Jenny Han
Jenny Han | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Han at BookCon in June 2019 | |
| Born | September 3rd,1980 Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BFA) The New School (MFA) |
| Genre | Young adult fiction |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Website | |
| dearjennyhan | |
Jenny Han is an American author of young adult fiction and children's fiction. She is best known for writing The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy which was adapted into a TV series of the same name beginning in 2022 and is still ongoing.[1] She is also best known for writing theTo All the Boys series that was adapted into a film series of the same name beginning in 2018 and ending in 2021.[2]
Early life and education
Han was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, to Korean-American parents.[3] She graduated from Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies in 1998,[4][5] then attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[6] In 2006, she received her Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at The New School.[7]
Career
Han wrote her first book, the children's novel Shug, while she was in college.[8] Shug was published in 2006 and is about Annemarie Wilcox, a twelve-year-old trying to navigate the perils of junior high school.[9]
Her next project was a young adult romance trilogy about a girl's coming-of-age during her summer breaks. The three novels, The Summer I Turned Pretty, It's Not Summer Without You, and We'll Always Have Summer, were published from 2009 to 2011 by Simon & Schuster and quickly became New York Times Best Sellers.[10] The trilogy is the story of protagonist/narrator, Belly Conklin, who falls in love with two brothers she has known her whole life and works through a messy love triangle.[11]
Han's second young adult trilogy was co-written with Siobhan Vivian and began with the 2012 publication of Burn for Burn. The novel follows three high school girls seeking revenge in their island town and contains paranormal and romance elements. The trilogy includes Fire with Fire, published in 2013, and Ashes to Ashes, published in 2014.
In 2014, Han released a young adult romance novel, To All the Boys I've Loved Before, about Lara Jean Song Covey, a high school student whose life turns upside down when the letters she wrote to her five past crushes are mailed without her knowledge.[12] The novel was optioned for a screen adaptation within weeks of its publication.[13] The sequel, P.S. I Still Love You, was released the following year, and won the Young Adult 2015–2016 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature.[14] A third novel, Always and Forever, Lara Jean, was released in 2017.[15] The film adaptation of the first novel, starring Lana Condor in the lead role, began filming in July 2017 and was released by Netflix in August 2018, to positive reviews.[16] Han had a brief cameo in the film. The sequel films To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and To All the Boys: Always and Forever were released in 2020 and 2021. A spinoff television series XO, Kitty to To All the Boys film series created by Han is in production.[17] Han will also write, executive produce, and be a showrunner. The series will follow Lara's sister, Kitty Covey, going on her own journey to find true love.
In June 2022, a television series based on Han's book series The Summer I Turned Pretty' was released on Amazon Prime.[18] Han had a cameo in the last episode of the series.[19] The television adaptation was noteworthy in part because there were a number of modifications to make the story more diverse. For example, in the book, Belly appears to be white, as confirmed by the original book cover.[20] However, in the television series, Belly is biracial; her dad is white and her mom is Korean American.[21] In the book, Belly's mom is Laurel Dunne, but in the television series her name is Laurel Park. Additionally, in the television adaptation, there are several openly gay characters, and a major character (Jeremiah) is bisexual.[22] The series was renewed for a second season before the first season was even released.[23]
Bibliography
- Children's books
- Shug (2006) ISBN 978-1416909422
- Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream (2011) ISBN 978-0316070386
- The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy
- The Summer I Turned Pretty (2009) ISBN 978-1416968238
- It's Not Summer Without You (2010) ISBN 978-1416995555
- We'll Always Have Summer (2011) ISBN 978-1416995586
- Burn for Burn trilogy (co-authored with Sioban Vivian)
- Burn for Burn (2012) ISBN 978-1442440753
- Fire with Fire (2013) ISBN 978-1442440784
- Ashes to Ashes (2014) ISBN 978-1442440814
- To All the Boys trilogy
- To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2014) ISBN 978-1442426702
- P.S. I Still Love You (2015) ISBN 978-1442426733
- Always and Forever, Lara Jean (2017) ISBN 978-1481430487
- Short stories
- "Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me" in My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories (2014) ISBN 978-1250059307
References
- ^ Peters, Fletcher (19 June 2022). "'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Proves Jenny Han Is Gen Z's Nancy Meyers". The Daily Beast. ProQuest 2678226844.
- ^ Gonzales, Erica (January 1, 2021). "To All the Boys: Always and Forever: What We Know So Far". Harper's Bazaar.
- ^ "A Great Novel by Best Selling Author Jenny Han". WTVR-TV. April 15, 2014.
- ^ "Jenny Han". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (March 21, 2018). "Netflix Acquires Rights to Adaptation of YA Novel 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before'". Variety.
- ^ "Jenny Han, writer of books for kids and teens". DearJennyHan.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
- ^ Grochowski, Sara (April 25, 2017). "Q & A with Jenny Han". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
- ^ Hong, Terry. "An Interview with Jenny Han". Bookslut. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
- ^ "Children's Book Review: Shug by Jenny Han". Publishers Weekly. April 17, 2006. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
- ^ "Jenny Han; Official Publisher Page". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
- ^ Freedman, Adrianna (June 25, 2022) https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a40410014/the-summer-i-turned-pretty-book-show-amazon/ Retrieved July 1, 2022.
- ^ Han, Jenny (2014). To All the Boys I've Loved Before. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4424-2670-2.[page needed][non-primary source needed]
- ^ Carlson, Julie (July 1, 2014). "Jenny Han's YA books attract Hollywood's attention". The Korea Times.
- ^ "2015-2016 AWARDS WINNERS". Asian Pacific American Literature Awards. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
- ^ Han, Jenny (2020). Always and Forever, Lara Jean. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-5344-9725-2.[page needed][non-primary source needed]
- ^ Spangler, Todd (July 21, 2017). "Lana Condor to Star in 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before' Movie Based on Jenny Han Novel". Variety.
- ^ Zorrilla, Mónica Marie (October 18, 2021). "'To All the Boys' to Get TV Spinoff Starring Anna Cathcart". Variety. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ Moreland, Alex (14 June 2022). "The Summer I Turned Pretty: Prime Video release date, trailer and cast with Lola Tung". National World.
- ^ Penn, Farrah. "13 Behind-The-Scenes 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Tidbits Straight From Jenny Han And Lola Tung". BuzzFeed.
- ^ Tamanaha, Akemi (20 June 2022). "'The Summer I Turned Pretty' is Making Asian Americans Feel Seen". AsAmNews.
- ^ El-Mahmoud, Sarah (19 June 2022). "Jenny Han Addresses Changes She Made To Summer I Turned Pretty So It Was More Diverse". CINEMABLEND.
- ^ Darwish, Meaghan. "'The Summer I Turned Pretty': Jenny Han Breaks Down Series' Biggest Surprises". TV Insider.
- ^ Woo, Kelly (22 June 2022). "The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2: Everything we know so far". Tom's Guide.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- Living people
- 21st-century American women writers
- 21st-century American novelists
- American children's writers
- American writers of Korean descent
- American writers of young adult literature
- Writers from Richmond, Virginia
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
- Novelists from New York (state)
- 1980 births