Listen Before You Watch: Recommended Audiobooks for Fans of 'The Summer I Turned Pretty'

Whether you just can’t wait for the Prime Video series or you’re a longtime Jenny Han fan, check out these delightful audiobooks for fans of 'The Summer I Turned Pretty.'

Susie Dumond

June 15, 2022

YA Books Like The Summer I Turned Pretty

Love & Gelato

Jenna Evans Welch

If you're looking for another YA trilogy full of summer love and scenic locations, then this trio by Jenna Evans Welch is a perfect choice. Each book in the series follows a different main character on a trip to a different country. The first, Love & Gelato, follows Lina on her journey to find out more about her parents in Tuscany—where she also happens to fall for the charming Ren. Love & Luck stars siblings Addie and Ian on a trip to their aunt's destination wedding in Ireland. And in Love & Olives, Liv travels to Santorini to help her father research the lost city of Atlantis. All three books are perfect summer escapes, full of adventure and travel, family drama, and whirlwind romances.

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What If It's Us

Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera

Two powerhouse YA authors. Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera, teamed up to create this stunning queer summer romance. Ben goes to the post office to return a box of his ex-boyfriend's things, and on the way, he has a chance encounter that feels like fate with aspiring Broadway star Arthur. But when they fail to exchange contact information, they have to rely on destiny to bring them back together. What If It's Us is a tender, endearing, and widely relatable love story that shows how messy, true-to-life meet-cutes can still end in happily-ever-after. (And if you enjoy this listen, there's more! Be sure to check out the sequel, Here's to Us.)

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Rise to the Sun

Leah Johnson

For listeners looking for a coming-of-age summer romance that digs a little deeper, Rise to the Sun is a wonderful story, meditating on themes of grief, family troubles, and fear of the future. Toni is reeling from the loss of her musician father and trying to figure out who she is before she starts college. Olivia is trying to bounce back from a breakup without relying on a new crush. Their paths collide at the Farmland Music and Arts festival, where their connection—and all the right music—gives them both what they need to move forward.

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Sloppy Firsts

Megan McCafferty

Megan McCafferty's YA series has lots for listeners to love, with five novels following the angsty and drama-filled life of teenager Jessica Darling. When her best friend moves away from her hometown of Pineville, New Jersey, Jessica feels like no one understands her snarky sense of humor or her struggles to fit in. Sloppy Firsts and its four sequels follow Jessica through first love, heartbreak, family chaos, and much more.

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From Twinkle, with Love

Sandhya Menon

You'll find a joyful summer romance and a love triangle featuring two brothers in this novel by best-selling YA author Sandhya Menon. Smart, funny, and thoughtful, Twinkle has big dreams of becoming a filmmaker. So, she's super excited to get invited to direct a film for the Summer Festival by Sahil, the twin brother of her longtime crush, Neil. When Twinkle starts getting anonymous love letters signed "N," she's certain they're from Neil. But while working on her film, she finds herself falling head over heels for Sahil. Oh, and this listen is told though letters and voiced by dual narrators Soneela Nankani and Vikas Adams.

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The Rest of the Story

Sarah Dessen

If you got all caught up in the family exploration and childhood-friends-turned-lovers aspect of The Summer I Turned Pretty, you'll love Sarah Dessen's big-hearted The Rest of the Story. Emma Saylor lost her mother when she was 10, and she doesn't remember much about her. When her father heads off to his honeymoon with his new wife, Emma spends a summer with her mom's family and starts to dig into her parents' history. But it's her childhood best friend, Roo, who helps her really piece together the secrets of her own past.

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Adult Books Like The Summer I Turned Pretty

People We Meet on Vacation

Emily Henry

Part of the joy of Jenny Han's Summer trilogy is following Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah as they mature through summers together and seeing childhood friendships bloom into something more. You'll find similar delight in listening to Emily Henry's The People We Meet on Vacation. Apart from sharing the same Ohio hometown, Alex and Poppy have nothing in common, and that's fine—in fact, their differences have allowed them to develop a romance-free best friendship over the years. That is, until one of their annual summer trips ends dramatically, and they stop talking for almost two years. At a crossroads in her life, Poppy reaches out to Alex and tries to rekindle their friendship with another summer trip—but will it spark something unexpected? Julia Whelan narrates this captivating listen.

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Never Been Kissed

Timothy Janovsky

Timothy Janovsky's debut novel is a sweet new adult summer romance about first love, coming of age, and exploring what you want in a relationship. Fresh out of college with a degree in film studies, movie lover Wren is spending his summer working at the local drive-in theatre. Yet, despite his knowledge of and passion for classic romantic movies, he's never been kissed. When he gets drunk on his birthday, Wren emails all the boys he's almost kissed—a move he especially regrets when he finds out one of those boys is working at the same drive-in for the summer.

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Island Affair

Priscilla Oliveras

If you love listens about family beach vacations filled with swoon-worthy romances, then Priscilla Oliveras's Keys to Love series is the escape for you. Island Affair, the first in the series, follows social media influencer Sara on a family vacation to Key West. Sara feels like she's finally coming into her own, but her successful siblings (and their perfect spouses) have a way of making her feel like she's never enough. When her boyfriend ghosts her for the trip, Sara recruits Luis—a laidback firefighter paramedic and dive captain—to play the role of her adoring fiancé. But as Sara gets to know Luis and his big Cuban family, she begins to wonder: Could their fake relationship become something real?

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Cantoras

Carolina De Robertis

While this listen deals with some darker themes than the Summer series, it's a fantastic pick if you loved watching Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah return to the same beach year after year, growing, learning, and adapting to each other along the way. In 1977 Uruguay, being gay could lead to imprisonment, torture, or worse—still, within this oppressive regime, five young women who love women somehow find each other. Together, they discover an isolated, nearly uninhabited cape, which they claim as their secret sanctuary. Over the course of 35 years, Cantoras follows the five courageous queer women as they return again and again to Cabo Polonio, where they are free to be themselves.

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Everything You Need to Know About the Television Adaptation of The Summer I Turned Pretty

Luckily, fans won't have to wait long to see The Summer I Turned Pretty on their TV screens. The eight-episode series will hit Prime Video on June 17. Author Jenny Han is executive producing the series, along with production company wiip. Han also wrote the pilot.

Lola Tung will star as Belly Conklin in the series, which is her first professional credit. Completing the love triangle, Christopher Briney plays Conrad and Gavin Casalegno plays Jeremiah. Belly's mother Laurel is played by Jackie Chung, and Susannah is played by Rachel Blanchard. While there may be some changes made in the jump to the small screen, it's safe to say the show will be full of the same heart, warmth, and teenage nostalgia that made the book series such a joy to listen to.