han was able to improve her writing between the first and last book.  

In comparison with “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before”, I believe that “To All The Boys…” is the better option out of the two series as it was published later in Han’s career where her writing is noticeably better and more coherent. In addition, the characters and the storyline overall are more enjoyable in that series. However, I still recommend that you read both series and find out for yourself which one you like more! 

As previously mentioned, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” has been turned into a TV show on Amazon Prime. I’m not the biggest fan of books-to-screen adaptations but I really enjoyed the adaptation of this series. The actors are enjoyable to watch, and the series translates better to the big screen than in the book. I might even say that the TV series was better than the book series! 

Season 1 of the series aired last summer, and season 2 will be airing soon with some new characters that weren’t featured in the book so I’m excited to watch it unfold. 

Overall, I recommend that you give “The Summer I Turned Pretty” a shot. It’s quick, entertaining, and a great summer read. It’s a good mix of drama and romance, and feels relatable for a teen audience.