To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Woah. Don't get me wrong, I loved the family aspect to this and the writing makes it so easy to keep reading. On those points alone I'd give it 4 stars. What makes it a 2 star book for me was the unnecessary drama and the boys (OMG those boys!!). I couldn't stand them, either one. I wish it had been more about the letters and less about Peter.

And here's a lesson to myself in why I should trust my instincts as I KNOW WHAT I LIKE!

Maybe 10-15 years ago I would have been into this but now I just can't handle it. It's 420 pages long!! 420!! and it's about some girl having multiple crushes and letters being sent to those boys. Jeez. It could have been 100 pages and it would have been passable as a quick cheesey novella but this is just long and sickly sweet and tedious.

Nope. Not for me.

I gave it the extra star for the portrayal of family life, apart from the annoying little brat of a younger sister, the older sisters and their dad were lovely to read about.

first things first: the catalyst for this story–that Lara Jean writes these letters to boys she has crushes on to get her feelings out and exorcise the crushes AND THEN SEALS THEM IN ENVELOPES WITH THEIR ACTUAL ADDRESSES WRITTEN ON THEM–doesn't quite add up for me. I mean the first part, yes, but WHY WOULD YOU WRITE THEIR ACTUAL MAILING ADDRESSES ON THEM, LARA JEAN, THAT IS JUST A RECIPE FOR DISASTER?!

anyway once you get past that, I really loved this book and these characters <3 I read the whole thing in one very enjoyable afternoon and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel. It's very sweet and funny and the characters felt so real to me. A great readalike for Sarah Dessen et al. I think it's great for maybe some very studious, rule follow-y teens who might need a gentle reminder to ~live a little~.

This book wasn't what I expected at all when I first went into it. It took me completely by surprise considering that I'm not a big fan of contemporary. This book was everything I needed at the moment, I loved the main character and related to her on so many levels. I loved the romance and the events that transpired. It was just amazing.

“To All the Boys I've Loved Before” is the first novel in a trilogy written by Jenny Han. I re-read this novel when the Netflix movie came out this year. This novel follows main character Lara Jean, who writes letters to boys whom she had feelings for, and places those letters in box. One day those letters have been mailed out. 

There were five letters that were sent out, and Lara Jean has to deal with the outcome of this. Though out of the five letters, only three recipients of the five letters, are seen throughout the first novel, but of those three, one is gay, one is her sister's ex-boyfriend - Josh -, and the other is the boyfriend of Lara Jean's enemy - Peter. Peter and his girlfriend break up, and he suggests after getting the letter, that he and Lara Jean pretend to be in a relationship, to make his ex jealous, and so that Josh, will think that Lara Jean has no feelings for him any more. Throughout the novel Lara Jean starts to halve real feelings for her fake boyfriend. 

I liked the relationship between Lara Jean and her two sisters, and how Lara Jean, does not like having feelings for her older sisters boyfriend, as she does not want to hurt her siblings. I also liked the fake relationship between Lara Jean and Peter, and how that relationship turns to a friendship then eventually into an actual relationship, near the end of the novel. I also liked the baking aspect. The novel was fast paced and fluffy, which I really enjoyed, I gave the novel a 4.5/5 stars.

Boy, doesn't this book make you want to bake like a mom hosting her kid's Girl Scout troop's bake sale?

This is just such a cute story! The main character, Lara Jean Song-Covey, is a WOC and the relationship she has with her sisters is the most precious thing. Peter is also an adorable puppy and I just asdffghjkl.

I love this book.

I think I'm in the minority when it comes to this book. Maybe it's because I'm an adult woman reading this instead of a teen girl, or because I listened to the audiobook, but this book just didn't do it for me.
1. It was predictable af.
2. Lara Jean's use of “mommy” and “daddy” creeped me out. She's 17 ffs, grow up.
3. The whole “fake date to get back at your ex/lost love” trope doesn't interest me at all. Jealousy and spite aren't cute.
I won't be continuing this series.

I gave tatbilb 4/5 love letters I really enjoyed reading it. Even after watching the film adaptation first. I will say that I loved the movie wAY more than the book. Yes you read right, personally the movie had everything that the book lacked. WHY WAS PETER SUCH A DOUCHE?! Like honestly movie Peter >>>>>>>. Book Lara deserves better. Also while we're talking about movie characters being better than the book character. MOVIE MARGOT AND JOSH > BOOK MARGOT AND JOSH DO NOT @ ME. They annoyed me so much to the point that when they said something I just rolled my eyes. I was like that one vine where the guy goes “oh my God she's always doing something” “ooo what she do?” “She breathed”. Yep that was me with them. ESPECIALLY WITH JOSH OML WHEN HE DID YOU KNOW... THAT YEAH I WAS LIKE BOI!! Let me stop before I throw my phone out of frustration. To end my statement, the movie was better drops mic.