Jenny Han changed young adult romance with her 2014 debut of the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series. Initially, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was planned as a duology, followed by P.S. I Still Love You in May of 2015. But Han shocked the world when she posted a teaser on Twitter of a cake with the words, “Always and Forever, Lara Jean” and “Spring ‘17”. The reading community blew up the tweet, accumulating over at least ten thousand likes and retweets. Because of fans’ constant pleas for another book to be added to the duology, Always and Forever, Lara Jean ultimately became the final conclusion to the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series.
Han managed to make a refreshing twist on young adult romance through highlighting all types of love--family, friends, and especially romantic relationships. Because Han enforced a minority, specifically Korean-American, as a protagonist, this also made the book stand out from the others by incorporating culture and how it can strengthen familial bonds.
Han managed to make a refreshing twist on young adult romance through highlighting all types of love--family, friends, and especially romantic relationships. Because Han enforced a minority, specifically Korean-American, as a protagonist, this also made the book stand out from the others by incorporating culture and how it can strengthen familial bonds.
When I read the trilogy, I was intrigued by the interesting turns Han took to make this series as distinguished as possible from other young adult books. What she captured well was character development of the protagonist. The first book starts out with Lara Jean as a sophomore, all the way to the third book where she graduated from high school. This touched my heart because I began reading the series when I was a sophomore and the fact that I finished this trilogy as a senior makes it all the more sentimental to me.
At first, I thought that To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was a typical young adult romance. The cover was cute and aesthetically pleasing, which piqued my interest. I expected the blurb to highlight predictable writing tropes such as instant love, a love triangle, a hot love interest, a bad boy, and stretching the series out as an unnecessary trilogy. However, the first line “What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once?” immediately took my money.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before captures young love, naivety, family, and most of all reality in an honest way. You see the world through Lara Jean’s eyes--being in a family with a single father, an older sister who’s studying abroad, and a little sister who represents all the frustration in a sibling relationship. You also see her naivety toward love when she first encounters romantic situations, such as facing the boys who read her exposed love letters.
Han’s writing perfectly captures Lara Jean’s innocent mindset and her open-minded perspective towards the world around her. Her words are wrapped in a dreamy vibe, so if you’re a fan of a lighthearted plot and quirky characters, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is the perfect book for you.
At first, I thought that To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was a typical young adult romance. The cover was cute and aesthetically pleasing, which piqued my interest. I expected the blurb to highlight predictable writing tropes such as instant love, a love triangle, a hot love interest, a bad boy, and stretching the series out as an unnecessary trilogy. However, the first line “What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once?” immediately took my money.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before captures young love, naivety, family, and most of all reality in an honest way. You see the world through Lara Jean’s eyes--being in a family with a single father, an older sister who’s studying abroad, and a little sister who represents all the frustration in a sibling relationship. You also see her naivety toward love when she first encounters romantic situations, such as facing the boys who read her exposed love letters.
Han’s writing perfectly captures Lara Jean’s innocent mindset and her open-minded perspective towards the world around her. Her words are wrapped in a dreamy vibe, so if you’re a fan of a lighthearted plot and quirky characters, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is the perfect book for you.