Their Koreanness is an undeniable part of them, but it’s not a major plot point: they get to simply exist, a luxury that many POC characters don’t always have.

Belly (played by Lola Tung) and her brother Stephen (played by Sean Kaufman) are half Korean, and the simple act of seeing them together with their parents is a powerful statement, because so often biracial families are misrepresented or excluded from the narrative entirely (truthfully, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a family on-screen that actually looks like my own). N ote: there are some basic character and plot spoilers ahead.Īfter decades of YA books, movies and series being whitewashed, this series feels like a breath of fresh air. Curious to know exactly how the new series stacks up to the books? Read on to find out. While the TV series does take some liberties from the book and weaves in threads of ideas from other books in the trilogy, they all add to the richness of the story, embellishing the tapestry of Belly’s world and seamlessly bringing it into 2022 for new and old audiences alike to fall in love with. Season one of the new TV series is based on the first book in the trilogy and captures that same magic – it’s a show that’ll have you pushing your bedtime just so you can slip farther into its sun-drenched world (which is no surprise, considering that author Jenny Han is an executive producer). They’re the kind of books you stay up all night reading because each chapter is pulling you in deeper instead of lulling you to sleep - I felt this way when I read them for the first time at 15, and re-reading them now at 28 I feel it even more (my double espresso this morning can confirm). You can practically feel the salt air and sunscreen dripping off the pages. Chronicling Isabel “Belly” Conklin and her torrid love triangle with brothers Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher, the books capture the heady, complex nuances of teenage emotion, first loves and grief - all set against the picturesque backdrop of Cousins Beach.

The day i turned pretty