Friday, September 23, 2016

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before



Title: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Pages: 368
Genre: YA Fiction, Teen Romance
Rating: 4/5 stars
Awards: SLJ Best Books 2014, Young Adult and
IRA Young Adults’ Choices 2015 Reading List

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is an amazingly well written book by Jenny Han. It is a mix of young adult fiction and teen romance. This book fits these genres because there are a lot of relationships and drama with boys all over the place. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before takes place in present day Virginia. It affects the plot by using technology to solve little problems and to communicate. The main conflict in the book To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is that Lara Jean is in love with 2 boys: Josh and Peter. E) Josh was Lara Jean’s first kiss in 8th grade, and she hasn’t quite seemed to get over him since then. After Lara Jean’s love letters to Peter, Josh, and a few others mysteriously get sent out, Lara Jean’s life gets turned around.

In the very beginning, Lara Jean’s sister who she tells everything to, Margot, leaves for college, leaving her broken hearted boyfriend, Josh, behind. Once she leaves, Lara Jean realizes she has had a love for Josh for a very long time, even before her sister. But when Josh tries to confront her about it, she tells a lie to Josh that she is dating Peter Kavinsky. Peter goes along with the plan to make his ex-girlfriend jealous. As the weeks go on, Peter and Lara Jean start to become very close with what they do. He takes her and her little sister to school everyday, and even go as far to kissing to get people to believe they were dating. But what they didn’t know would happen is they would start to fall for each other. So one day, Lara Jean decides that she wants to go on a class field trip with Peter to a skiing slope. When they go, they go skiing together and end up in the end, kissing in a hot tub. Everyone claims that they did it, but Lara Jean is very upset because it was not true. When her sister comes home from college for Christmas, she overhears a conversation between Josh, Peter, and Lara Jean about that night. Since Lara Jean tells her sister everything, Margot was very upset to hear that all these things happened and was never told. This was a very big deal when it happened and the whole house party that was  going on at the time. When Lara Jean explains everything to her sister, it takes her a while to forgive and forget. But in the end, Lara Jean ends up with the guys she feels she should be with.

The theme in this story is just because someone is quiet doesn’t mean that they don’t have a loud voice. For example, everyone thinks that Lara Jean is this super quiet girl who doesn’t want to date, and here she is dating the coolest guy in the school. This could also mean she can stand up for herself. For example, one day Peter doesn’t pick her up from school like normal and then Lara Jean ignored him for a week. she stood up for herself.

I really liked this book because realistic high school events happened like huge parties where everyone was drinking and there was a ton of drama. But what I didn’t like so much was the facts that her mom is dead. She doesn’t have anyone to tell all of her boy problems to or to cry to when she is just not having a good day. Plus, she has to practically take care of her whole family now that her sister is gone to college. For all you girls out there that like a nice chick-flick, this book is for you.

Contributed by Hannah Harder

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