Book: Peter Kavinsky’s first scene was when he rolls up his black Audi the time he saw Lara Jean after her small car accident and asked if she was okay, pulls over his car and climbs out inspecting her car.
Movie: Peter’s first scene was when Lara Jean was backing up her car in the school parking lot with her sister Kitty and almost ran over Peter.
2. Lara Jean’s letters
Book: Kitty sent the letters because she was mad at Lara Jean for joking about telling Josh that she had a crush on him.
Movie: Kitty sent the letters because she thinks that Lara Jean is lonely, so sending the letters would help her sister “find some romance.”
3. Confrontation about the letters
Book: Peter asked Lara Jean in the track field about the letter he got. Then the next day, Josh approached her at her locker and asked about the letter he received. She said that she already has a boyfriend so he doesn’t need to worry about what was written there, but then she runs up to Peter when she sees him in the hallway and kisses him.
Movie: When Lara Jean saw Josh walking toward the field track while Peter is asking her about the letter he got, she launches herself to Peter and kissed him on the track.
4. Fake relationship
Book: Peter suggested the fake relationship inside the room after their Chemistry class and to show that he is over Gen, his ex-girlfriend.
Movie: Peter suggested the fake relationship in front of Lara Jean’s house when he brought her home, saying that it will make Gen jealous which will help in getting them back together.
5. Ending
Book: It ends with Lara Jean writing a letter but only “Dear Peter” was mentioned, it ends on a cliffhanger which makes the readers unsure of what her decision about her feelings for Peter is.
Movie: Lara Jean wrote a letter to Peter saying she likes him and went to their school to personally say it to him as she read the letter out loud.
The Summer I turned Pretty series came out just last month and it has been a big hit. Though the summer I turned pretty started out as a book by Jenny Han, who wrote To All the Boys I’ve loved Before which is on Netflix, and now her next book which is the Summer I turned pretty is also now a series on Amazon Prime. And without a doubt became the most talked tv show during this Summer. Even before Season 1 of the Summer I Turned Pretty became a show on Amazon prime, they renewed the show for it’s second season because they know that this series is gonna be a best one and they predicted right!
This film stars were mostly new actors and the main actor is Lola Tung who plays Belly in the series and book. Another one is the Fisher brothers Conrad and Jeremiah played by Chris Brinley and Gavin Casalegno. Belly’s brother Steven played by Sean Kaufmen. Lastly, the parents (mothers) who are best friends Laurel Fisher and Susannah, who is played by Rachel Blanchard and Jackie Chung.
The Summer I Turned pretty is a story about Belly and her family ever since they were young have spent the summer at the Fishers’ house at Cousin’s Beach. Ever since then Belly has a crush on the oldest Fisher Conrad. Then when she turned 15 she finally got a glow up. Then the time comes when they were going to the beach house. From here Conrad changed from being sweet to Belly to not caring about her. So now Belly’s feelings gets all mixed up when she figured out that Jeremiah (Conrad’s younger brother) likes her. At the debutante ball instead of Conrad asking Belly to be his escort Jeremiah did and they continued with their relationship. But then during the dance Jeremiah is no where to be found so Conrad steps in and became Belly’s dance partner. As the dance was going on, Jeremiah is actually at the beach and found out that her mother is dying. The story ends with Conrad and Belly at the beach talking and they kissed.
I really like the series because they added details that weren’t in the book, like the deb ball. It was really cheesy at the end but then it was amazingly filmed and the added details made the film better. And also the story line at the book and the series was on point and was really good. This series is definitely a 10/10 for me and I am also excited for the next one. I don’t know if it’s just me but, I like to read the book and then I also, like to watch the movie or series because I want to see it visually and to compare it. If it’s the same thing with few added minor details or if they totally changed it. But overall I would recommend this for the other people to watch. Especially if you love to watch Summer romance.
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.
The very talented author Jenny Han’s book, The Summer I Turned Pretty, was recently made into a series that has everyone falling in love with the characters. Han’s book series includes the books, The Summer I Turned Pretty, It’s Not Summer With You, and We’ll Always Have Summer. So far, the series on Amazon, The Summer I Turned Pretty, has one season that covers the first book in the series. The show is confirmed for a season 2 already, and fans are hoping for a 3rd as well. For those that haven’t read or watched it, essentially, the series features a girl, Belly, who visits her mom’s best friend’s summer house at “Cousins Beach” every summer with her older brother, who is best friends with the other two boys, Conrad and Jeremiah, that own the house. All the previous summers, the boys have viewed her as a child, but all of a sudden they finally see her as an actual girl. I won’t spoil it, but the romance that goes between the characters is really interesting to watch, as are the character developments they all make. One of my favorite parts about this show is the soundtrack which features Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers, Jack Harlow, and more.. I would definitely recommend reading the books first, but it is so cool to see what you pictured and imagined come to life and the actors did a great job portraying their roles. If you haven’t read or watched it, this is just a warning that the next paragraph does have spoilers.
