Author: Jenny Han
Page count: 288 pages, ebook.
Publishing date: April 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers
My rating: 5/5 stars!
Blurb:
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.
My initial thoughts: love love love. I loved the characters, the plot, and the adorable romance. I loved the beautiful prose, the witty banter, and... just the overall book. What I didn't like: the "love triangle", if you can even call it that. That's it.. I don't have anything else that I didn't like.
Lara Jean is in love with her older sister's boyfriend, Josh. She's been in love with him for years; before her sister and Josh even became a couple. She's suppressed her feelings for Josh throughout the years. But now her older sister, Margot, is leaving to a different country for college. Margot and Josh break up. Still, Lara Jean knows that he's off limits. She knows that Margot is still in love with Josh. There are just some boundaries that you don't cross.
Right?
There were five boys that Lara Jean crushed on in her lifetime. She wrote love letters to all five boys and sealed them into a box, never to be read. One of them was to Josh. Another to Peter Kavinsky, a boy that she now has nothing to do with. But one day all of her letters are sent out in the mail.. and Lara Jean's life is about to spin out of control.
Lara Jean has a mess to clean up. Josh has gotten the letter and wants to talk with her. Lara Jean knows that this is impossible. After Peter Kavinsky, fresh from his own break up, confronts her about the love letter that he received in the mail, a revelation comes to Lara Jean. This revelation will lead to a compromise between Peter and Lara Jean: they will both pretend to be dating. Each with their own reasons why: for Lara Jean, she wants to show that she is over Josh, and for Peter, he wants to make his recent ex-girlfriend jealous. In order for this fake relationship to be believable, Lara Jean and Peter are going to have to act like a couple: spending time together, holding hands, going on dates, etc.
Lara Jean:
I know some people had problems with Lara Jean. Many said that she was immature and bratty. I didn't see that in Lara Jean. I thought she was brilliant. Sure, she can be naive and impulsive. Who isn't as a teenager? But you know what? She's strong. She's smart. She's beautiful. And she means well. I firmly believe that you can't help who you fall in love with. Yes, she fell in love with her sister's boyfriend, but she was already in love with him before they were even a couple. You can't turn off feelings just like that. It takes time. It takes space. She's not a crappy sister because she was in love with Josh. She was a great sister because she cared more about her sister's feelings and tried to get over Josh. At least she wasn't sleeping around with Josh behind Margot's back.
Kitty:
Oh, how I loved Lara Jean's little sister. She was fun, wild, and sassy. She livened up the story when it could have gotten boring. I loved the dynamic relationship she had with Lara Jean, Peter, and Josh. She might be just a little girl, but she definitely had some attitude. She's definitely one of my favorite characters in this story.
Margot:
Margot was really snotty. She was always bossing everyone else around like she was the queen of the world, and I hated that. She could be rude and insensitive at times. And she was definitely a stickler for the rules. Still, at the same time, I could see why she was the way she was because she took care of the family after her, Lara Jean, and Kitty's mom died when she was a child.
Josh:
I didn't like Josh. The author portrays him as the boy-next-door type of guy (no pun intended), making him seem sweet, caring, and down to earth. But I didn't see it. Even before Peter was introduced, I didn't like Josh. I don't think he's anything special at all. I don't know if I got a vibe from him that I didn't like or what, but I just didn't like him. He kind of seemed odd to me. Off-kilter, in a way.. like he didn't belong in the story.
Peter:
Although I didn't like Josh, Peter wowed me. He made up for Josh's oddness. Peter was totally love-able. He's funny, sarcastic, sweet, and totally attractive.. all of the best features rolled into one character! I loved that he wasn't the perfect guy. He's got his own problems just like everyone else. He's flawed just like Lara Jean. But, in a way, that kind of makes him perfect in my eyes. He seems like a total jerk at first but that completely changes. He grows alongside Lara Jean in this book and I love that they have that chemistry together.
Speaking of chemistry..
THE ROMANCE:
Beware: this has a love triangle (kind of). Okay, I don't really consider it a love triangle because I knew who Lara Jean would be with right when a certain character walked into the picture, but Lara Jean does have feelings for two guys. So that means a "love triangle". However, I think if you read this you won't really consider it one either.
Anyways, I enjoyed the romance between Lara Jean and Peter. Actually, I LOVED IT. They made me gush and giggle like a school girl. In my opinion, the best kind of romance is when they start out hating each other and, after being forced to be together for whatever reason, slowly develop feelings the longer they spend time together. It's so cute. This is how Lara Jean and Peter are. At first, they don't really want anything to do with each other. But, considering the predicament they are in, they must spend time together to convince people that they're a couple. Slowly, through many fights and bickering, they come to a great friendship. Even still, that friendship is slowly teetering on the edge of something even more. UGH, I LOVE IT. Honestly. I was solely Team Peter for 100% of this book. Their relationship, enemies and friends, was very awesome to watch grow into something much deeper and real.
I can't tell you how many times I had to put the book down and fan myself because of how cute they are together. It's like something out of my dreams.
Now, Lara Jean and Josh.. I have nothing to say other than it will never compare to Lara Jean and Peter. It was weak, boring, and had no chemistry whatsoever. Lara Jean and Josh are better off as friends. Josh should be with Margot. Lara Jean should be with Peter.
Like I said previously, I was very surprised with this book. I started it thinking it wasn't going to be good at all. Now here I am giving it 5 stars. I was also surprised with the prose. It was beautiful, honestly, and some of the quotes made me tear up. When a book can make me tear up or, heaven forbid, make me cry, it's a winner. In addition to the wonderful prose, the overall plot was engaging and very detailed. You would think that a Young Adult contemporary romance would have a not-so-thought-out plot but the plot in To All the Boys I've Loved Before was magnificent. Believe me, the story has more to it than the blurb tells you. The blurb does NOT do justice for the actual book.
I recommend this book to anyone and everyone who enjoys a good Young Adult contemporary romance. And even if that isn't your style, please give it a try anyways. You might find that you love it. Personally, I'm glad that I picked this up from the Barnes & Noble bookshelf. It's probably the best decision I've made in a while.
Until next time,
