Book Series of the Month: To All The Boys I've Loved Before

Written by Lois Hilton

Hello, and welcome back to the Book Corner! The time has come for this month’s book series, which is Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy. This was another series that I got the chance to read over lockdown, and probably one of the quickest series I have read: I was completely engrossed.

In this series, we explore the life of Lara Jean, a teenager living in America. We follow her through ups and downs, highs and lows, and some of the worst and best situations. In the first book, all of the love letters she has ever written to crushes get sent out to them, and we follow her through this, as well as her sister moving away, fitting in, being in the lime light and finding her feelings. Throughout the books we continue to follow her through even more, as we see her battle to please her family, her friends, her boyfriend, and herself.

I loved this series so much: Lara Jean is such a relatable character, going through decisions and scenarios that lots of teenage girls go through (plus some that aren’t very usual, like the love letters and the consequences of them). As a reader, she became a friend, and I felt I was alongside her through everything, growing with her. I laughed with her at the funny parts, smiled at the good, and cried when things didn’t go too well. She was a simple but developed character that felt real and not too far-fetched.

The chapters of this book were short and sweet: my favourite kind of chapters. I could devour many in one sitting, as well as leaving places to easily stop and start up again. The chapters either ended on a cliff-hanger, the end of a moment, or with a thought. They didn’t have too much information, but they had the right amount so that you were constantly engaged with the whole plot.

The characters throughout the series developed alongside Lara Jean throughout, which I would say is a great feature- as she grew, her family and friends did as well, and we learnt more about them through every book. It made me feel very attached to the books, and I was really sad when they ended (I definitely want more of them!).

I don’t have any criticisms for this book: I was completely engrossed within it and loved every minute: I never wanted to put it down! Some of Lara Jean’s habits are either ones I have myself, or ones that I want to pick up myself in the future: I especially like the way she uses baking as a coping mechanism, as well as scrapbooking! When the world wasn’t going the way we all wanted it to, I could just escape into the book, which I felt didn’t require much thinking or facts being remembered.

So, I definitely recommend this series: I loved it and enjoyed every second of reading it. It is a great Young Adult Romantic Comedy, which has also been made into films on Netflix (the third one is said to be released soon, but the first two have been). The three books aren’t too long, but beware: you may be drawn into a reading hole and never come out!

Have you read these books and written a review? Or have you read another one and want to share your thoughts? I would love to read them! Don’t forget that you can always submit this to The Hive and have the opportunity to earn a badge. Click on this link for more information: https://www.girlguidinglaser.org.uk/challenges/report-for-the-hive.

Happy reading and I hope to see you next month 😊.

Picture from https://www.abebooks.co.uk/Boy...

Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×