Jenny Han "To all the boys I've loved before"

After having "To all the boys I've loved before" published, Jenny Han gained a great success - in 2014, the book was chosen as one of the top 5 books of the year! Novel, written by American author, has a significant meaning to the author herself: the element of actual handwritten letters appeared in the book as a special motive because Jenny Han in her teenage years used to write letters to the boys she was trying to forget - just as the main idea of her bestseller book and its main character Lara Jean.

"To all the boys I've loved before" tells a unique love story - one of those we all adore to read about. In her early teenage years, Lara Jean had lost her mother and she was left with two of her sisters and her loving dad. Lara Jean was not alone, she had a wonderful and caring family and this helped her to turn into a person who appreciates the true values of being a family member. Lara Jean would much rather choose family dinners and game nights over popular parties and ordinary breaking of all kinds of rules for people her age. Because of this reason the girl felt a duty to remain a part of her caring family without even recognizing the fact that it was one of the reasons she started to lose herself in her youth days and especially in her potential love life.

n the very beginning of the book we, readers, together with Lara's family were introduced with the fact that Lara's favourite sister was about to move out for a college. The writer Jenny Han was able to create a special bond between these sisters just within a few pages of the book and I immediately felt the sadness she tried to illustrate when sisters had to say good bye - especially bearing in mind the fact that Margo, the older sister, was like the reflection of their lost mother. I felt a great sympathy for this character, but as kept turning pages and moving on with the story, I found myself questioning some my own feelings. Is it possible to say that the name has its own label? I do believe you all remember the scandalous Margo from "Paper towns", right? Both novels including this character appeared to be unpredictable.

As it is written in the back of the book, Lara Jean was not the girl who was afraid of the boys - during her teenage years she got to meet a few of the potential guys she might have liked, but as you can tell, nothing serious happened between them. After those desperate days the girl decided to write all of those boys a goodbye letter in which she would tell their unsuccessful love story and end it for all. There were 5 letters in total (which for me seems quite a lot, right?) and they were all send out to their receivers at once! Can you believe it? Your crush, actually 5 of them, receive a secret letter from you without even knowing the fact that you might have liked them! Of course Lara Jean did not intend to send them the letters and it was a shock for her as well, but this is a genious love story and after this accident her true teenage life actually began.

I loved the way the author portrayed Lara Jean. Her character felt similar to mine and I do believe that many other readers feel the same way - this is such an inspiring ability to create a fictional person who would actually resemble many of us. Lara Jean was afraid of serious relationships and commitments. She was afraid of letting herself to falling in love and boys changing her mindset, so she would become addicted to them. Every boy she had written a letter for, was able to create a special connection between them, it was not just one side crushes, but after every boy the girl used to think more about her feelings and actions she would like to take, but she did not do anything to move things forward. This is why all of those letters the boys later received were like an encouragement for her and for all the other readers of the book to at least try and not to remain wondering what would have happened. For Lara Jean the revelation of letters was almost like a new beginning of her life - and it was a good one.

I believe you are all excited to find out more about the boys the most... So here it is: during Lara's story, 2 guys were definitely the ones worth attention - her sister's ex boyfriend Joshn and her high school life crush Peter. Both boys created a bond with Lara Jean at different times and as Lara Jean explains, it was quite hard to resist them. I appreciate the author for maintaining the intrigue until the very end of the book and even I could not decide which boy I like more, how crazy is that? Usuaully I find myself choosing sides in different stories quite early, within the very first pages. You see, Josh was introduced as a very special and long time crush for Lara Jean, but she was forced to keep the distance because of her sister Margo. Peter, on the other hand, was one of the most handsome guys in school, but as we all know, the most handsome ones are usually the worst ones. Many people tried to alert Lara Jean before her making a huge mistake, no one trusted him except her. Was it worth it? You will find out yourselves, do not worry. In order to make it more exciting to read I will add that Peter became Lara's fake boyfriend and they both had different intentions for this. Believe me, the story is so confusing, but so amazing at the same time that you will not be able to stop reading it.

While reading this book you will have your opinion towards boys changed many times, you will live the adventures together with the characters, you will meet the family of Lara Jean, especially the younger sister Kitty which I did not comment about. And most importantly you will find out how and why those letters were sent to the boys... Do not forget the fact that there are 5 guys in total and you will get to hear all those funny stories. Because of the fact that Josh and Peter are portrayed as two very different characters, both boys will have their ups and downs, so that it would be a harder task for you to choose one side or to even guess the end of this book. Do not forget the fact that the book has its sequel as well with a title "P.S. I still love you" which says a lot already!

Back in 2015 when I was checking top lists of book for young adults, I did not see this book and immediately wanted to read it. It happened after many times seeing this cover in different lists of recommendations and only after many times choosing different books I decided to give this one a try. And omg I did not regret this once. I was so grateful to be able to read this book in my own language, Lithuanian, because sometimes I feel the lack of this type of reading material for cheerful summer evenings. I believe that many of you who trust my opinion will enjoy this book as much as I did, especially the ones who are the fans of the "Geek Girl" series, although "To all the boys I've loved before" is dedicated for a little bit older readers. In 2018 I decided to translate my review to english and to remind you about the upcoming film based on this book! Are you excited as much as I am?