The Summer I Turned Pretty fans divided over drastic changes to iconic beach scene

21 August 2025, 14:33

By Sam Prance

Here's how Belly and Conrad's beach scene in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3, episode 7 differs to the book.

The Summer I Turned Pretty made key changes to Belly and Conrad's beach scene from the books and fans are split.

If you've read The Summer I Turned Pretty books, you'll already know that the Prime series is not afraid to stray from the source material. While the central storyline is the same, multiple elements, including Jeremiah's bisexuality, Aunt Julia and Skye's plot in season 2 and Taylor and Steven's will-they-won't-they romance, are new to the show.

Like previous seasons, The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 takes many lines directly from the book but fans have spotted that episode 7 alters the fan fave beach scene between Belly and Conrad. Scroll down to discover exactly how the on-screen version differs to Jenny Han's books and how fans are reacting to the changes.

• Read more: Does Jeremiah end up with Redbird in The Summer I Turned Pretty? The theory explained
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Watch The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 trailer

At the end of episode 7, Belly goes to the beach after her hen party and Conrad tells her about Jeremiah cheating on her. When Conrad learns that Belly already knew, he confesses that he loves her and tells her not to marry Jeremiah. In response, Belly says that she and Conrad were "never anything" before walking away and collapsing in tears.

For the most part, Conrad and Belly's lines are taken from the book. However, the scene omits Conrad talking about his mother's death. In the book, Conrad says: "After my mom died, I was so pissed off. I had this anger in me all the time. I felt like I was going to erupt any minute. I didn't have it in me to love you the way that you deserved."

Not only that but Conrad only grabs Belly by the arm in the show, whereas in the book, he hugs and holds her while asking Belly not to marry Jeremiah. As he holds her, Belly's inner monologue reads: "My heart was racing. What if someone saw us? What if someone heard?"

Reacting, a fan tweeted: "Why didn’t Conrad wrap his arms around her and confess like in the book? I wish he had confessed while holding her, just like in the book. It would’ve been so much more emotional."

Another argued: "Can I say that I do like the change that conrad doesn’t hold belly in his arms to keep her from leaving like in the books? I think it’s much more suitable to the overall tone of the scene."

One other major change is that we do not hear Belly's inner monologue and it's very revealing. In the book, Belly says in her narration, "I had to make it so he’d let go of me forever", right before she tells Conrad that they were "never anything". In other words, it's not how she actually feels. Belly was lying so that Conrad would move on.

Then, as Belly leaves Conrad on the beach, she narrates: "As I walked, I told myself, hold it, hold it, just a little longer. Only when I was sure he couldn't see me, only when the house was in sight again, that was when I let myself cry. I dropped down and cried for Conrad and then for me. I cried for wht was never going to be."

She adds: "Conrad and I were linked, we would always be linked. That wasn't something I could do away with, I knew that now - that love wasn't something you could erase, no matter how hard you tried. I got up, I brushed the sand from my body and I went inside the house."

Reacting to the change, one fan tweeted: "Hate the fact that people can’t read between the lines so now everyone hates Belly but if they added Belly’s inner narration from the book, it’d be fine. I can’t believe people just take everything at face value."

Another wrote: "You wouldn’t be hating on her if you knew this was literally her inner dialogue."

As it stands, Jenny Han is yet to comment on the changes to the scene. We'll update you if/when she does.

What do you think? Did the changes add or take away from the scene?

Read more The Summer I Turned Pretty news here:

• The Summer I Turned Pretty makes heartbreaking change to Conrad and Laurel scene
• The Summer I Turned Pretty fans in shock over Belly’s relationship timeline with Conrad and Jeremiah
• The Summer I Turned Pretty author explains why she added wild sex scene that wasn't in the book
• The Summer I Turned Pretty author explains why she changed the peach scene from the book
• The Summer I Turned Pretty drops game-changing easter egg with Taylor Swift song

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