Spoiler Alert: character names, themes, and plot discussed. 

Summary

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the first book in the To All the Boys trilogy by Jenny Han. In this young adult (YA) fiction book, we are introduced to Lara Jean ‘Song’ Covey who is a high school junior.  She is half Korean (mother) and half white (father) and the middle child of 2 sisters. Margot, the oldest and Kitty, the youngest. She has a lot of loves in her teenage life and instead of confessing her love face to face with these boys, she writes them love letters, addresses them, and puts them away never mailing them. 

Until one day she discovers at school that her love letters had in fact been mailed out to all the boys. The drama ensues from there. 

About the Author

Jenny Han is a New York Times best selling author for To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before; Always and Forever, Lara Jean (On Netflix); and the Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy (On Amazon Prime Video). 

She has also written Shug and Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream; and co-wrote the Burn for Burn trilogy along with Siobhan Vivian. 

Review

“My letters are for when I don’t want to be in love anymore. They’re for good-bye.”

― Jenny Han, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

I find Lara Jean refreshing. 

Refreshing in the way that she sees love. And the medium that she uses to express how she truly feels is also refreshing. Letters 💌.

Who writes letters nowadays? In this age of the internet, email and texting. 

Her letters are a free for all of emotions and truth. To the point where she is embarrassed after re-reading them herself. 

Now, she would never say the things she writes in the letters in real life. 

That’s one thing that makes her so relatable. 

How many times have you wished to have the courage to say how you truly feel about a person or a situation? But you don’t because of whatever reason. Usually out of fear for the way you will be perceived.

Or maybe that’s just a me thing.

Lara Jean finds a way to express her truth and let go of the love that has her entangled. Without hurting anyone’s feelings or getting hurt herself. 

In a way one might think that is an appropriate way for teenage girls to handle their fiery emotions. Within themselves.

In another way though it could be a detriment. The lack of making yourself vulnerable and taking risks. A skill in which needs to be exercised.

1 theme of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before:

Sisterhood

“Margot would say she belongs to herself. Kitty would say she belongs to no one. And I guess I would say I belong to my sisters and my dad, but that won’t always be true.”

― Jenny Han, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

As much as the narrative of this book is about Lara Jean and her love letters, it is also about The Song girls. Margot, Lara Jean, and Kitty. And the original Song girl, their mother who has passed away.

The dialogue between these three sisters draws you in and captivates you. 

The eldest sister Margot sets the tone for how Lara Jean and Kitty interact with each other and with their dad. Margot is the responsible sister, who takes up most of the responsibilities of managing the house after their mother’s passing.

Lara Jean looks up to Margot and cares deeply about how her sister sees her. More than anyone else, Lara Jean is driven to make Margot proud.

We even see Kitty, who is the head strong, confident, tell it like it is little sister, deeply respect and admire her older sisters.

Sisterhood to them is more than friendship and they hold it in the highest regard.

The Love Triangle

I would be remiss if I did not mention Lara Jean, Josh and Peter. The love triangle. 

Josh

Josh is quite literally the boy next door. Margot’s newly recent ex boyfriend. 

However, Lara Jean starts to like Josh while he was dating Margot. This is problematic. Especially for Lara Jean who has such a close relationship with her sister.  

There’s a familiarity that Lara Jean has with Josh. He’s the good guy. Josh knows her and her family. He is safe. 

Peter Kavinsky

Peter is the proverbial ‘bad boy.’ And I say ‘bad boy’ in the loosest way possible because he doesn’t do anything bad like smoke, do drugs, or anything criminal. 

But he is the polar opposite of Lara Jean. Peter is popular, Lara Jean is not. Peter is athletic, Lara Jean is not. Peter is overly confident, Lara Jean is not. 

Although they are polar opposites, Lara Jean finds out through Peter’s interactions with Kitty and his own family, that Peter is more than just the arrogant, self absorbed, overly confident, popular guy. That he is attentive, caring, protective, and sweet.

Are you Team Josh or Team Peter? I’m Team Peter… at least in this book 😏

Why read?

I wonder what it is about YA that draws us adults that are well past our high school years, back into that world. Is it wishful nostalgia? Or the feeling of familiarity?

Whatever it may be for you, here are 5 reasons to read To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before:

1. Connection- It was really easy and organic to build a connection to Lara Jean. Her emotions are all too familiar for a teenage girl or the teenage girl at heart 🩷
2. Excellent Character Building-   These aren’t just characters for characters sake. Each person plays a key role in Lara Jean’s story. And the characters are relatable. 
3. Short Chapters- I appreciated the short chapters throughout this book. It made me feel like I was progressing and not just stuck in one long chapter, which gave me motivation to keep reading. I would start a chapter, get caught up with whatever is going on, then all of a sudden three chapters have gone by. 
4. Family Ties- I really do appreciate the closeness of the Covey family dynamic. 
5. A teenage love story- Who doesn’t like a good will they won’t they end up together story ♥️

“Love is scary: it changes; it can go away. That’s the part of the risk. I don’t want to be scared anymore.”

― Jenny Han, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before