The Conklin family undergoes a race lift, with Belly, her mother Laurel, and brother Steven reimagined as Korean-American despite the books' implied white characterizations. This change is paired with an adaptational shift making Jeremiah bisexual and sexually fluid, including on-screen scenes exploring same-sex attraction absent from the novels.

Season 2 further adds the original non-binary character Skye as the Fisher brothers' cousin, whose identity is woven into the beach house inheritance plot and related family conflicts. These modifications stem directly from creator Jenny Han's intent to modernize the story for contemporary diversity and align it with current cultural trends. The cumulative effect prioritizes identity-driven updates over organic storytelling, inserting elements that feel engineered rather than essential to the narrative's emotional or dramatic foundation. Such changes risk diluting the original appeal for audiences seeking straightforward adaptation fidelity.