Reviewed by Jo on
Because I loved the previous two books in the series, I was really excited for Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han. However, having finished it, I'm not so much disappointed as wondering what the point was?
Always and Forever, Lara Jean was a enjoyable, light read, but it didn't feel like one about characters I really cared about. Lara Jean, Peter, Kitty, they could have been other characters in another book, one that didn't affect me very much. I could take them or leave them, which seems odd, considering I loved the two previous books. I also found Lara Jean a little annoying in this one. Her baking was cute in the previous books, but it gets too much in this one, and I just didn't care about her finding the perfect cookie recipe. I also didn't like how she seemed to try and take over her dad and Trina's wedding, as if it were her own to organise. And there was more detail than necessary about clothes; Lara Jean is a lot more interested in clothes than I am, and so there was so much detail about what it all looked like, and it just got irritating.
The book overall is about decisions for the future. When Lara Jean doesn't get into the college she wants, she can't have the life she planned with Peter. So they change their plans. He'll go where he's going, she'll go to the place she did get into, and they'll make it work. But then life throws another curve ball Lara Jean's way - one that might be awesome for her, but perhaps not so much for her and Peter. So most of the book is Lara Jean trying to decide what to do, and her and Peter not communicating properly. Around all these decisions she's trying to make, she's baking, organising a wedding, and describing clothes. Nothing much of any real import happens. There's a school trip to New York, there's Senior Week, there's prom and graduation, and Beach week - but more than be essential to the plot, they all felt more like everyday things. Nothing hugely major happened at any of these things, except an argument with Peter at one. But otherwise, it's just life stuff, rather than things that move the plot along. So really, nothing much happens.
And for this to be the last book, where nothing really happens, I felt a little disappointed. I cared less, was more irritated, and nothing much happened. It was enjoyable, but in a way that didn't really impact me. Also, it didn't feel like the end to the story. Lara Jean makes her decision, and it feels to me like there should be another book showing us how that actually works out. Did she make the right choice? Are things going to be harder than she thought? Are things going to work out the way she planned? No idea. And nor are we going to know, because the story is over. I feel that would have been a lot more interesting a story, really. Always and Forever, Lara Jean felt like a middle book rather than an ending. I enjoyed how it ended, but I became interested again at the end, and there's no more story to come.
So yeah, it was kind of disappointing overall. Especially as I loved the previous two books so much. This one, however, I can take or leave.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 24 December, 2017: Finished reading
- 24 December, 2017: Reviewed