5 movie series you should watch if you liked The Summer I Turned Pretty

If The Summer I Turned Pretty left you swooning, sobbing, and spiraling into the confusions of love triangles, you’re not alone. Amazon Prime's adaptation of Jenny Han’s coming-of-age book series captured that intoxicating mix of first love, sun-kissed nostalgia, and emotional chaos. And now that you’re emotionally invested in Belly’s boy problems, waiting for season three and wishing you too could rotate between bonfires and dramatic makeouts, you need more.

Lucky for you, there’s a whole world of films that bottle that same vibe, whether it’s the ache of young love, the magic of summer, or the awkward, messy process of growing up. Here are five film series that’ll fill the void The Summer I Turned Pretty left in your chest. Grab tissues and ice cream. It’s about to get emotional.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before trilogy

Before The Summer I Turned Pretty's Jeremiah, Belly, and Conrad, there was Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky as Jenny Han's ultimate masterpieces from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and they're still some of the best rom-com characters you'll ever get to watch. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before isn’t just a trilogy of Netflix rom-coms; it’s a soft-focus fever dream about first love, awkward confessions, and the beautiful chaos of growing up. Like The Summer I Turned Pretty, it wraps its protagonist, Lara Jean, in the messy warmth of family, feelings, and figuring things out. Both the TV show and film trilogy are drowned in epic love triangles, and you'll find yourself rooting for both Belly and Lara Jean as they navigate their emotions.

Lara Jean’s fake relationship with Peter Kavinsky has the same slow-burn charm as that of Belly's back-and-forth with the Fisher boys. Both stories are steeped in nostalgia, handwritten notes, school dances, and heartaches you’ll recall every time you lie awake at 2 a.m. And while To All the Boys leans into classic rom-com territory, it still manages to capture that same ache that comes with letting go as you grow up.

Available to watch on: Netflix

The Kissing Booth trilogy

The The Kissing Booth trilogy is exactly how The Summer I Turned Pretty would be if you swapped beach houses for school carnivals and traded Cousins Beach sunsets for glittery prom lights. At its heart is Elle Evans, a rule-breaker and a romantic who falls headfirst for her best friend’s older brother, igniting a fiery, forbidden love story that feels just as messy and magnetic as Belly’s tug-of-war with the Fisher boys.

Both stories dive deep into the emotional turmoil of first love, identity, and the delicate balance between loyalty and longing. Elle and Lee’s lifelong friendship mirrors the tight-knit connection Belly shares with Jeremiah and Conrad. And Elle’s on-again-off-again thing with the impulsive, possessive Noah? It practically screams Conrad Fisher energy - brooding, complicated, and irresistible.

But where The Summer I Turned Pretty dips into slow-burn melancholy and dreamy introspection, The Kissing Booth films amp up the drama with full-throttle teen rom-com energy. Still, beneath all the fluff and chaos, both stories leave you with the same ache in your heart, that bittersweet, end-of-summer feeling where everything is changing, and love is both the anchor and the storm. If Belly left you lovesick, Elle will keep your head and heart spinning.

Available to watch on: Netflix

The Twilight Saga

Now, some may choose to disagree, but The Twilight saga and The Summer I Turned Pretty are pretty similar in their exploration of themes of first love, self-discovery, and the drama of growing up against a grand, emotional backdrop. Bella Swan moves to the rainy Forks, craving connection and identity, much like Bella at Cousins Beach, searching for belonging, love, and something deeper than small-town life.

Both narratives lean into the intoxicating pull of forbidden love. Bella’s torn heart between the two Fisher brothers parallels Twilight's Bella as she is stuck in a love triangle between a best friend who can give her a lifetime of warmth and an eternal love that will love her for centuries. Both romances have that addictive mix of danger and desire, sun-kissed or moonlit moments where everything feels infinite.

At their core, both protagonists experience emotional awakenings that feel bigger than themselves. For Bella, it’s summer rites and coming-of-age lessons; for human-turned-vampire namesake, brushing against eternity forces her into choices that define her identity.

Many may call Twilight a gothic teen romance, but Bella’s clumsy, self-doubting voice yet magnetic connection to Edward echoes the nostalgic ache The Summer I Turned Pretty captures. Both worlds are immersive emotional universes: one drenched in sunscreen and seagulls, the other in eternal night and vampire myth. However, both narrate similar stories of young women discovering themselves through love and the choices it pushes young hearts to make.

Available to watch on: Prime Video and Netflix

The After franchise

The After series is basically The Summer I Turned Pretty if Belly’s beach house came with college dorm keys, emotional whiplash, and about five more toxic red flags. Born from a Harry Styles fanfic (yes, really), the saga follows Tessa Young, a sheltered overachiever who falls hard for Hardin Scott, a British, tattooed, trauma-fueled hurricane of a man. What starts as a flirty push-and-pull spirals into a full-blown symphony of fights, making up, and late-night texts.

Just like The Summer I Turned Pretty, the After universe thrives on emotional chaos. Both Tessa and Hardin are forced to grow through loving someone complicated. Both stories are about figuring yourself out through the mess of someone else. And both are absolutely allergic to healthy communication.

Where The Summer I Turned Pretty is a sun-kissed exploration of teen romance, wrapped in nostalgia, the After films are a storm that is loud, messy, and soaked in angst. But at its core? It’s all about how love, even when flawed, leaves a mark. If The Summer I Turned Pretty is a bonfire you never forget, After is the firework that burns you just enough to feel alive.

Available to watch on: Prime Video

My Fault and its sequels

Prime Video's My Fault (Culpa mía) cranks up the heat and chaos on the teen romance formula, trading beach bonfires for street races and family dysfunction. Imagine The Summer I Turned Pretty, but the protagonist falls for her brooding, unfortunately, stepbrother who drives like he’s in a Fast & Furious reboot. When Noah moves into her mom’s new mansion, and meets Nick, arrogant, reckless, and impossible to ignore. And of course, it only takes a few sharp glances and one forbidden kiss for things to spiral deliciously out of control.

But beneath the drama, both Noah and Belly are just girls trying to figure themselves out through all the messy affair that teenage love is. While Belly navigates her summer while torn between childhood crushes and emotional maturity, Noah gets swept into a relationship that forces her to face betrayal, danger, and her own desires. Both are coming-of-age stories, just narrated with different levels of decibels and danger.

Sure, My Fault leans way darker - think blackmail, kidnapping, and violent exes; but at the core, it’s about a girl caught in a whirlwind of love she didn’t see coming. If you loved The Summer I Turned Pretty for its aching hearts and emotionally-charged choices, you would find that My Fault delivers that same teen angst, but with seatbelts fastened.

Available to watch on: Prime Video.