Book Review: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han // Didn’t live up to the hype

Two stars! 😕

Genre(s): Young adult, contemporary, romance

Published: April 15, 2014

Book in a few words: Unmemorable, somewhat cute, Asian/Korean representation

Content warning: Death of a parent (occurred before the start of the book)

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

Goodreads

Unpopular opinion alert! 

Sorry guys, I didn’t love this book. 😅 Please don’t hate me! 😂 I already feel really bad writing this review – I really wanted to love TATBILB! 

Unfortunately, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was an incredibly disappointing read for me. Most book bloggers I follow and basically everyone I know loved this book, but I guess it just wasn’t for me. It definitely didn’t live up to the hype, which is a harsh reminder for me that I shouldn’t always give into the hype, haha. Part of the reason I didn’t like this book was definitely because my expectations were sky-high, and this book didn’t live up to them.

I might have been in a small reading slump when I was reading TATBILB, and so I wasn’t really in the mood for a lighthearted, fluffy contemporary (which I usually enjoy). I found the plot to be flat and boring for the most part, and honestly, the whole book seemed pretty cliche and predictable to me. Lara Jean acted very childish and immature at times, which annoyed me quite a bit (whoops). She acted much younger than her actual age, 16, which confused me and took away my enjoyment of her story.

I’m honestly so sad that I didn’t like this book as much as I thought I would, especially since it has Asian (specifically Korean) representation. I, along with others, were understandably ecstatic when the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before movie came out on Netflix, because Asian characters in movies are usually just the “smart sidekick” that aren’t important or relevant to the plot. But in TATBILB, the Asian American was the main character and star of the movie, which was incredible to see. 💞

I loved Lana Condor’s face expressions in the movie! 😂

To be honest, the only reason I didn’t DNF this book was because I was determined to read the book before watching the movie (which was, in my opinion, surprisingly better than the book!). It’s definitely a bad sign when I have to actually force myself to finish a book, and when I actually enjoyed the movie more than the book. Although, no offense, I honestly don’t get the hype about Peter at all – both in the book and movie. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Sure, he’s cute, but he’s not all that?? haha

I’m rating this book two stars, and not one star, because that there were a few cute moments between Lara Jean and Peter, which I chuckled at. I also enjoyed reading some of the interactions between Lara Jean and her sisters, Margot and Kitty, as well as their dad. The sisterly and familial bond was real, and I loved it. 💕

I should have written this review sooner (like immediately after I finished this book) because I honestly don’t remember much of it at all – it definitely was not a memorable book, and didn’t make much of an impact on me.

And honestly though, I shouldn’t even be calling this post a review because as you can already tell, I don’t remember anything specific about the book. I remember more scenes from the movie than the actual book and I feel like I’m going to mix them up if I try to talk about a specific scene…so this “review” is going to stay really vague lmao. (Sorry!!)

I know this book meant a lot to many people, especially because of the Asian rep, and I’m happy that it did! Also, I know that most people loved and swooned at the budding romance between Lara Jean and Peter. But I just didn’t feel anything for them?? Oops. Lol maybe I’m just an emotionless person who’s dead inside. 🤷🏻‍♀️ It’s true though.

In conclusion…

Nope. This book just wasn’t for me. (But it may be for you! If you love quirky protagonists, loving families, and lighthearted contemporaries, you should give this book a try.)

I haven’t posted a review for so long, haha, ever since the beginning of July. So please excuse this messy & rambly post, my reviewing skills are rusty. 😂🙈

Let me know your thoughts about To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before! Did you love it, or hate it like I did? Should I continue the series? (Did you think P.S. I Still Love You and Always and Forever, Lara Jean was better than TATBILB?)

What other lighthearted contemporaries do you love? Leave some recommendations in the comments; I’d love to hear them. (Contrary to this review, I honestly LOVE contemporaries.)

I hope that you still love me even though I didn’t love this book. :’)

 

Let’s be friends!

Background image for blog graphic from Unsplash