Review Detail

4.2 5

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

Young Adult Fiction 496

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

October 28, 2015

Overall rating

3.3

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Favorite Quotes:
• “I don’t have to be so afraid of good-bye, because good-bye doesn’t have to be forever.”
• “Do you think there's a difference? Between belonging with and belonging to?”
• “I wonder what it's like to have that much power over a boy. I don't think I'd want it; it's a lot of responsibility to hold a person's heart in your hands.”

I would recommend this book for a younger audience and someone looking for a light read.

As of June 2014 it was declared that they intended to make this book into a movie but nothing else has been announced since. Except, that Will Smith was looking to produce it.

Good Points

?To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han is narrated from the point of view of Lara Jean, a junior in high school who is the middle sibling of the “song sisters” Margot, Lara, and Kitty. Lara always writes boys she has had feelings for letters where she spills her innermost thoughts and instead of sending them she puts them away in a box her deceased mother passed down to her. One day her letters are sent out and she has no idea who did it. Meaning, every boy she has had feelings for received a letter, including her sister’s boyfriend Josh and her first kiss Peter. The book is about how Lara deals with the repercussions of her letters.

This book gave me really mixed feelings. At first, I wasn’t really a fan because I felt it was for a more immature audience, which often happens with some young adult books.

It was written in a very Clique (the book series) like way, which I enjoyed when I was in middle school, but not so much now. However, the book took a positive turn for me because of how endearing the characters were. I especially loved the younger sister, Kitty, because she reminded me of what everyone’s younger siblings are usually like and her sassiness was adorable. I also found myself rooting for the couple that developed in the book (which I’m not going to spoil) and Peter, one of the boys who received the letter, sounded like any high school girl’s dream guy.

I didn’t particularly like how Margot’s boyfriend Josh is portrayed as this perfect, sweet guy. Would someone that great really act the way he did? No. Also, when I read a preview of what the book, I got the sense that the letters were written about serious relationships and deep emotions… but it was just a young girl who wrote about her superficial crushes on boys. Some of who didn’t even know her.

I enjoyed how both Lara and Peter were dynamic characters, since I got to see them evolve throughout the novel into more mature people. Also, many of the characters were so endearing that you couldn't help but care for them. The ending irritated me because I wanted more closure; however, that is just me, the hopeless romantic.