To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #1)

by Jenny Han

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.

• ISBN10: 1442426705
• ISBN13: 9781442426702
• Publish Date: 15 April 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[kymmiejournals]

Who let the letters out?



Lara Jean adores her sister, Margot, so much that when she found out Margot and Josh broke up, she too was upset. She has a puppy crush in Josh but it didn’t lead to something, she kept her feelings out of respect for her older sister. Whenever she feels something for someone, instead of letting it out in the open, she writes it down and keeps it safe in her mom’s hatbox.

Until it was sent to each recipient…. five in all, one for every boy she ever loved.





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[pagingserenity]

Full review on Paging Serenity.

This is more of a 3.5 star read for me. It was a cute read that I wish I read sooner. There’s so much to love about Lara Jean but her naivety drove me crazy. But then again, so did Peter’s indecisiveness. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read in while I was still in high school.

[Nany]

I liked it better the first time I read it, this time felt kind of meh.

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

37/5 stars
Oh. My. Heck. I was going to wait until the morning to review this, but I just couldn't. Because, think of all the lives this review could change in the next 12+ hours. You need this book. You will wonder how you ever survived without this book. It's like cotton candy for the soul. It makes you giggle. It makes you LOL at 1am when you're so tired but can't bring yourself to part with this book, even for a few hours. It makes you wish you had sisters. It makes you wish you had a dog named Jamie Fox Pickle.

I know I sound dramatic, but I got more sheer pleasure from this story than any other before. It just made me so HAPPY. I'll expand on this review tomorrow morning and critique it like a real reviewer and all that jazz, but in the meantime I'm starting the sequel. Actually I'm returning to it, but more on that tomorrow. YOU NEEEED THIS.

PS: Choose the audiobook version. The narrator is positively delightful!

PPS: Yes, I've had a lot of sugar.

The next day...
This audiobook. This freaking audiobook. It's 8 hours and 22 minutes of sheer and utter delight. Funny story, I accidentally listened to half of this story's sequel (P.S. I Still Love You) before realizing that it wasn't the first in the series. Normally, that would make me flip out. I hate listening to a series out of order. But you know what? It wasn't a huge setback like I would have anticipated. It's really a credit to Jenny Han's writing ability that I was able to [inadvertently] jump into the middle of the story and not even notice for several hours. Han has described this series as "two halves of a heart" and that's exactly what it feels like. The two blend so seamlessly that I couldn't tell the middle of the story from the beginning. Once I finally realized my mistake and started this⬆︎ story, I was able to get more details regarding the background of events that I heard in the first half of the sequel. Am I confusing you? Suffice it to say that this series is so incredible that not even I could flub it up by hearing it out of order. Never have I ever wanted to give an audiobook more than five stars (on a five star scale) until this one. It's just so cute! It's fluffy without being obnoxious and had me giggling every five minutes. Sometimes I'm in the mood for something serious and thought-provoking, but other times I just want something that will make me smile. This is definitely the latter. It definitely fell under the category of "Daytime Listens" (something I can listen to during the day, without requiring much concentration). It was a super easy listen and I don't think I've ever quite enjoyed something this much.

Narration review: Laura Knight Keating's narration skills absolutely blew me away. Particularly, her ability to give each character an incredibly distinct voice. The voice distinction between characters was so significant that there were a couple of times I wondered if she was sharing narration duties with another voice actor. I also appreciate the tone she used to voice the 16-year-old protagonist, Lara Jean. It was youthful, upbeat, and innocent, without being juvenile, whiny, or annoying. A narrator really has to have a solid grasp on a character's personality in order to convey it through voice alone. I felt that Laura Knight Keating excelled at accomplishing this feat, which instantly makes her one of my favorite narrators. As excellent as Jenny Han's writing is, Keating's narration brings so much more to the audiobook than could ever be available in written format. Final verdict, choose the audiobook! ♣︎

[Sam@WLABB]

Such a sweet, touching, and adorable story. I guess you could say this is a romance, but it's so much more. I think my favorite part of the story, is the whole Song girl dynamic. I was so taken by how the family rallied to take care of each other, when circumstances called for it. And Han did such a great job creating this zany and funny story, which also tugged at my heartstrings. But the ending!!!!!! I am happy I was late to this party, because the next book is already waiting for me.

[jeannamichel]

I need to go to the bookstore to pick up the sequel, stat. Review to come.

[Jyc]

★★★★ // i find myself partly endeared to lara jean, but also partly annoyed. she is a sweet, young girl that you can’t help but admire. sometimes, she’s too naïve that i kind of want to shake her. so for the most part, i’m confused about my feelings towards her character. the romance part of the book is a classic fake-it-til-you-make-it. i absolutely loved how it slowly developed into something real, especially those moments when their gestures and actions start to become the normal.

