Book Review: To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

I’m a slave for fads and those ‘most talked about’ lists, so obviously I had to read this. Especially as I watched the Netflix movie first (granted I haven’t watched all of it yet) and I admit it was cute. I’m not normally a fan of anything contemporary, especially YA, but this I enjoyed.

I think I liked the overall feel the most. It’s like a toasty ham and cheese sandwich. It’s comforting, friendly, with no nasty after tastes. Everything is kept sweet and innocent with lots of lovely family moments, and I enjoyed experiencing them all with Lara Jean. Yes, at times her personality was a little grating. She’s ‘too’ nice sometimes, and comes across as a pushover but then I see a lot of myself at her age reflected in her character. She’s an introvert who loves to read. I’m sure a lot of people on Goodreads can relate to that. I also liked that this isn’t so much a typical YA contemporary. The story feels like it’s as much about Lara Jeans family as it is about friends, and these important boys, in her life.

The romance elements, although obvious, are also well thought out and develop reasonably well over the course of the book. You can see the relationships grow over the course of the story and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I grew to enjoy Peter in particular. He’s charismatic and likeable. The ying to Lara Jean’s yang.

At times I did find the plot a little meandering, with a slow pace. Not much happens between Lara Jean, Peter and Josh for a long time and although I can appreciate that this was to build up various relationships, I would have liked a bit of drama or excitement along the way. Because of this, it took me longer than normal to read as I found I couldn’t invest myself in the story. I’m glad I stuck it out though, as the last third of the story really comes into its own to a rather satisfying (although very much a cliffhanger) conclusion.

It was cute, and I didn’t hate it, which is always a bonus. However, I don’t think I’ll be reading the other books in the series.

 - 3 stars