Author: Jenny Han
Published: April 15th, 2014
Series: To All The Boys I've Loved Before #1
Genre: YA contemporary
Pages: 368
POV: 1st person
Publisher: Simon and Schuster BYR
Format: Print ARC
Source: Vine Program
Rating: The Royal Library, Top Shelf
What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once?
Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
The concept for Jenny Han's latest YA contemporary To All the Boys I've Loved Before is likely every teenage girls worst nightmare, and Han pulls it off wonderfully. Lara Jean [Song] Covey is an apprehensive driver, middle sister, and a quiet, all-around good girl (plus, she has very classy taste in clothing). But, when the five love letters she keeps put away in her deceased mother's old hatbox are mailed to the boys, Lara Jean's life becomes a bit more complicated as she tries to control the damage in any way she can, with a little help from one of the recipients...
To All the Boys I've Loved Before is fun, flirty, awkward, and incredibly entertaining. Lara Jean is an easy girl to relate with, and much braver than she gives herself credit for. I was entirely unsure of what to expect from this novel, and Han surprised me with the directions she took. But, like all Han stories, this novel features realistically flawed characters, a strong emphasis on family, a complicated yet very sweet romance, and healthy dose of drama to tie it all together in one messy but realistic bow. To All the Boys I've Loved Before is a sweet story that will make you feel a variety of emotions, and enjoy every second of it.
Highlights: Han excels at creating realistically flawed human beings. They make smart decisions and silly mistakes, they bicker and fight, they make you smile, they make you sigh with annoyance, and they make you chuckle under your breath. Lara Jean's family is very present in her life, and even when everything is chaos, they are still there for each other.
Lowlights: I wasn't ready for the story to end. The romance aspect is only just beginning, and I'm curious to see where the sequel will take readers.
Rating: The Royal Library, Top Shelf (high 4 out of 5). While I love Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty much more, To All the Boys I've Loved Before is a wonderful story about family, friendship, and romance.
