To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (TATBILB) by Jenny Han, is a New York Times bestselling novel about sixteen year old Lara Jean Covey, who writes love letters to all the boys she’s ever liked. When these letters get leaked and sent to the boys themselves, Lara Jean’s life turns to chaos as she ends up entwined in a fake relationship contract with the star school lacrosse player, Peter Kavinsky. The book focuses on the relationship between Lara Jean and Peter. They must pretend to be in a relationship in order for Peter to give Lara Jean her letter back and save her from the embarrassment of him leaking it around the school, and for Peter to make his ex-girlfriend jealous. However, as time goes on, they begin to question their “fake” feelings, and wonder if they’re actually real. With that, here are 3 reasons why you should read To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before:
- It’s relatable.
We typically find it hard to resonate with teenagers portrayed in books, because most of the time they have magical powers or go to a wizard school. However, TATBILB portrays teenagers in a realistic light. An example of this is how Lara Jean is particularly school focused, and is aware of college preparations. This contrasts to how not many books have teenagers being focused on school, and the plot reigns unrealistic if the book does not contain fictional aspects.
- It has many deeper meanings.
TATBILB displays a lot of themes that are applicable to our everyday lives. One theme I observed that stuck out to me was the theme of maturity. In the beginning of the book, Lara Jean attaches her feelings to the letters she wrote to the boys she liked in the past. She describes love as playful and innocent. When her letters get leaked, she is set free from the confinement of her feelings to her past crushes. This enables Lara Jean to begin her relationship with Peter Kavinsky, and towards the end of the book, readers observe a significant tone change. A matured Lara Jean now sets herself free of the confinement of emotion, and the tone of the book is wiser rather than her naive introduction. The theme of maturity is able to be applied to our lives by the means of acknowledging emotions and feelings rather than pushing them away, or locking them up in a box through a series of letters to past crushes, in Lara Jean’s case.
- Love is inescapable
Regardless of your views on love, it is something we all have for individuals in our lives, like our family members. We are all capable of loving and being loved, and this is an important topic TATBILB explores. Lara Jean writes her letters to her past crushes as a goodbye to the love she once had for them. She realizes love cannot be faked, and is a strong compelling feeling that doesn’t always have to entail sadness. She changes her definition of love as her tone grows more mature and wise, which is both an interesting and realistic parallel between Lara Jean at the beginning of the book versus Lara Jean towards the end.
-Zoya Ahmad
I found your listicle on To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before to be really interesting! You gave a great summary and provided convincing reasons why why we all read the novel. The book does sound very relatable and realistic, unlike some overly simplified versions of teen's lives. The main character caring about school and grades definitely puts us in her shoes. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI like how you were able to mention that the book is relatable to teenagers, and the different themes this book have. I'm sure this would have gotten many readers into the book, and you didn't even spoil anything.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post and it encouraged me to read the book, because while I did watch the movie that was made, I didn't read it. It particularly intrigued me because of how realistic it seemed, which, like you said, can be a contrast to other young adult novels. Great job!
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the movies I think it would be very interesting to go back and read the book. You did a great job explaining why I should consider doing that. I appreciate how you describe the deeper messages in the book. While the love letters may not seem that deep, there are so many other themes that we can relate to in our own lives. You did a great job on this blog post!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the effort put into writing this blog post. I like how you explained how the book has deeper meanings, as I would not have known that if you had not written that. Something that also interested me is how you explained that love is inescapable, as that is not something I have really thought about before.
ReplyDeleteI like how you went into the themes of this book, as these are an appealing reason to read the novel. I also like how you gave maturity as a specific example of a theme, and how it related to the plot of the story without spoiling anything. Good job.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have seen the movie, I have never read the book. I started reading it and only got a few pages in, and after reading your blog I will try to find time to read it. I like how you explained the differences between Lara's maturity throughout the book, and I thought all of your three reasons were well explained. I enjoyed reading your blog post!
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