There are plenty of differences between the books and the show, however I don’t think it takes away from reading/watching either. It’s different in a good way and exciting to see how things play out in both. The first general difference I noticed is that in the book, the storyline focuses mainly on the two families, however on the show we are introduced to many more characters in a lot of events like the Debutante Ball, and those characters do affect the chemistry aspect between people a lot. It seems like in the show, they’re building more of a sense of community rather than isolating one group of people. I really like this because it mixes things up. Adding onto that sense of focusing on more people, the two moms are also given more of a storyline and have their own drama going on, unlike in the books where they weren’t highlighted as much. This same thing is seen with Belly’s older brother, Steven. In the books, he left the beach house in the middle of summer, but on the show he is a lot more involved. Speaking of Steven, Belly’s best friend ends up having a crush on Steven, instead of Jeremiah like it was in the books. This adds tension between Taylor and Belly and personally I like Taylor in the show better than in the books.
In the books, Belly had her first kiss with Jeremiah and he kissed her with the intentions of making Taylor jealous (because she liked him in the books), but since the show version of Taylor had a different love interest, Belly has her first kiss with an old friend, Cam. Their relationship doesn’t last too long as Belly ended things with Cam. In the books, it’s the other way around, but either way Cam knew where Belly’s heart truly was. Cam being there is a great asset to the plot because it allows the viewers to be empathetic as he was such a sweet boy. These are all somewhat minor differences, but some of the bigger ones include the fact that Belly actually had more chemistry with Jeremiah than she did in the book, creating so much more tension between the two brothers. Belly also doesn’t get a visit in the winter from Conrad, the scene is completely different. In my opinion, the biggest difference was the kids’ knowledge about Susannah’s (Conrad and Jeremiah’s mom) cancer. In the books, the kids all know about Susannah’s cancer. However, in the show, Conrad is the only one who knew about his mom’s disease. This is a huge explanation into why he acted the way he did. In the final episode, Jeremiah found out about the cancer which led to everyone knowing. This made everything serious and real, because Susannah didn’t want to go through chemo this time. Overall, the show and books were amazing and I truly think that since the author was involved with making the show, it had a great impact on the overall quality and vision of the show. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who likes rom-coms and tension.
Kaitlyn Y.
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.
This book being the third of a trilogy series, The Summer I Turned Pretty focuses on the summer adventures of Isabel Conklin otherwise known as Belly to those close to her. Since this is the third book, I do recommend reading the first two to truly get a grasp of this book. Conrad and Jeremiah have grown up with Belly their whole lives seeing how their moms are best friends. However, the summer that Belly starts to mature, interest in Belly peaks and decisions for which boy will best suit her come into play.
Conrad, being the older of the two Fisher boys has always thought of Belly to be his younger sister and never thought himself to be anything with Belly. On the other hand, Jeremiah and Belly have always remained close and with Belly’s newfound beauty he sees her for more than being a best friend. Belly in the end chooses to be with Conrad who eventually realizes he’s been hiding how he truly feels about Belly and doesn’t want her to marry Jeremiah.
This was such a great summer read especially since the majority of this book is revolved around the fact it is summer. It helped me embrace there is so much more than just school but also appreciating the time spent with those you love during the summer. I might not struggle with the same boy problems Belly does throughout the book but for the most part it was an interesting journey to follow. I feel as if I’ve evolved with the characters and might even feel emotionally attached.
There’s not much else to say about the book besides that I HIGHLY recommend everyone to read it especially if you enjoy teen romance, love triangles, and coming of age books. If you do decide to give it a read let me know which team you’re on…#teamjeremiah or #teamconrad. Also, this trilogy has an amazon prime series releasing on June 17th for those who are interested in watching!
-Madison C.
We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.
To All the Boys: Always and Forever is the third movie in the To All the Boys… series. It’s a movie also based on the books written by Jenny Han. Throughout the series, Lara Jean struggles between wanting Peter and then having mixed emotions about him. This theme seen in the other two movies carries on into this movie as well. The entire series focuses on Lara Jean growing up and taking responsibility as she matures.
The movie starts off with Lara Jean visiting Korea and continues to spiral into the topic of college. She has to make the decision whether to go to college with Peter or wIthout peter. This movie captures the chaos of making college plans. She slowly discovers who she is and after dealing with rejection from the school she wanted to go to, she takes what she learned about herself and Peter into account when making this decision.
Overall, I would highly recommend this movie, especially those in high school. It’s such a realistic representation of the struggles of choosing your college. Although that can be intense, this movie does have a lot of light-hearted scenes that create a perfect balance. Rewatching this series is definitely something I plan on doing soon.
The Burn for Burn Trilogy is definitely interesting. The series is written by two well-known authors: Jenny Han, who has written To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Siobhan Vivian, who has written the list. Two amazing teen romance authors that write a good trilogy together. The three books in the series are Burn for Burn, Fire with Fire, and Ashes to Ashes.
The story takes place on Jar Island, a small tourist island where everyone knows everybody. Three girls: Kat, Lillia, and Mary are all brought together with a goal to get revenge. They all think that revenge is sweet, but it does have drastic results. Their friendship is a secret because in real life they could never be friends.
