Friday, May 23, 2014

Book Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Amazon says: Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control in this heartfelt novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series.

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.


I didn't expect to feel so strongly about this book. I was expecting a quick, easy, light read. This fit the bill.....until about half way through. 

There were sibling story lines, romantic story lines and interpersonal conflict. I expected the story to center more on the fact that Lara Jean's "love letters" were sent to the recipients - horror! Who did it? Why? In fact, the story centered much more on the recipients themselves, as they related to Lara Jean. 

At a certain point, I started to really connect with the characters and the story. (Um, Kitty is adorable, Lara Jean is so familiar, and I definitely formed opinions about the other characters). It's still a fairly lighthearted read, but the story lines become more real and I started to see the characters in a different light. 

I became invested. 

Which is why the ending was a let down. All story lines had resolution, but I wasn't satisfied. I wanted more details about Peter, about Josh....heck, even about Genevieve. 

I don't want to give anything away, but I recommend this book. I give it four stars; and I'll check out more from Jenny Han. (I've heard that this book is different from the Pretty series; that if you hated that you would probably like this. I haven't read that series- they've been sitting on my bookshelf, unopened, for over a year). 

4/5 stars. Pick it up!


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