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.
Rating: 3/5
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
While I don't read as much contemporary literature as I did in my early high school years, I still like t0 visit the genre when a recommendation is thrown my way. I had read Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty awhile ago, but could never quite get into the story--it didn't seem very alive to me. I decided to try out this series, and hoped for the best, but unfortunately I still wasn't impressed.
Lara Jean, as a character, is meant to be imperfect and immature, but I still expected some growth, which I sadly did not see. In my opinion she also wasn't the most enticing narrator to follow, but those kinds of things are more personal than fixable. I found Lara Jean's family much more interesting to read about--especially Kitty. The plot also takes a long break in the middle of the novel, and then the climactic events seem almost thrown together in the end. The "break" I talk about was mostly used for relationship growth between characters, which is necessary, but it didn't feel natural. I felt disconnected from the story and instead of being engrossed I wondered instead what significance the event had to the plot/characters.
Overall, it had all the usual elements of a contemporary YA novel, but I personally couldn't connect with it--I'm guessing something with the voice is pulling me away since it also happened with Han's previous series. It's still a nice read if you're looking for something this summer, and it has a cute factor to it that can give you that happy-bubbly feeling. It wasn't my cup of tea, but there's plenty of others who are in love with this book.
To All The Boys I've Loved Before is also a part of a series, and the sequel just came out a couple days ago. I'm not sure if there will be more, but you can always ask the author on twitter!
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