Most people are familiar with the YA trilogy To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, if not from the books themselves then from the wildly popular Netflix adaptations. Jenny Han tells the story of Lara Jean Covey, a shy, quirky dreamer who loves love but has never been in a real relationship. In fact, each time she finds herself hopelessly in love, she writes the boy a love letter and seals it forever in her secret hat box for only herself to ever see. But when her five letters mysteriously get sent out, she must face head-on her feelings from the past, as well as the present, and risk her heart.
I have to say, after reading this series, I am SO glad to be out of high school. Some people say high school and college are “the good ole’ days,” but I am not one of them. I have no desire whatsoever to go back to the years of emotional, hormone-filled friendships, and boy, did this series confirm that! There is So. Much. Drama. This series couldn’t exist without both old and new crushes, misunderstandings, miscommunications, jealousy, pettiness, and, of course, hormones. But, if you can handle the drama, the series also has good qualities to it.
Unlike what we often see on TV, Han writes a strong family relationship in the Coveys. Three sisters who aren’t perfect but put each other first. A widowed father who adores his girls and is trying to do his very best (AND is appreciated by his daughters. How rare is that?). I loved the positive associations to heritage and history (Lara Jean is Korean-American). The Covey family dynamic is probably what I loved most about this series. I mean, Lara Jean’s dad isn’t a bumbling idiot who has no clue what’s going on in his kids’ lives. Han even broaches the stepmother topic and handles it so tastefully and beautifully. It was a complete breath of fresh air! Huge kudos to Jenny Han for creating such a positive – but realistic – family dynamic. That’s what kids need to be reading about.
Additionally, Lara Jean is a very likeable, relatable character. She’s a little bit quiet. She’d prefer to read a book then go to a party. She doesn’t swear. She overthinks things. Frankly, I saw a lot of myself in her. She’s so far from perfect, and sometimes I wanted to bang some common sense into her. But it was refreshing to follow such a believable heroine!
A few cons: There’s a lot of talk about sex. We’re in high school, people. That’s all these kids care about. For all the talk on sex, Han is never graphic. Lara Jean actually views sex with some respect. She questions the idea of waiting and struggles with the peer pressure to just do it. I thought that was kind of a nice change of pace. But there’s still a lot of sex talk. There’s a smattering of bad language (F- and S- words included) and a number of pretty-bad-influence characters included in the story. It’s like Han had to balance having a slightly more tame main character with some crazy sidekicks. I don’t think that was necessary and tainted the overall story for me.
I wish there had been less language and maybe a little less sex talk. That would turn me off of recommending this to younger kids personally. But all in all, it’s a fun, easy-to-read trilogy. You’ll come to love all the Coveys and many of the colorful characters around them.
Copyright Jenny Han and Simon & Schuster. Image from Amazon.com.
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