To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han | As Ron would say…She NEEDS to sort out her priorities!

I was back in the contemporary mood. I wanted a quick read. And ohhh did I get one.

I literally read this in a day.

I can see now why this series is well loved, definitely!

Let’s talk about To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before!

Title: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

Author: Jenny Han

Publisher: Scholastic

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Series Status: The 1st book in the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series

Number of Pages:  421

(Found on Goodreads)

Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. One for every boy she’s ever loved. 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…

I want Lara Jean as a friend.

That’s one of the first things I thought about this book. It took me all of 30 pages to decide that.

There’s just such a warm, fuzzy feeling about this book. Which is a bit confusing, because the events themselves aren’t warm and fuzzy. And I wasn’t especially blown away by the writing or anything, it was just OK. But it’s just…Lara Jean and her family. There’s such an amazing family unit going on here, with them all being this huge bundle of warmth while each having there own very different personalities. There’s so much love and comfort forming the basis of the story, and it really is lovely to see. You don’t get that often in books.

And from the family, Lara Jean was my favourite. Which is lucky, you know, since she’s the main character.

(Also, I can’t help but think she and Isla from Isla and the Happily Ever After would be the GREATEST friends. Right?)

But besides my imagining of being friends with Lara Jean and scrapbooking all the cute adventures we go on while snacking on homemade brownies, there’s so much more to talk about.

All the characters were lovable. If I went through them all I’d be here forever, and you’d probably tire of this review pretty soon, so I’ll leave that there. They’re all lovable, and that just made this story so worthwhile.

The story itself was an odd one. I loved the idea behind Lara Jean’s letters, and the embarrassment of them being sent out is what drives the plot forward. But Lara Jean’s solution to the problem…that I didn’t agree with. Or at least, it wasn’t what I’d do. At all. It’s all just a little strange to me. And it just seemed like a bit of a stupid idea – which to be fair, she does admit herself. BUT sometimes stupid ideas turn out to be the best stories, and that applied in this case. I found it really quite entertaining to read about!

There were so many moments where I felt like groaning and saying “what are you doing Lara Jean?”. Because, as Ron Weasley would say, she NEEDS to sort out her priorities! The amount of times she changes her mind about things and people and situations…dammit girl, make your mind up! I think that’s what made me read it so quickly though. It wasn’t annoying, in the sort of oh-for-goodness-sake-not-again way. It was more of an encouragement to read on, to find out what she’ll do next to try and worm her way out of the havoc.

“I’m always wondering about the what-ifs, about the road not taking.”

And with how quickly I got through it, it left me wanting more. Surely, I can’t have gotten through it THAT quickly? Little ol’ me, who by the way is a mighty slow reader, managed to read this in a day without getting bored and fidgeting around. That’s how you can tell this is a lighthearted and amusing story. You don’t have to think much about it, you can just soak up all the drama.

Going on a complete tangent…FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD!

Wow was food mentioned a lot in this book! I LOVED IT! So many books just bypass the food part of life, skip over them because it’s not action. Act like food is only fuel, rather than something to be enjoyed. And then you have this wonderful story, full of homemade meals and pizza and brownies and bake sales and Christmas cookies and just EVERYTHING. Thank you, Jenny Han, for showing that appreciation of food. More books need it.

If you want a story that’s full of food, sisterly love, boy drama and the secondhand embarrassment that you feel when all these awkward events are happening to your friend, then this book is for you.

If not…well, read this book anyway, I say. I wasn’t entirely sure all that would be for me either, but turned out it was.

Rated 4/5 stars!

Order from Amazon!

[Available in Paperback and Kindle Edition]

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Share your thoughts!

Have you read this book? What did you think?

Who’s your favourite character?

Is the second book just as good?

Let me know in the comments!

Until next time…

Come and visit me!