Literature & Fiction
![Jenny Han - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B001JS1GJG.jpg)
To All the Boys I've Loved Before (1)
To All the Boys I've Loved Before is now a major motion picture streaming on Netflix!
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)
Lara Jean's love life gets complicated in this New York Times bestselling "lovely, lighthearted romance" (School Library Journal) from the bestselling author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series.
What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once?
Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved-five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)
Lara Jean's love life gets complicated in this New York Times bestselling "lovely, lighthearted romance" (School Library Journal) from the bestselling author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series.
What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once?
Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved-five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
Readers Top Reviews
Shelby AmessHolly Ba
It has taken me way too long to get stuck in to the ‘TATBILB’ book series and once I did, it took me about a little over a week to finish all three. I watched the movie for TATBILB literally the day it came out and fell in love with it, as did pretty much the entire world. It’s a story-line that has been told time and time again, however, Lara Jean, her family, Peter Kavinsky, Josh, all the side characters – you’re just not going to get any better than them and that’s what makes this story-line it’s very own. Something that no one has done before and no one will ever top. If you’ve watched the movie and/or read the books, you will know that TATBILB follows sixteen-year-old, Lara Jean Song Covey and her love letters. Lara Jean has a thing for writing love letters, dedicated to all of her crushes up until the present, however, she will never send them out. She keeps them treasured away for her and only her to read over and over again. When a little teasing at the dinner table takes a turn for the worst, all five of Lara Jean’s crushes receive their letters, one including the beloved and popular, Peter Kavinsky. Two rather big and life-changing events in Lara Jean and Peter’s lives leave them both in positions that they really need to get themselves out of and what could help that more than fake dating? Probably a lot, but this is the story of Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky, that is going to have you head over heels in love with them within seconds. Not only was Lara Jean trying to cover her back from a previous crush that could turn back around on her really hard, she was also having to deal with her eldest sister, Margot, moving to Scotland for University. The Song sisters have such a unique and special bond between the three of them and it did have me a little green with envy throughout, not growing up with sisters of my own (Shush don’t tell my brothers that though, I still love them more than life itself). With Margot having taken on the mom role, after their mother sadly passed away, Lara Jean knew that this was now going to be passed on as her responsibility and she needed to continue the hard work Margot had put in to taking care of their father and youngest sister, Kitty. TATBILB is such an easy read, with chapters only taking up to 1-3 minutes each to read which I L.O.V.E.D!! I absolutely live for short chapters, as my attention span is about 5 minutes – if a chapter is longer than that, there’s a slight chance you’re going to lose me half way through for a little bit. However, that being said, the longest chapters of this book take up to no more than 12 minutes, which is an absolute joy, so thank you Jenny for keeping your books short and sweet. Being as it is the year I turned 22, I always feel a bit nervous reading books based in school’s, like people might find out and judge me? I don’t know, it’s a stupid th...
Louise Marley
I downloaded this one after watching the Netflix adaptation during the summer, which I loved. This is probably the first YA romance/romcom I've ever read (if I read YA, it's usually fantasy) but I really enjoyed it. The film is mostly faithful to the book, although the ending is slightly different (but not in a bad way!) Lara Jean Covey is the middle one of the three 'Song sisters', who are extremely close after the death of their mother a few years back. The only gift Lara Jean had from her mother, that was not duplicated to her sisters, is a teal-coloured hat box in which she keeps a bundle of love letters. These are not letters she's received but ones she wrote and never posted, letters written to help her get over the various crushes she has had over the years. Then one day, the letters are mysteriously posted, leading to all sorts of complications. I'm not usually keen on stories that go into a lot of detail about the characters lives; I prefer to get right to the action! But I absolutely loved this book because of all the detail about Covey family life. I loved the way the sisters try to encourage their hapless father to get out and date again, by ironing his tie and practically shoving him out the door. I loved the down-to-earth humour of Lara Jean's 'fake' boyfriend Peter: "As soon as you and I are done, he's gonna pull some cheesy-ass move and, like, profess his love for you with a boom box. I'm telling you, I know how guys think." I even adored Lara Jean's eccentric best friend Chris, who turns up in the middle of the night for sleepovers. To All The Boys I've Loved Before is sweet, funny, and heart-warming without even trying. The characters are adorable and I completely fell in love with them. So I have no hesitation in recommending it to fans of contemporary romance, romance and romcoms, whatever their age! One of my favourite reads this year.
Carly
I had seen this book advertised everywhere so gave in to my intrigue and decided to see what it was like. Initially I was a little frustrated with the first few pages with the writing structure whilst characters were being described and the plot premise was being introduced, however the more I read the better it developed and the more immersed in the plot I became. The book is about Lara Jean, the middle child of three sisters. Lara Jean and her siblings are being raised single handedly by her father, and you learn about how that has shaped the dynamic of not just her life but also that of her older sister Margot, and her younger sister Kitty. With Margot moving away to university, it is Lara Jeans time to come into her own, to prove she can 'do it all', and that she is a 'mature and refined adult', but unfortunately for Lara Jean it all goes a little bit wrong. After an unexpected incident of letters she'd penned to boys from her past and present get mailed, she is forced to own up to her crushes, or in some cases make up a lie to get out of feeling mortified. The book has some real funny and gripping moments and is very believably told from the perspective of a teenager. It is well constructed and I couldn't put it down. I wanted to read this book before watching the Netflix production and I am glad I chose to do this first, as there's just always something better about a book compared to the screen adaptations. I would recommend this book to all romance lovers, someone who would like to read something current and light-hearted.
