To All the Boys I've Loved Before

This one started as an over-hyped book and I kinda wanted to distance myself because I don't have a good reputation with over-hyped books. But I did manage to read it after getting excited from various people. My verdict? It was all right. I liked it enough and had certain issues with it at the same time. That's when I rate it as a three. I liked this one. It reminded me so much of the sisterly relationship in Little Women (which is one of my favourites). Lara Jean is the middle child and our main character. Margot is clearly the responsible one. Kitty is the youngest and the feisty sister. I loved their dynamics and their interactions with each other. I love the sisters dynamics, how different they all are. How incredibly close they all are too. It was my favourite part of the book. I also liked the mystery surrounding who she gave her letters to. Sometimes it helped me root for one guy and then for the other. In the end, I didn't have anyone to root for except Lara Jean herself. I was wishing this would be a stand-a-lone but it wasn't since it ended on a cliffhanger. Hopefully she picks the right guy for her. Overall, it was a cute and fun read and the hype was a little too much for it. I did love the cover since it pictured a POC on it. YAY.show more

Read my FULL REVIEW on Lauren Reads YA (with GIFs!): http://laurenreadsya.tumblr.com/post/99580688382/review-to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-by-jenny-han To All The Boys Iâ??ve Loved Before was a bit of a letdown. I liked it, but it wasnâ??t fantastic like many other people were saying in their 5-star reviews. I loved the concept of this book. All your secret love letters being mailed out? I donâ??t know what I would doâ?¦ Probably curl up in a ball and die. It was just very different from what I was expecting. See, I thought it was going to be more of a fun, light mystery focusing more on who sent the letters and how it happened and how she deals with it. But Lara Jean very quickly accepts the fact that they are out into the world and I feel like the consequences could have been a bit more dramatic. To All The Boys Iâ??ve Loved Before is part of a duology, with the sequel P.S. I Still Love You coming out next year. I canâ??t really imagine what the sequel would be about, and how that would fill an entire book, but sure, Iâ??ll probably pick it up.show more

I had to read this book over the summer for English honors and im so glad I got this book it was amazing!!!!!!!!show more

Original Blog Review: http://landamac.weebly.com/to-all-the... My Blog: http://landamac.weebly.com "When someone's been gone a long time, at first you save up all the things you want to tell them. You try to keep track of everything in your head. But it's like trying to hold on to a fistful of sand: all the little bits slip out of your hands, and then you're just clutching air and grit." When I started to read this book I was not liking it, seriousy... Before this book I've finished a Sci-Fi book and it was a BIG pain in the ass to get used to this kind of story again. But then I continued reading and I have to tell this: This book is amazing! I laughed so much in the first 200 pages of this book, it was so funny... Lara Jean is a really funny and unpredictable girl/character. The true thing is that I loved this book a lot and I was reading it and when I was almost over my heart was beating really fast because I knew that the second book expected publication is only in 2015! I was about to die and I'm not kidding... I was so stupid when I bought this book without the second one released. But, after all, I am really glad I did it, because I loved it and it was really cute and really funny and all the time I was reading my feelings were switching places (like switching boys) and I was doing strange "aaaawww" or "oowwin" sounds (yap, I'm a pretty strange girl). "You'd rather make up fantasy version of somebody in your head than be with a real person." This story is about a girl named Lara Jean. She's 16 years old, she has 2 sisters (one with 18 and another one with 9) and a single father because her mom died when she was a kid. Before her mom died she gave Lara Jean a secret box of letters, so Lara Jean started to write letters to "all the boys that she has loved before". The problem is that her box was not anymore under her bed and the letters has been mailed and now every boy that she liked recieved one letter from her.show more

