The Summer I Turned Pretty
AI Woke Score
Faint messaging, mostly cosmetic.
confidence: medium
Audience Score
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The Verdict
The Summer I Turned Pretty is a teen romance about first love, heartbreak, and a love triangle — its core is emotional drama, not identity messaging. The cast is diversified relative to the source novel and there is some LGBTQ+ representation in the supporting ensemble, but neither dominates the story. Overall it leans clean on most axes, with only mild diversity and representation elements folded naturally into a contemporary setting.
What the AI Flagged
Each axis scored 0–100, with the receipts. The headline score weights the worst offense, so a single egregious element isn't diluted by the rest.
Identity Swaps
5Adapted from a novel with original characters; no established iconic characters were swapped.
Girlboss & Male Demotion
10A female-centered coming-of-age romance, but it doesn't diminish or vilify men as a message; the male leads are central characters.
- Belly's love triangle with Conrad and Jeremiah keeps both male characters sympathetic and well-developed
LGBTQ+ / Trans / Non-Binary Content
35Includes a supporting gay character/storyline, but it's not central to the main narrative.
- Steven and supporting characters include LGBTQ+ representation in later threads of the cast
DEI Casting
30The cast is diversified relative to the novel (notably the Conklin family), but it fits a contemporary setting naturally.
- The Conklin family is portrayed with a mixed-race background
Preachiness
10Largely a personal romance drama focused on first love and grief; minimal sermonizing.
Anti-Masculinity / Anti-West
8No framing of masculinity or the West as villainous; male characters are portrayed warmly.
Source Betrayal
20Some changes from the book including added diversity and expanded storylines, but largely faithful to the romance core; changes aren't heavily agenda-driven.
- Casting and minor expanded subplots differ from the novel
