To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before #1)
By Jenny Han
Genre: YA Contemporary
Recommended For: Ages 14+ and readers who are total fans of rom coms and sweet love stories mixed with good values

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. 

The Gist:
Jenny’s Hans first installment in her To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is the adorable and addicting story of Lara Jean Covey, a high school girl who writes love letters to the boys she’s fallen in love with over the years. One day, when the letters get out, Lara Jean must deal with the consequences and face the fact the some of the feelings might be creeping back in.

I had so much fun reading this story. It’s nothing profound or revolutionary. It follows a pretty standard rom com formula for teenage love stories, but I love that. There’s a formula because it works-it makes you want to keep reading and fall in love. It was a balanced mix of romance, family, friendship and valuable lessons learned about being a teenager and staying true to who you are. I would call it a more light-hearted read that is enjoyable at ever page turn.

What I Liked:
The boys. I loved how the boys Lara Jean liked were all so different. In a way, that showed a lot of depth in Lara Jean’s character, that she didn’t limit herself to one specific type of guy.  Each boy had his own personality and his own way of interacting with Lara Jean and her family. I also thought it was neat to see how each boy helped her grow in different ways.

I would like to become a member of the Covey family after reading this book. They are like the perfect family. And by perfect I don’t mean they always get along and never fight. I mean that when they do, it’s still evident they love each other and they work through the argument. I give Han some major kudos for this because I think it’s really important to espouse good family values in any novel, especially one for teenagers.

Lara Jean was a very well written character in my opinion. She wasn’t just the one-dimensional young teenager who falls head of heels right away for a guy and he becomes her entire world. She also doesn’t like a guy based solely on his looks, but on his character and how he treats other people.

I appreciated that not absolutely EVERYTHING revolved around the love story. Every now and then, bits of family tension sprouted up that provided a brief reprieve from all the teenage boy/girl angst.

What I Didn’t Like:

It felt like a couple times Han tried to delve into some deeper scenes that dealt with bigger issues. But they came across as rushed and glossed over which made it seem like the characters didn’t care that much and wanted to get back to the falling in love part.

Lots of components of the story were cliche and predictable. I mention that here in case that’s a really big turn off for me. For me though, stories like this (teen rom com), I’m not so worried about the cliches. I actually kind of like them because I’m a sucker for a love story that draws me in, and that’s what this book did.

My most significant drawback on the book is that some of the dramatic events and points of tension felt a tad forced and shoved in just so we could see the main couple come together.

LunasLuckyRating: 4/5 Lunas