Always and Forever, Lara Jean
Ratings115
Average rating3.8
2.25/5 stars Don't be the girl who goes to college with a boyfriend. I must have read an entirely different series than everyone else. I must have. It's the only reasonable explanation. I always see reviews stating that these books are so cute and relatable? They leave me befuddled because I find them to be neither. Cute? No. Relatable? No. Annoying? Yes. Unnecessary? Yes. Me, when this book was over: Why did I even pick this up? Curse you adorable covers. I have always known you were my kryptonite Luckily, I buddy read this with the amazing Scrill!!!!!! who, somehow, read the same book that I did and had similar thoughts and feelings. Thanks Scrill. I'm glad you didn't leave me alone in this. What I wanted to happen in this book: 1. Lara Jean to grow up and start acting her age. What didn't happen in this book: 1. Lara Jean growing up and acting her age. How old was she even suppose to be? Because I'm not buying this 17/18 year old thing. She's passable at twelve. Was I suppose to like Lara Jean? I literally couldn't care less about anything that happened to her. She's just so immature and naive for her age. It would be one thing if she started out like that in the beginning of the series and did an entire 360 and was this strong, independent women at the end. But she wasn't, of course. She was still naive Lara Jean, the most consistent character I have had to read about. Every time she had any piece of dialogue, my eyes rolled so far to the back of my head that they might as well bought a vacation house there. I wish I tagged this book as I read so I'd have more receipts. #regerts I think couples costumes might be my favorite part of being in a couple. Besides the kissing, and the free rides, and Peter himself. What about the being with someone who fully understands you and who you are able to connect with? Who will support you and be with you no matter what? There's more to a relationship then couple costumes, kissing, and free rides. Or is that too much to ask for from a twelve-year-old? Also, in case you were wondering what Lara Jean's day is like. Step-by-step. Not even the littlest of details missing, then this is the book for you. Because she will tell you everything that happens to her. Important to the story or not. Usually the latter. I'm the cook. When we first got to the house, we went and did a big shopping trip and bought cold cuts, granola, dried pasta and jars of sauce, salsa, cereal. The one thing we didn't buy was toilet paper, which we ran out of on the second day. Every time we leave the house to eat lunch or dinner out, one of us steals a wad of toilet paper from the restaurant bathroom. Why we don't just go buy more, I don't know, but it turned into kind of a game. Chris is the clear winner, because she managed to get an economy-sized roll out of the dispenser, and she smuggled it out under her shirt. Like I guess that's supposed to be funny? But after almost 300 pages of unnecessary detail, the last thing I possibly care about was if Lara Jean had toilet paper or not. I didn't care. I still don't care. Also, was I suppose to care about LJ and Peter's relationship? Was I suppose to root for them to stay together? Because the only salvageable part of this entire book was towards the end and they predictably broke up. When that happened I was pretty much like If you are a fan of classic movies, much like I am, then you'll remember in one of the most iconic musical of all time, High School Musical 3 , when Gabriella broke up with Troy's sorry ass because she realized that her education at Stanford was more important than any relationship. If you don't remember, here's a link to the heartbreaking, but totally realistic scene Someone please have a movie marathon with Lara Jean and show her that entire movie like three times. She really needs to see it and learn that PETER IS NOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN GETTING A GOOD EDUCATION. Honestly this entire book I was just hoping Lara Jean would pull a Gabriella and dump Peter and go live her life boyfriend-free. Just walk away, girl. You deserve better than that asshole. Honestly, Lara Jean and Peter have nothing in common at all. Unlike Troy and Gabriella, who were both insanely attractive people who could sing like angels . What did they even talk about? None of the conversations they ever had in this book were ever actually meaningful. Then there's Kitty who so impossibly annoying. She's what eleven? I don't think she's ever been told her entire life the word “no.” There are scenes where she's up past midnight and no one even gets mad at her. Or she says the meanest things ever and barely gets a negative reaction. Then she's told she can't come to a bachelorette party BECAUSE SHE'S ELEVEN so she sneaks her way into the bachelor party. Just no Kitty. Go back to playing with your dog who's non-existent this entire book .I would talk about how ridiculous the plot of this book is except there is no plot. None. At all.Everytime a conflict comes up it gets solved by the next page. Literally I fell asleep reading this book about 7 times and that's not an exaggeration. I mean if you like this book. That's cool. I'm glad you did. But I'm gonna go back to reading [a:Morgan Matson 3351454 Morgan Matson https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1281591801p2/3351454.jpg] contemporary books. I think I'm done with Jenny Han. She just isn't for me.
