I <3 Lara Jean

September 20, 2016 Heidi Book Review 1

I’m a fan of Jenny Han’s Summer series and her middle grade Shug. (I’m basically just a fan of Jenny Han in general!) Of course I pre-ordered To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Somehow I didn’t end up reading it until summer 2015. I immediately fell head over heels for Lara Jean. However, it wasn’t until this summer (2016) that I read P.S. I Still Love You. Again, I was smitten. It was then I realized that I never reviewed To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before! This is crazy because I just loved it so very much (I think it’s because I left for GeekyCon a day or two after reading it!)

I have a really hard time going back and reviewing book one of a series after I’ve read the next book. So, instead of doing that I’m just going to share a few reasons I love these books in general 🙂

About the Books:

Lara Jean 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 can pour out her heart and soul and say 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.

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.

She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.
When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Timesbestseller To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

Reasons I Love These Books:

Those Covers: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover and all that. BUT THESE ARE SO GREAT! I love Lara Jean and her expressions. I love the rooms and the decor. I love the fonts and the colors. I just love all of it. Yes, this is the least important reason why I love these books but I still love it 🙂

Lara Jean: 100% the main reason I adore these books is because of Lara Jean herself. Such a great character. I immediately felt like she was a real person… like someone I went to school with and wished was my friend. I love her style and her heart and her insecurities and her reactions. Just everything about her!

The Song Girl: Sisters for the win! I loved each of these girls and their quirks. I love how clear it is that these girls love each other. But also, I love that their relationships aren’t perfect. Yes, they annoy each other at times. But it’s more than that. Sometimes when you grow up with someone (whether it’s a sibling or just someone you’ve gone to school with forever) you begin to see them in a certain way, relate to them in a certain way. And this isn’t always based on who they are or how they see themselves/relate to you. Like, you don’t necessarily see the ways they’ve grown and changed. I felt this in the relationships between Lara Jean and her sisters and it just felt really real to me.

Mr. Covey: I can only imagine how hard it is for a widower to raise three girls. I just loved Lara Jean’s dad and how hard he tries to connect with his girls. He also makes sure to keep his girls connected with his wife’s family and their Korean heritage. I mean, this is what I would hope for from any widowed parent but it was so nice to see.

The Boys: I don’t want to get too spoilery here so I’ll keep it general… I really enjoyed each of Lara Jean’s love interests. Of course there is one I ship her with. However, this is the rare case where I genuinely liked the others as well 🙂

And of course I absolutely loved the stories themselves. How could I not with such amazing characters and Jenny Han’s great storytelling?!?! Seriously. If you haven’t read these I cannot recommend them enough! Read them now and you’ll be ready for Always and Forever, Lara Jean coming this spring!