[Chelsea]

Initial Thoughts

I didn’t fully love the Summer series by Jenny Han so I wasn’t getting my hopes up for this one. The summary makes it seem kind of sappy and typical but I’m really glad that’s not how it turned out.

My New BFF

I really liked Peter. I could tell the whole book that he wasn’t as much of a jerk as he made everyone believe. I just felt that he could be such an intense character and I’m glad that I found out there was another book coming out while I was reading this. He’s got a long way to develop but I have a feeling that the author will do really great things with him.

My Crush

I didn’t really have a crush in this book. Maybe the next I’ll develop one!

Writing Style

There’s a lot of controversy about Lara Jean, the main character. She was extremely immature and annoying at times but I kind of felt that she was acting her age. I know I wasn’t that bad when I was 16 but seeing all the 16 year olds now I believe she fits in that age well. I’m glad that the author didn’t do anything expected in this book. Some places I thought I could guess what was going to happen and thankfully the author surprised me.

Closing Thoughts

I really, really enjoyed reading this book. While I didn’t love all the characters I thought they fit well together. I think the plot is the best part of this book. There’s room for character development in the next book for sure but I’m nervous that the plot won’t meet up to the expectations this book has left me with. I guess I’ll just have to read it and see! At the end of the day I loved reading this book and I’m glad I picked it up.

[Amber]

I bought To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before back in September when Tatum and I went on a book buying spree and I got a bit carried away. I had enjoyed Han’s previous two series – Burn for Burn and Summer – so when I saw that this book was on sale I decided to pick it up. But as is the case with most of my book purchases, I was never really in the mood to read it. That is, until I sought out a light contemporary novel to read in between some giant fantasy books last month. And ohmygod, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is exactly what I wanted.


I know that a lot of people have been saying that Lara Jean, our main character, sounds a lot younger than other YA protagonists. I have to disagree with you all there. I don’t think Lara Jean sounds particularly different to other protagonists in YA, especially in contemporary fiction. I wouldn’t be put off by the reviews that say she sounds young and innocent because that wasn’t my experience with the book at all.

I pretty much loved the whole book, aside from Fucking Josh who needs a punch in the face. The ship was my favourite bit because ERMEHGERD THE CHEMISTRY. Jenny Han is great at chemistry. I don’t know how she does it. Like with Reeve and Lillia in the Burn for Burn trilogy, Lara Jean and Peter have intense, off the charts chemistry and I spent the whole book rolling around on the floor because of them.

Josh, though. I cannot bloody stand it when guys are all “I deserve you why don’t you like me back when you like HIM he’s an arse” because, mate, you’re the biggest arse in the room. I swear to the gods, if Josh is a bigger character in the sequel I will burn his fictional house down. He just makes me so angry!

I was expecting the letters to be a bit more relevant, but really they just worked as a set up and then Lara Jean did her own thing, with the letters occasionally coming up (and there was a “big” “reveal” regarding them but honestly, who didn’t see that coming?). It kept the plot flowing quickly and easily, making To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before a quick read that I fell in love with. 9/10, would recommend.

[rakesandrogues]

Originally posted at Muggle-Born.

First of all, let me just say that TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han must be some kind of amazing to bring me back from the blogging dead.

I took advantage of the e-book sale and bought a copy for $1.99. I don’t usually buy e-books (libraries, not piracy) but I’ve been putting off from reading this book way too long. Despite the great reviews from other fellow bloggers, I have to admit that I was still skeptical before picking up the book. As you may recall, I had a love/hate relationship with Jenny Han’s previous series. Much to my surprise, TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han completely blew me away. After reading so many Jenny Han books, this is the first book that I’ve really, really enjoyed.

I took an immediate liking to the Song girls. I think this is mostly because I also come from a family of three sisters (and a brother…), and I saw a lot of similarities between them and my sisters. I am definitely most like Margot: the oldest sister usually responsible for taking care of the others. My middle sister is most like Lara Jean, and my youngest sister is also like the baby Song girl, Kitty. I found it very amusing to compare my sisters to the Song sisters. I really loved that family was such an important theme in the novel.

Lara Jean is a very relatable protagonist – and I’m not saying that just because I also happen to share her fondness for letter-writing and old things. I really enjoyed reading about her experiences as she faces all of her past loves face-to-face.

Sure, there is a love triangle – borderline love square – in this book, but surprisingly, I didn’t have a problem with it. Usually, siblings fighting over a romantic interest is a deal-breaker for me. However, in ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE, Jenny Han manages to create a perfectly believable scenario.

Additionally, I would be very upset with a book that has such an abrupt ending, but with ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han, I just wanted more. The book lacks a proper resolution. Since I can tell where the ending had been going, it makes me even more eager for the sequel.

It’s been a long time since I couldn’t put a book down, and I’m so happy to have read TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han. I almost forgot what it is like to read a really awesome book.