Honestly this one just wasn't for me. I loved all the sisterly vibes of the previous two books, but I felt they weren't nearly as focused on in this one.
As far as Peter and Lara they are cute as always, but they did have a lot of issues in this book (as high school couples tend too). That and all the last year senior year stuff just doesn't really interest me personally, probably because I don't look back on my own senior year that fondly. Any-who, that's a personal problem but in the end solidified that this wasn't a book I'd enjoy.
This is a 4.5/5 stars for me. I really do read contemporary like nothing and I can whiz through it so fast, so for a contemporary book/series to actually stick with me is very few and far between. Now I'm not saying these are the best books in the entire world or anything but I really do like them. I think this book was better than the second in the series, which is my least favorite. The second just went to a darker place I didn't think fit the characters as well but this one has that tone of seriousness under the light and fluffy. I really enjoyed the college aspect of this. They are planning to go to college and being accepted/denied and I just think it is an interesting process and it was handled well. I also like the development of the main romantic relationship and even the introduction of a new, side relationship. I did have a couple issues with the writing specifically with listing. It may have been in the other books but I didn't notice it. If you want more thoughts check out my review up on my YouTube Channel:
Just like the second one, this was an aimless addition to the series. I honestly could have lived without reading the saga of Dan and Trina's relationship. This was supposed to be about Lara Jean's final year of high school and preparation for college but book was bloated with wedding talk. Apart from that, nothing happened. Peter's presence was incredibly underwhelming. Why are these two together? They don't have anything in common. All their conversations revolved around Peter being passive aggressive due to his insecurities over possibly losing Lara Jean when she goes to an out of state college. Let's face it, Lara Jean's just being thirsty over how cute he is. I'm glad that at least she went through with the decision to go to the college of her choice.
I was really excited to read Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han. This book forms the final chapter in the To All The Boys I've Loved Before trilogy and I was desperate to know how Lara Jean's story was going to conclude and also a little sad because it was to be the last book with these wonderful characters.
Picking up shortly after the end of P.S. I Still Love You, the second book in the trilogy, we find Lara Jean living through her senior year of high school and going through all the rights of passage that come with that event such as college applications and decision making about her future, graduation, prom and her final summer at home before she leaves to go to college. She is still very much in a relationship with Peter Kavinsky and they are a great couple but they are facing questions about how things will change when they both go to college and bearing in mind that Lara Jean's mom always used to say that you should never go to college with a boyfriend.
What continues to make these books special though is all the accompanying events that run alongside those related to Lara Jean herself. The thing I have enjoyed most about this trilogy is the fact that it has remained very much invested in the emotions and dynamics of Lara Jean's family. Margot, her elder sister, is still away at St Andrew's University, little sister Kitty is feisty and confident and preparing to enter puberty and their dad has fallen in love with their neighbour across the street and is for the first time finding happiness himself away from his precious girls.
This entire series has stood on the strength of Han's character writing, we really root for all of the characters, not just Lara Jean. I love Kitty, she has remained a high point through all of the books. There are difficult transitions for Margot in this book as she finds family dynamics changed by her father's new relationships when she comes home and your heart breaks for her as she tries to adapt. We also have those little family moments that they navigate together like when Margot brings her college boyfriend home and pushes the boundaries by saying he won't sleep in the guest room but with her, leaving her father upset and angry.
