I was extremely late picking up To All The Boy’s I’ve Loved Before, shamefully this was because the cover just never incised me (don’t judge a book and all blah blah blah). That is one action that I have lived to regret ever since.
When Lara Jean is in love with a boy instead of telling them she writes them a letter, stamps it and addresses it and leaves it in a box in her bedroom. One day when these letters get sent out mysteriously it leaves implications on her life which lead her to lying to pretty much everyone around her. It’s not something she finds easy or wants to do. But to try and rid her life of other problems she has to create one big one.
Jenny Han creates an incredible sense of family with the ‘Song Girls’, who support the Lara Jean to no end. She also incorporates many aspects of Korean culture in to the novel, a refreshing change from the usual American upbringing you read so often in YA novels. However Lara Jean is a classic example of what the British might call a ‘wholesome American’. She doesn’t mention sex, bakes on weekends, hates being late for school, and think her life’s over when she crashes her sisters car and gets noticed by other people at school. But that kind of personality is what especially what made this novel enjoyable for me.
The writing of this book is simply put pure and innocent and reflects Lara Jean’s personality incredibly. I feared to begin with that this books writing would soon become annoying and childlike but instead its innocence captured my attention, reflecting a type of person many people don’t come across every day. It’s refreshing to read a book that has a strong family element within in, not leaving you hanging on the trials of a teenage relationship for once. Although it definitely keeps you entertained with the love interests.
I went in to this book knowing as little as I possibly could (I’d heard bits about the plot while exploring BookTube) and I think that’s probably the best way to go in to it. If you knew everything that happened then I can imagine the book would be very similar to some other contemporaries around. However it is fast paced and light and absolutely perfect for a summer or cosy winter read!
The Little Contemporary Corner 