To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Jenny Han
I honestly don't know why I was expecting to enjoy this so much. There's only a limited amount of space in my heart for guilty pleasure high school drama schemes, and this just does not fit in there.
Our main character is Lara Jean who wrote love letters to all the boys she's loved (after she gets over them) and for some crazy reason, she puts them in envelopes addressed to each of them and keeps them in a special box in her room. For anyone that has sisters, you know that nothing is sacred in your room. There's no such thing as a good hiding place, they will find whatever it is you're hiding.
ANYWAYS, Lara Jean has 2 sisters (same), but she's the middle daughter. She worships her stuck-up b of an older sister, Margot and has a love-hate relationship with her younger sister, Kitty (who was obviously my favorite). First of all, Lara Jean sounds like she's 12 years old, not a 16 year old who 'loves' to read. I can understand writing letters, sure, but to actually address the letters to the people? What did you think was going to happen? So, she loooooved their next door neighbor, Josh, first. But, when he and Margot start going out, she writes him a letter and vows to get over him. When Margot goes to college in Scotland and breaks up with Josh (after years of being together), the feelings start to come back. Mysteriously (not so mysteriously), her letters get sent out to the boys.
ANYWAYS, Lara Jean has 2 sisters (same), but she's the middle daughter. She worships her stuck-up b of an older sister, Margot and has a love-hate relationship with her younger sister, Kitty (who was obviously my favorite). First of all, Lara Jean sounds like she's 12 years old, not a 16 year old who 'loves' to read. I can understand writing letters, sure, but to actually address the letters to the people? What did you think was going to happen? So, she loooooved their next door neighbor, Josh, first. But, when he and Margot start going out, she writes him a letter and vows to get over him. When Margot goes to college in Scotland and breaks up with Josh (after years of being together), the feelings start to come back. Mysteriously (not so mysteriously), her letters get sent out to the boys.
In order to avoid the awkwardness with Josh, Lara Jean pretends to date Peter (the most popular and beautiful man in school) who also received a letter. Peter just wants to make his ex jealous.
This honestly felt like middle-school shit, I really hope I wasn't that immature in high school. For instance, Peter seriously got heated because Lara Jean didn't sit with him on a bus. It's 'expected' of a boyfriend/girlfriend to sit with their SO on the bus, APPARENTLY.
As one of three girls, I don't understand how you can want to be with your sister's ex like a day after they break up. Honestly, the best characters were Lara Jean's best friend, Chris (who was basically non-existent) and Kitty who acted much older than the protagonist. For a book that was all about these letters, there wasn't much focus on them, just her lies to get out of embarrassment.
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