★彡
Summary:
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.
Summary:
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.
Let's start with the good: I love the cover. It's cute and pretty, the kind of cover you want to have in your bookshelf. Not only that, but the picture actually makes sense with the story. I know we aren't supposed to judge books by their covers, but it is impossible not to. Which means I started the book with high expectations.
But, the cover was it. I cannot say one other good thing about this book.
Something was bothering me when I started reading it. A few chapters into it (I already sort of wanted to throw the book out the window) I realized what it was. My subconscious had recognized the name of the author, an author I had not thought of in years, and suddenly my expectations rose higher. I had read Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty Series a few years ago, and I'd loved it! Ignoring the fact that I already disliked the novel, I kept reading, and finished the book in a couple hours.
But, the cover was it. I cannot say one other good thing about this book.
Something was bothering me when I started reading it. A few chapters into it (I already sort of wanted to throw the book out the window) I realized what it was. My subconscious had recognized the name of the author, an author I had not thought of in years, and suddenly my expectations rose higher. I had read Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty Series a few years ago, and I'd loved it! Ignoring the fact that I already disliked the novel, I kept reading, and finished the book in a couple hours.
Then I hated myself for wasting those couple hours instead of going to bed.What the hell, Han? I was expecting so much more. Suddenly I am thinking maybe The Summer I Turned Pretty was not all that good, and maybe I should read it again if only to understand how To All the Boys I've Loved Before and The Summer I Turned Pretty could have been written by the same person. Maybe if I read The Summer I Turned Pretty again, I will hate it too.
But let's get down to the juicy bits—oh, wait, there was nothing juicy in this novel. It was dull and boring. Nothing happens even when things are happening.Beginning to end, the whole thing is like watching paint dry. I kept waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever does. Unless you count that attempt in the end, which I don't.
The novel doesn't even end. There is actually no ending. It is like Han was trying to leave it open-ended in order to have more to write about, but failed miserably and instead just did not give us an ending. You cannot have a book with no ending! Even if there is a sequel coming out soon, you have to finish up the first one somehow.
The characters: They are all boring, predictable, immature, and two-dimensional. I knew who would mail the letters out before they had even been mailed out, I knew something would happen between Lara Jean and Peter, I knew well before I should have which boy she would “end up” with. And Lara Jean, the main character, is such a freaking baby. The way she thinks and the things she says would make you think she is a twelve-year-old. I wanted to shake her until she dropped her naïve act and grew up a little. The book also lacked friendships. We are told that Lara Jean becomes friends with Peter's friends, but we never see it. We are told that Lara Jean is good friends with Chris, but we never really see it. That's it. No other friendships, unless you count Josh. But I guess that is not there either, so...
The plot: Like the characters, it was very predictable. There were no plot twists, and nothing really entertaining happened. The way the idea was handled was also a huge disappointment. I was expecting something more to come out of the fact that all those letters were mailed out. Perhaps I just wish I could have felt something as I read the book, but I never made that connection with the character, so it all just seemed like a story I am only half listening to.
I guess at least the cover is cute?
But let's get down to the juicy bits—oh, wait, there was nothing juicy in this novel. It was dull and boring. Nothing happens even when things are happening.Beginning to end, the whole thing is like watching paint dry. I kept waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever does. Unless you count that attempt in the end, which I don't.
The novel doesn't even end. There is actually no ending. It is like Han was trying to leave it open-ended in order to have more to write about, but failed miserably and instead just did not give us an ending. You cannot have a book with no ending! Even if there is a sequel coming out soon, you have to finish up the first one somehow.
The characters: They are all boring, predictable, immature, and two-dimensional. I knew who would mail the letters out before they had even been mailed out, I knew something would happen between Lara Jean and Peter, I knew well before I should have which boy she would “end up” with. And Lara Jean, the main character, is such a freaking baby. The way she thinks and the things she says would make you think she is a twelve-year-old. I wanted to shake her until she dropped her naïve act and grew up a little. The book also lacked friendships. We are told that Lara Jean becomes friends with Peter's friends, but we never see it. We are told that Lara Jean is good friends with Chris, but we never really see it. That's it. No other friendships, unless you count Josh. But I guess that is not there either, so...
The plot: Like the characters, it was very predictable. There were no plot twists, and nothing really entertaining happened. The way the idea was handled was also a huge disappointment. I was expecting something more to come out of the fact that all those letters were mailed out. Perhaps I just wish I could have felt something as I read the book, but I never made that connection with the character, so it all just seemed like a story I am only half listening to.
I guess at least the cover is cute?
© 2014 Paulina Romero of Read Away Reality