So friends, I just finished reading To All the Boys I've loved Before, by Jenny Han And honestly, it was worth every minute. I can relate to the way Lara Jean the main character feels, her personality, the way she overthinks, and how she wrote letters she never plans to send. It felt like I was reading about myself.
Okay, here’s the real tea on what happened
Lara Jean is a quiet and introvert girl who lives with her older sister Margot, younger sister Kitty and their dad. Their mother had died years ago.
So apparently, just like any other introvert would do, something I do too, Lara Jean has a secret, whenever she falls in love, she writes a letter to the boy she's in love with and then hide it ib the hatbox her mom gave to her. She has written five letters in total, which was never meant to sent out. That was her pouring out her feelings on a book and with a pen.
One of the boys, Lara had written a letter was Josh, Margot's boyfriend. Lara has always had feelings for josh before he and Margot dated, but she buried them feelings out of loyalty for her sister....the "Sisters before Mister" kinda thing.
Just like she would always do, Since she couldn't confess to any of the guys she love, she wrote a letter to josh, a letter that was never meant to be sent to josh. But some how the cat was let out of the bag and that was when Lara Jean's peaceful world turned upside down.
Her letters was Mysteriously sent out to all the boys she wrote to, five of them in number and one by one they all begin to confront her.
Imagine someone invading your diary, read what you wrote about them and confronting you about it.
Laughs in embarrassment
First it was Peter who confronted her. Peter Kavinsky, the popular kid and used-to be-friend of hers. He was easy to deal with. Then Josh, Josh of all people. I just held my breath when josh confronted her. Your sisters boyfriend finding out you've been crushing on her. If that is not the worst thing that could happen to any girl, then I don't even know what to call it.
In order to cover up and get rid of Josh who apparently loved her too, and also make Peter’s ex-girlfriend Genevieve jealous, Lara Jean and Peter agree to pretend to date, after Lara had kissed Peter in the hallway to prove to Josh they were dating.
As they “date,” Lara Jean and Peter start spending time together , movie dates, lunch together, even Peter hanging out at her house.
Despite pretending, their connection becomes real. They have great chemistry and learn more about each other’s personal lives and insecurities.
Their closeness made Josh confused and jealous. It’s unclear whether he actually likes her or just misses Margot.
At one point, Josh kisses Lara Jean, which confuses her even more and makes her feel guilty. When Margot who was in college comes home for the holidays, things get messy....like really messy
She finds out about the kiss with Josh, got upset with both of them. Lara Jean tries to apologize, and their sisterly bond gets strained.
Shame
Moving on, things got messier when their school organized a ski trip.During trip,a rumor spreads that Lara Jean and Peter had sex in the hot tub, started by Genevieve out of jealousy. Lara was hurt and humiliated especially when Peter doesn’t defend her strongly enough.
Aren't you my boyfriend?? Ain't you supposed to stand up for me?
She confronted Peter about the rumor, and realizes that he’s still emotionally entangled with Genevieve, so she ends things with him, feeling like she can’t trust him and that their relationship,real or fake , wasn’t protected the way it should’ve been.
After Lara Jean ended the fake relationship with Peter, she finally had time to think clearly. No more pretending, no more confusion. It was time to focus on her sisters and fix everything that had been left hanging.
That’s when something big happened.
Kitty, her little sister, confessed. She was the one who sent out all the secret love letters.
Yes, those private letters Lara wrote for her old crushes the ones she never meant to send. Kitty admitted she did it because she was mad at her after a fight. She wanted to “shake things up” and didn’t think it would go so far.
Lara was shocked. At first, she thought it was their dad’s fault because he had taken the hatbox (where she kept the letters) to Goodwill. But no, it was Kitty all along. Her own sister. And that changed everything.
Even though it caused so much drama and embarrassment, it also made her realize something, her feelings for Peter were real.
They weren’t part of the pretend. Somewhere along the line, she really started to like him.
So, she does something brave, something I'll never do.
She sits down and writes another letter , but this time, it is not a secret. This one isn’t going into a box. It’s a real letter, meant to be sent. She pours her heart into it and tells Peter how she truly feels. No more hiding.
And just like that, the book ends.
This story had so many surprises, the fake relationship, the letter drama, Kitty’s confession, so much drama And I honestly loved every bit of it. The twists kept me turning pages, and I didn’t want it to end.
Now I’m moving on to book two P.S. I Still Love You, because I just know more drama is coming, and I live for the drama.
P.S. Images are Screenshots,cover image edited in Canva.