"The secret of if all is to write in the throb, the gush, the flood of the moment. To put things down without deliberation, without worrying about their style, without waiting for a fit time or place," -Walt Whitman
One thing I love about my school's book club is that it pushes me to read books I never would have before.
Like To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han.
 |
| follow me on instagram @olivia.j.the.wordshaker |
I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I started this book, but as it progressed, I found myself liking it more and more.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. As usual, it's not perfect, and I have some minor gripes, but this didn't take away from my experience of enjoying the story.
As usual, we'll start with . . .
The Negatives
1. Kitty's Betrayal
While I understand why this happened, that doesn't mean I like it. Throughout the novel, I adored Kitty. I have a younger sibling, and I adored Kitty - she was funny and entertaining and had a realistic complexity even though she was so young. Although I understand why it happened, it seemed a little predictable and seemed to undermine Kitty's character at some points.
2. Lara Jean's Irrational Behavior During the Climax
This book tripped over a hurdle commonly known as misunderstandings. I hate this so much most likely because I'm a pretty confrontational person. If she and Peter had just talked about what happened, surely they could have worked it out, because Lara Jean knew he was different, that he wasn't like that. We're shown this because rarely do we see Peter ever do anything really douchey, despite what the other characters say. All of this could have been avoided if Lara Jean had just been honest with Peter and herself, which she rarely was. While this points out something interesting about Lara Jean as a character, it's still frustrating to the reader, which is rarely the reaction you want to garner.
The Positives
1. Perfect Portrayal of Teenage Relationships
The confusion, the angst, the strangely new feelings - all aspects of a high school, teenage relationship was perfectly captured here, and it pulled me into the story. The nuances and description of feelings were so spot-on that I couldn't help but be drawn into the story.
2. Relationship Dynamics
The relationship dynamics, especially between Lara Jean and her family, was so powerful and was a strong foundation of the novel. Snippets of backstory were cleverly revealed and added to the character's development and personality. This gave the characters a deeper sense of reality and connection. The Song sisters had a beautiful relationship with each other, and their emotional moments hit deep.
3. Smart Storytelling
Things that were set up chapters ago would be resolved, and it was so satisfying seeing these come to fruition. Jenny Han has a way of weaving conflict and resolution into just a few chapters, but also keeping with the overarching plotline. The relationships all built upon each other as the story progressed, and it was great seeing that in the story. It was amazing watching Lara Jean become more independent from Margot, which was one of the subplots. This was built up and executed perfectly.
This is a pretty general one, but this book did what it promised: entertain me. I devoured this book. Previously, I had been in a reading slump - thanks, Life As We Knew It - but this book pulled me right out of it. I was never bored; I laughed and I cried and I enjoyed every moment of reading this. Time well spent.
Overall, this was a solid YA contemporary romance. I've already ordered the second book on Amazon.
8/10 would recommend.
~The WordShaker
No comments:
Post a Comment