Hey y’all! It’s intern What Makes You BEAUtiful here to talk about two things I love more than anything: 1) book-to-film and -series adaptations and 2) films and series with amazing soundtracks. Luckily for me, the TV series The Summer I Turned Pretty is both of those things—it’s adapted from the books by Jenny Han and has one of the best soundtracks I’ve ever seen. I mean, five Taylor Swift songs? It’s perfect for a teen romance!
To me, music and books go hand in hand. I’m one of those people who listens to music while reading, and I always try to match the ~vibes~ of my music to however I feel as I’m reading. So, in honor of The Summer I Turned Pretty and its spotless soundtrack, I made playlists for a few of my upcoming reads. If you don’t like to listen to music while reading, maybe you can press play while going for a snack break (if you can tear your eyes away from these books for that long). And, most importantly, if any of these books get adapted, I think these songs would fit perfectly into their soundtracks.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Some summers are just destined to be pretty.
Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer—they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.
—Description from publisher’s Amazon page
I couldn’t start off without talking more about The Summer I Turned Pretty (seriously, go watch it on Prime Video right now). This is the official playlist on Spotify, featuring indie artists and pop anthems alike.
The Vibes: light, summery, upbeat. You’re young, on a beach, and trying to experience your first love (and all the ups and downs that come with it).
The Spanish Love Deception
Catalina Martín desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding. Especially since her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiraled out of control. Now everyone she knows—including her ex and his fiancée—will be there and eager to meet him.
She only has four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic and aid in her deception. New York to Spain is no short flight and her raucous family won’t be easy to fool.
Enter Aaron Blackford—her tall, handsome, condescending colleague—who surprisingly offers to step in. She’d rather refuse; never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling, and insufferable man.
But Catalina is desperate, and as the wedding draws nearer, Aaron looks like her best option. And she begins to realize he might not be as terrible in the real world as he is at the office.
—Description from publisher’s Amazon page
This rom-com is actually being adapted for film, and I definitely think they should include these tracks!
The Vibes: a little bit of love/hate, a lot of frustration and lust. You have to fake date your hated coworker but somehow fell for them along the way, so now you’re screaming at the top of your lungs to some pop and Spanish indie tunes.
For Love of the Duke
After the tragic death of his wife, Jasper, the 8th Duke of Bainbridge buried himself away in the dark cold walls of his home, Castle Blackwood. When he’s coaxed out of his self-imposed exile to attend the amusements of the Frost Fair, his life is irrevocably changed by his fateful meeting with Lady Katherine Adamson.
With her tight brown ringlets and silly white-ruffled gowns, Lady Katherine Adamson has found her dance card empty for two Seasons. After her father’s passing, Katherine learned the unreliability of men, and is determined to depend on no one, except herself. Until she meets Jasper…
In a desperate bid to avoid a match arranged by her family, Katherine makes the Duke of Bainbridge a shocking proposition—one that he accepts.
Only, as Katherine begins to love Jasper, she finds the arrangement agreed upon is not enough. And Jasper is left to decide if protecting his heart is more important than fighting for Katherine’s love.
The Vibes: romantic, magical, nostalgic. You’re dancing to slow songs at a ball with someone you’re falling in love with.
Lacie’s Secrets
For the past 18 years, Kate Williams has tried to forget the fateful summer in which her sister Lacie’s disappearance ripped their family apart. But when their estranged mother unexpectedly dies and Kate inherits Villa Magda, the family’s summer home on the Maine coast, Kate decides that enough time has passed. With the help of her husband, her son, and their close group of friends, Kate decides to face the past and go back to Villa Magda for one last trip.
But the sprawling, ocean-side house isn’t as picturesque as it seems, and as the week goes on, inexplicable incidents and suspicious visitors begin to torment Kate, threatening to expose her deepest secrets. The closer Kate gets to learning the truth about what happened that summer, the faster she realizes the house might be holding more secrets than she can handle.
As tensions run high and friendships unravel, Kate starts to question her decision to return to Villa Magda. But when tragedy strikes and a body is found floating in the pool, questions arise that demand answers: What really happened at Villa Magda 18 years ago? How much did Kate know? And how can the house be stopped from claiming its next victim?
Set on a remote and gorgeous Maine estate, Lacie’s Secrets is an exciting and cinematic psychological thriller with surprising twists that will keep the reader guessing until the very last page.
The Vibes: unsettling, somber, foreboding. You’re about to uncover a terrible secret while low vocals and eerie instrumentals echo in the background.
For the Wolf
As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose—to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he’ll return the world’s captured gods.
Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can’t control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can’t hurt those she loves. Again.
But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn’t learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood—and her world—whole.
—Description from publisher’s Amazon page
The Vibes: dark forests, unknown enemies. You’re headstrong and terrified and surrounded by exactly the kind of power you feel radiating from a Hozier song.
Happy reading and listening! And for any film execs reading this: get in touch, because I’ll be waiting.
With love,
What Makes You BEAUtiful