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

by Jenny Han

[Lianne]

I won an ARC of this novel courtesy of the GoodReads First Reads programme. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/04/14/review-to-all-the-boys-i-loved-before/

I could not put this book down once I started reading it. The story is narrated from Lara Jean’s point of view so the reader really gains much insight on what she’s going through and witnesses her journey from a quiet, fairly sheltered life to a braver one that involves a sense of connection and belonging with other people. Lara Jean goes through a major learning curve throughout the novel, emerging from her older sister’s shadow and breaking with some of her routines sometimes.

The story itself is pretty straightforward, the romantic entanglements (and some of the comedic consequences of these developments) reminiscent of books like Sophie Kinsella’s Can You Keep a Secret? and Julia Quinn’s The Duke and I. Sometimes the tension and the cloak-and-dagger/avoidance strategies that Lana Jean employs just makes the whole thing rather stressful to read but given her personality and disposition, I can see why she acts the way she does.

Overall, I enjoyed reading To All the Boys I Loved Before. Took me a few chapters to get into the story but once I had an idea about who Lara Jean is and her life at the beginning of this novel, it was all good. At first I was a little surprised by the ending of the novel (in a “Are you seriously leaving it at that?!” sort of way) but after a few minutes I realised it was a good way to end Lara Jean’s story. I don’t read much young adult fiction but I think readers of YA will enjoy this title :)

Actual rating: 3.5/5