I think that I read Ashes to Ashes in a bookstore when it came out years ago, but I don’t think I read the whole thing, and I had forgotten I read it. When I started the series recently, I didn’t realize I had read some of the third book until around halfway of Fire with Fire. That already should be concerning to a reader, that the first and third books of the same series were so drastically different. I was hooked into the story at the beginning since I thought it was a normal teen romance book that would have been considered light. I was wrong. I didn’t expect to end the series with the third book being a paranormal romance book. I also don’t like how the writers make you jump back and forth rooting for two different guys the whole entire time. It was a bit much. I still think the series is worth a read, but I don’t like how drastically the writers’ path changed. I think that the first book was the most well written, but you will get hooked into the story that you have to read the second and third books, but they don’t live up to the expectation of Burn for Burn.
-Rebecca V. 11th Grade
The Burn For Burn series is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. They can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive.
Though Jenny Han’s charming trilogy featuring endearing protagonist Lara Jean Song Covey was released quite some time ago, the first novel, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, has only recently been released as a movie on Netflix. The story, which follows Lara Jean(Lana Condor)’s mishaps in writing love letters to her crushes(that eventually get sent, much to her dismay), is a refreshing film in the rom-com genre.
The film adaptation, while slightly straying from the source material as movies tend to do, still managed to capture the whimsies and nuances of first love from the perspective of a relatable teenager. It’s extremely gratifying to see that the directors kept most of aspects of the book intact—author Jenny Han has been vocal about her difficulty finding a movie studio that would not whitewash her main character, who is half-Korean. Lana Condor, who plays Lara Jean, continues to speak out about the importance of Asian representation in media and pop culture.
The film, while keeping surprising fidelity to the source material, also veers off direction in its decision to cut out some of the scenes in the novel. While it would have been amazing to see those scenes brought to life, some of the things added in made up for it: the yogurt drinks, Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky(The Foster‘s Noah Centineo, who also appears in upcoming Netflix teen drama Sierra Burgess is a Loser)’s partygoing chemistry, and heart-to-hearts with Mr. Covey(including a laughable moment with Chris(Madeleine Arthur) in which she questions his profession as a gynecologist).
Ultimately, this is what can be said about most movie-book showdowns: the book was better, and To All the Boys is no exception. But, like Harry Potter, the movie version is just as excitable, if not more cinematic, and it’s truly incredible to see Asian-American characters who break the mold of dragon ladies and china dolls on-screen. Cue the applause for director Susan Johnson, and of course Jenny Han.
However, many people who’ve watched the movie have not read the book, and that’s okay. The movie as a standalone work is still worth your time, and you’ll find little bits of yourself in its characters. It’s utterly shining, heart-swelling, conscientious. After watching it, it’s clear that I for one won’t stop obsessing over it any time soon, and neither will its other numerous viewers. And, though the number of rom-coms I’ve watched in my lifetime is still in the low single-digits(I’m thinking maybe three), To All the Boys wins my heart as number one—an instant classic. Netflix did a good job with this one after the whole Kissing Booth debacle.
Anyway, I’ll be waiting for the sequel. While we’re at it, you should give it a try—as well as those yogurt drinks. Those are crazy good.
Burn for Burn, Fire with Fire, and Ashes to Ashes, is a trilogy by Jenny Han. This series is about a fascinating turn of events that leave the readers feeling haunted inside.
In Burn for Burn there are three main characters: Kat, Lillia, and Mary. Kat and Lillia had a history of friendship with Rennie until one fine day, Rennie backstabbed (not literally!) Kat, causing their friendship to fall apart. Lillia is the “it” girl, best friends with Rennie, on the cheerleading team, and right in the middle of the popular group at their high school. Mary is traumatized from an event that occurred years ago in her childhood, for the very reason she has come back to Jar Island is for revenge. All three of the girls meet each other at the right place at the right time, and cook up a pot full for homecoming night, an event that shakes all and changes the lives of few.
In Fire with Fire, the girls serve time for their actions, causing them to regret the decisions they made months ago. Homecoming night hurt a lot of people, but it also critically damaged one of them–coincidentally it was Reeve, who tragically haunted Mary years ago. The girls just wanted to show the rest of the school Reeve’s bad side, but things happened that night that weren’t planned. They’ve gotten away with it for now… but Mary needs to control her anger and it seems like she just can’t.
In the last novel of this trilogy, Ashes to Ashes, Lillia, Kat, and Mary lit a fire without even thinking. Their goal was to get even, but now the fire is spreading. In this last book, a huge plot twist comes our way, and I am talking amazingly enormous. Out of all of the books I have read throughout my life, the plot twist that the readers come to find out in the last book of this trilogy is the best most surprising twist I have ever read.
I would definitely recommend this series to any girl because it starts out as a normal high school novel, but really turns into something you never expected, and its just really interesting to see how the characters progress throughout the couple of years. Absolutely on the top of my list for my best reads.
Mission Viejo Library Teen Voice 