Jenny Han, the creator and co-showrunner of Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, indicated in a new interview that the show would have a different and “better” ending than the book trilogy it is based on. Notably, Han is also the writer of the trilogy. The first season of the show premiered on June 17, 2022, followed by the sophomore season on July 14, 2023. Season 3, which is also the last season of the show, debuted on Prime Video on July 16, 2025.
Jenny Han hints The Summer I Turned Pretty’s ending will be different from books
Han disclosed in a recent interview with Elite Daily that people who have read the books should not automatically presume that they know how the series will end. She implied that she had made some changes to the script to make it different and “better” than the trilogy.
“I am somebody who is always changing things up,” Han told the outlet. “People will be like, ‘Why are you changing that? That was working well!’ But to me, it could always be better. That’s how I approach everything, so naturally I was going into this story feeling like I wanted to make it even better and try new things.”
This includes the series’ original characters who debuted in the Season 3 premiere. “We’ve got new friends at college. And we have a friend for Conrad at med school,” the writer explained.
Han’s comment means that Lola Tung’s Isabel “Belly” Conklin could end up with a different romantic partner in the show from the one she does in the trilogy.
The first book, also titled The Summer I Turned Pretty, debuted in 2009. Han published the second one, It’s Not Summer Without You, in 2010, and the third one, We’ll Always Have Summer, in 2011.
The third season of The Summer I Turned Pretty has 11 episodes in total. It had a two-episode premiere, and the rest will stream weekly. This means that the series finale will become available on September 17, 2025.
