Jenny Han On Making The TSITP Show's Ending "Better" Than The Books

Jenny Han has had 14 years to stew on how she ended her The Summer I Turned Pretty novels, so she’s making the most of her second chance at bringing Belly’s love story to a conclusion. “I always knew how I wanted to end the books,” Han tells Elite Daily. “But with the show, I went into it with an open mind. I wanted to approach it with fresh eyes and just see what sort of magic happened on screen.”

As the 44-year-old author has teased in the lead-up to The Summer I Turned Pretty’s third and final season, book readers shouldn’t assume they know how the TV adaptation will end. Though the book series ended with Belly ultimately choosing Conrad as her romantic partner, Han notes that she couldn’t resist making some big alterations to the show’s script.

“I am somebody who is always changing things up,” Han says. “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.”

Some of the most immediately visible changes fans will notice when Season 3 premieres July 16 on Prime Video are the new characters, who aren’t a part of the books. “We've got new friends at college. And we have a friend for Conrad at med school,” Han says.

The author singles out Conrad’s new pal as especially important in highlighting how the broody, older Fisher brother has changed from the show’s first two seasons. “He has really gone off to do his own thing in California and start fresh,” Han says. “With that space, he can become a version of himself that he's struggled to be around the people who know him best, who've seen him going through some really dark, painful times. He’s finally in this really great place where he has these friends, and he’s motivated to be this version of himself he wants to be.”