This book does take us on a rollercoaster journey, we share in Lara Jean and Peter's planning as the plan to go to the same college but then are devastated (if not surprised) when that doesn't work out and then we find ourselves praying Lara Jean finds the right place for her to be in the year ahead without being too focused upon her relationship alone.
It's a book about endings, moving on in life and the excitement of the future even though it can sometimes be terrifying. It was a wonderful ending to the stories and I will sorely miss Lara Jean and her crazy family and all her friends. It felt like there could or should be more but at this point I know there are no plans to continue the story but I will always wonder how Lara Jean enjoyed Korea, how did she settle at college, how does Kitty fare when her big sister leaves home and whether she and Peter manage to stay together forever. I'll miss you Lara Jean.
So fucking adorable, and a really great ending to the trilogy. Still don't really like Margot. Maybe it's because I'm a middle child like Lara Jean, who knows. Margot just annoys me. Peter is just so 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻, you don't really notice the difference between book Peter and movie Peter until you're back in the book universe, but it's there, and book Peter is just so wonderful, and Lara Jean is so wonderful and their love story is the cutest thing in the entire world and I will totally miss them.
Also I ADORE the dynamic Trina brings to the family, she's so wonderful.
8/17/16: I love Lara Jean to bits and I can't wait to have more of her ( >v< ) I am definitely rooting for Peter though! Initially, I thought that I would be super disappointed that this wasn't a duology, but I didn't realize how much more fun and lovable Asian characters I needed in my life.
After the 2nd book was so disappointing, this was a nice finish to Lara Jean and Peter's story.
4 stars because I will always need more of this series, after over a year since reading i still think about lara jean and Peter constantly
2/5
finished this series mostly for the sake of completion; the first book was fun and charming and the other two had their moments, but the fun there was probably spoiled for me by watching the movie first. the heart of lara jean's life continues to be her family and her sisters and i love that, as well as her friendship with chris and the other friends she has made, but overall i grew bored of lara jean's hobbies and concerns. (there's a 50% increase in stress baking. i ended up making brownies. chubby lara jean agenda 2k18.)
what brought this down to 2 stars is: overabundance of referential humor/gestures (hamilton and old romantic movies) + the wedding planning + the part where lara jean forgot her phone charger and neither she nor chris thought to purchase one at literally any gas station (no way their tank lasted for 6 hours on the road) or convenience store (in. a. college. town).
“Always and Forever, Lara Jean” is the final novel in the trilogy written by Jenny Han. Within this novel, Lara Jean is still in a relationship with Peter, and now she is trying to organise her father's wedding to Ms. Rothschild, while she is applying to colleges and completing high school.
I really enjoyed this novel due to the college problems that Lara Jean faced within the novel, as I related to these exact problems that she faced. This novel was very relatable. I quite enjoyed the romance within this novel, and the discussion on whether Lara Jean and Peter should breakup before college. I also liked the family relationships within this novel. This novel was a pretty good conclusion for the trilogy, so I gave this novel a 4.5/5 stars.
Whew, what an ending! Thank you Jenny Han for giving Lara Jean the happily ever after she deserved! ☺️
3 and 1/2 stars ✨
The final chapter to Lara Jean's high school shenanigans. Waiting for confirmation letters from universities and navigating (love) life for the future. This volume is a charming coming of age story to its core. I have to admit I got a bit emotional about the ending and Peter K grew on me. The pacing is similar to the first installment's,hence the rating. I think Jenny creates conflicts really well,I just wish they'd come sooner and would be more fleshed out. The solution should be more complex,because everything happens really quickly at the end. I'd have loved more John Ambrose,but all in all it's a lovely book. I'm going to miss these characters.
Muy buen cierre, no sabia que lo necesitara, pero fue muy bueno.
Es como un relleno, pero cerro la historia de Lara Jean.
