It's Not Summer Without You

Han is a Korean American author known for her young-adult romance novels. Han is the author of the well-known Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy as well as the popular To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, which was published in 2014 and made into a Netflix series in 2018. Han’s works have been noteworthy in American culture not only because of the appeal of the romance genre for young-adult readers but because of their commitment to enhancing diversity within the YA genre.

The Summer trilogy universe (published 2009-2011) implies that Belly and the rest of the main characters are white. The novel’s original publication covers, which feature white people, largely contribute to this perception. In June 2022, Amazon Prime released a limited series based on The Summer I Turned Pretty. When it comes to the television series, notable changes enhance the diversity and representation, deviating from assumptions gleaned from the text. Belly and her brother, Steven, are biracial: Their father is white, and their mother (renamed Laurel Park from Laurel Dunne) is Korean American. Additionally, Jeremiah in the TV series is bisexual, while the text implies he is heterosexual. Amazon Prime renewed the series, which speaks to its wide appeal and the positive reception of these changes among critics and audiences.