To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.” – Goodreads Blurb.

Okay. So I loved this book and read it all in one sitting. But it is full of obnoxious teens screwing up their lives because of misunderstandings and half-truths. If everybody had just owned up to their feelings at any point of the book then none of the craziness would have happened. Then again that’s the case with most YA books so I can’t really judge it too harshly for that.

Lara Jean is a sweet, nerdy, awkward, pretty (but doesn’t realise how pretty she is) kind of teenager (once again sounds like most YA books out there). But this book is a charming look at a bi-racial American teen just trying to get through the day without majorly embarrassing herself. Half-Korean, Lara Jean is raised by her white American dad (her mother died when she was a child) who has nothing but the best intentions (there is a delightful scene where he tries to cook some of their favourite Korean foods, but fails miserably) but he just doesn’t seem to be around enough. He’s a busy doctor, so most of the chores, cooking, shopping, and childcare are done by the oldest child, Margot. Then when she moves out the responsibility becomes Lara Jean's.

Laura Jean seems quite immature (or sheltered) for her age, so I recommend the book for younger YA readers. However while there are no sex scenes, it does mention sex, and even though Lara Jean is incredibly G-rated some of the other characters aren’t, so probably keep it 13+.

Posted by Sas

Catalogue link: To All the Boys I've Loved Before