I wanted to read this one since I saw it on YA Romantics, and loved the premise. I can only imagine the waves that letters helping her get over boys she'd loved were actually mailed. You can't take words back and I wonder what sort will be unleashed on unsuspecting boys. I wasn't expecting the strong family dynamics in this one, and it really was well done and a positive surprise. Our main character Lara is really close with her older sister Margot and younger Kitty. They band together to help their single dad (mom died). They really work for each other's happiness, and have a bond that only loss, time and being family can form. The first boy that Lara gets over is her older sister's boyfriend Josh. He was the next door neighbor and was around and friends with them even longer than he had a relationship with Margot, so I can def see where Lara would fall for him. Plus, he is a good guy, being nice and playing with Kitty, hanging out with their dad, and is thoughtful and fun. This is such a hard subject though because you know that it would only hurt the bond if Lara was ever to act on or admit her feelings, but we also know this will happen because of the summary, so I was anxious at how that would effect their friendship and relationship. I also couldn't pull for Lara to get him because I saw how much he cared for Margot. It still added another element to the story because I had to know if he ever felt anything back and how Lara continues to deal with it. Lara Jean herself is such a fun narrator. She is quirky and thinks a lot like me, she doesn't quite fit into the old crowd of friends she had, but she isn't unpopular persay. She is smart but she is more of a homebody than the average high schooler, also like me. She isn't perfect and that is what makes her even greater. She makes questionable decisions, says things that hurts her sister, and she has bad days. But she rebounds, she figures out a way to get through, and even when she makes a stack of lies, something I know I have done before, she doesn't weasel out of any responsibility of consequences. It was fun to watch her grow and deal with the changes in her life, and watch her to learn a person not just from a fantasy in her mind but up close and personal. The romance was different, and while I have read a setup that shares similarities it was pretty new to me, and interesting to see how it played out and how their decisions effected themselves, the other person and those around them. I ended up liking guy in question more than I thought that I could and he surprised me on more than one occassion (Lara too) at how deep he could actually be and what was hidden behind his good looks. I especially loved how he ended up being at the house with Lara and Kitty a lot and how he treated Kitty like a real person and joked with her, making her feel included and special. I liked that their dad tried so hard to be a good parent. He probably missed his wife so much he couldn't think some days, but he kept the girls, and they stuck together. He made the awkward talks with them, and tried to take back some of the responsibilities that the girls took on to help him, he tried to let them be kids. Even though he worked hard, he wasn't an absent parent, and when he was home, he did things with the family instead of holing up or going out. I enjoyed it and flew through the story. I will def be picking up the next book and can't wait to see more from the life of the Song girls, especially Lara Jean. Bottom Line: It was a fast, sweet, sometimes emotional book with a romance I could get behind, a premise I loved, a quirky main character, and sweet romance.show more

Favourite Quote: â??There is a specific kind of fight you can only have with your sister. Itâ??s the kind where you say things you canâ??t take back. You say them because you canâ??t help but say them, because youâ??re so angry itâ??s coming up your throat and out your eyes; youâ??re so angry you canâ??t see straight. All you see is blood.â?? I am a huge fan of Jenny Han and I automatically buy every book she releases. I had such huge hopes for this book, and like always, Jenny Han did not let me down! I loved this book, a 5/5 stars for me! There was so many things going on in this book, under the surface. There was the love story that was the centre plot but underneath that there were many sub-plots dealing with â?? family, high-school, grief, growing up â?? just to name a few! And I really appreciated that, it made this book different from all the other romance novels. As for the plot, I thought it was very well done and there were a couple of things that surprised me, which made the book even more fun! The pacing was steady and there was a lot of character development throughout that impressed me! As for the characters, thereâ??s Lara Jean, our protagonist, and she lives in a dream-like bubble that eventually bursts and she begins to grow and mature, and I loved reading that! Her younger sisters, Kitty, just cracked me up, she was hilarious! Her dad and older sister were interesting and I enjoyed reading about their family interaction! Plus her sister went to SCOTLAND (where I live) for university so that was awesome to hear! And of course, last but not least, the love interests. Peter was the typical popular guy but he had his vulnerable moments and I grew to love him, even though he had some major flaws! Then thereâ??s Josh who was so sweet and nerdy but I loved him too! These two tugged at my heart and I ended up rooting for each of them at separate times in the book and even now I donâ??t know who I want Lara Jean to end up with! Overall, this book was sweet, light and slightly cheesy read but thereâ??s just something about Jenny Hanâ??s writing that I just love and I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially contemporary readers!show more