‘The Summer I Turned Pretty': Jenny Han Explains the Symbolism of the Debutante Ball

thewrap.com:

Another Jenny Han adaptation has officially graced the small screen. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” began streaming Friday on Amazon Prime Video.

It tells the story of a love triangle between three teenagers who have known each other practically their entire lives.Belly (Lola Tung) has been in love with Conrad (Christopher Briney) for as long as she can remember.

But this year, returning to Cousins Beach feels different, especially when she starts to realize she might have feelings for his brother Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno).

While the summer love radiating from the series is true to the first book, there are several additions to the series to shake things — particularly the Debutante Ball. “The Deb Ball was a chance to really bring a rite of passage like a ceremonial rite of passage of growing up to life — to really see that visualized, because I think different cultures have many different ways of marking that moment of between, like, girlhood and adulthood,” Han told TheWrap. “And that’s what Deb Ball is, you’re coming out and being seen as an adult.”When asked about the change he enjoyed most from the book series, Briney admits that the Deb Ball might be the “obvious” answer, but that it serves a greater meaning for the characters.“The way it’s talked about in the show is emulative of being a teenager,” he said. “When Conrad talks about how silly it is, and then by the end how important it is and how important it feels — and then it’s just over.”Casalegno agreed: “I think there’s a lot of symbolism there.” But selfishly, Briney would have to say that the Cousins Beach volleyball tournament that the group competes in toward the end of the series might have been the most fun to film.