Book Review: To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

“When someone's been gone a long time, at first you save up all the things you want to tell them. You try to keep track of everything in your head. But it's like trying to hold on to a fistful of sand: all the little bits slip out of your hands, and then you're just clutching air and grit. That's why you can't save it all up like that. Because by the time you finally see each other, you're catching up only on the big things, because it's too much bother to tell about the little things. But the little things are what make up life.”

― Jenny Han, To All the Boys I've Loved Before

American author Jenny Han's young adult romance To All the Boys I've Loved Before was initially released on April 15, 2014, by Simon & Schuster. Han was motivated to create the book by her personal work of sending love letters to teenage guys who caught her attention. Two sequels to the book were released. In 2018, a movie based on the novel debuted on Netflix. With a few modifications, the plot is largely unchanged from the first book.

Synopsis from Wikipedia...

The story started when Lara Jean Covey writes letters to boys she feels an intense passion with before locking the letters away in her closet. One night, while hanging out with her little sister, Kitty, Lara Jean falls asleep, allowing Kitty to sneak into Lara Jean’s room and find her collection of letters and the next day, all letters were sent to the appropriate recipient. After that, Lara Jean was confronted by the boys she wrote letters to, leading her to the right man she did not expect to fall onto…

My reaction to this novel...

Since romance is not my favored genre, I tend to read less of these works than other types of literature. I tend to lean more toward tragedy than sentimentality, and I have a special affinity for the unanticipated developments that occur in the lovely world of novels. Therefore, reading a few romance novels will be a refreshing pastime for me if I want to smile and giggle like a teenager who is falling over her crush in a busy campus hallway. I made the decision to read this book since I had heard such great things about it.

Jenny Han is an extraordinary writer. I am reminded of how young my heart is and how much I miss being a teenager every time I read one of her novels. I can relate to Lara Jean in the same way that I can recall writing love letters to a crush of mine years ago. You can be transported back to your adolescence by this book. The main character in the book, Lara Jean, is gorgeous and funny, while Peter Kavinsky is handsome and passionate.

The book was turned into a movie, but I was let down since the Lara Jean in the movie wasn't the same as the one in the book, which lessened the excitement I had. Aside from the movie, all I can say is that this novel is excellent and will make you giggle, smile, and laugh all day long. I was motivated to finish it in 1 1/2 days since it made me feel great. I've read through its second and third installments because I can't get enough of it.

This novel deserves to be recognized in the teen romance genre, and I heartily recommend it to everyone.

My Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨(4.5/5)

“Life doesn't have to be so planned. Just roll with it and let it happen.”

Most of the time, we made plans for our future selves. I can admit that I have done it. But now that I think about it, the majority of those scheduled events are either pushed back or cancelled since, in my opinion, we cannot always organize our life. It is the power of God. Let it be; spontaneous moments are amazing and designed to occur. Simply letting things happen, believing in the process, and, most importantly, trusting God's plan for our lives are all that we need to do. 

“Do you know what it’s like to like someone so much you can’t stand it and know that they’ll never feel the same way?”

This occurred to me before when I was younger. It was heartbreaking, and it made me wonder why my self-esteem had plummeted so low. But that's life. It's true that not everyone you like will like you back, and maybe they are feeling the same way about the person they like. Although it is perfectly normal to like someone, you do not have the right to expect that they reciprocate. It hurts at first, but as time passes and you gain valuable experience, you'll realize how young you were at the time and how fortunate you were to have those types of emotions.