AmyC
To be honest, I thought this was going to be a silly book before I read it. As a matter of fact, I’ve had all three books since they came out. I can’t wait to watch the movie now There’s really only one way to describe this book and you live it. When Lara Jean would go through something, or get hurt, I was right there with her. I knew from the beginning Josh was always just gonna be a friend to her because I mean how do you date your sister’s first. I did kind of like Peter from the start because I could visualize him. When he told her it was never gonna happen and he didn’t like or even look at her that way; I could have strangled him. Lara Jean is just so innocent and like Peter finally tells her, she’s scared to put herself out there in real life and would rather like the unreachable. Kitty was a very good character, a lot of spunk and difficult like a little sister should be. I also liked how Peter had to lead/show Lara Jean how a couple acts. I loved this whole trilogy, but I just want to review one book at a time. This is a book that while making you going through the emotions you still have hope.
AprilMrs. Samantha K
I did not like how they made Peter and Kitty be such jerks to Lara Jean. And it kept happening and no one said anything. Also when Margo tells the dad that Lara Jean is having sex, it just made it seem like they really were not that close. Oh! And Lara Jean was terrified of Gen but in the movie she actually stood up to her. Also, how intense Josh's feelings were for Lara Jean AND he kisses her?!?... idk.. I guess I really liked the movie. I LOVE to read and usually books are better than the movie but this time, I actually enjoyed the movie better. Don’t get me wrong, the book was pretty good and I’ll definitely read the rest.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Chapter 1 1
JOSH IS MARGOT'S BOYFRIEND, BUT I guess you could say my whole family is a little in love with him. It's hard to say who most of all. Before he was Margot's boyfriend, he was just Josh. He was always there. I say always, but I guess that's not true. He moved next door five years ago but it feels like always.
My dad loves Josh because he's a boy and my dad is surrounded by girls. I mean it: all day long he is surrounded by females. My dad is an ob-gyn, and he also happens to be the father of three daughters, so it's like girls, girls, girls all day. He also likes Josh because Josh likes comics and he'll go fishing with him. My dad tried to take us fishing once, and I cried when my shoes got mud on them, and Margot cried when her book got wet, and Kitty cried because Kitty was still practically a baby.
Kitty loves Josh because he'll play cards with her and not get bored. Or at least pretend to not get bored. They make deals with each other-if I win this next hand, you have to make me a toasted crunchy-peanut-butter-sandwich, no crusts. That's Kitty. Inevitably there won't be crunchy peanut butter and Josh will say too bad, pick something else. But then Kitty will wear him down and he'll run out and buy some, because that's Josh.
If I had to say why Margot loves him, I think maybe I would say it's because we all do.
We are in the living room, Kitty is pasting pictures of dogs to a giant piece of cardboard. There's paper and scraps all around her. Humming to herself, she says, "When Daddy asks me what I want for Christmas, I am just going to say, ‘Pick any one of these breeds and we'll be good.'?"
Margot and Josh are on the couch; I'm lying on the floor, watching TV. Josh popped a big bowl of popcorn, and I devote myself to it, handfuls and handfuls of it.
A commercial comes on for perfume: a girl is running around the streets of Paris in an orchid-colored halter dress that is thin as tissue paper. What I wouldn't give to be that girl in that tissue-paper dress running around Paris in springtime! I sit up so suddenly I choke on a kernel of popcorn. Between coughs I say, "Margot, let's meet in Paris for my spring break!" I'm already picturing myself twirling with a pistachio macaron in one hand and a raspberry one in the other.
Margot's eyes light up. "Do you think Daddy will let you?"
"Sure, it's culture. He'll have to let me." But it's true that I've never flown by myself before. And also I've never even left the country before. Would Margot meet me at the airport, or would I have to find my own way to the hostel?
Josh must see the sudden worry on my face because he says, "Don't worry. Your dad will definitely let you go if I'm with you."
I brighten. "Yeah! We can stay at hostels and just eat pastries and cheese for all our meals."
"We can go to Jim Morrison's grave!" Josh throws in.
"We can go to a parfumerie and get our personal scents done!" I cheer, and Josh snorts.
"Um, I'm pretty sure ‘getting our scents done' at a parfumerie would cost the same as a week's stay at the hostel," he says. He nudges Margot. "Your sister suffers from delusions of grandeur."
"She is the fanciest of the three of us," Margot agrees.
"What about me?" Kitty whimpers.
"You?" I scoff. "You're the least fancy Song girl. I have to beg you to wash your feet at night, much less take a shower."
Kitty's face gets pinched and red. "I wasn't talking about that, you dodo bird. I was talking about Paris."
Airily, I wave her off. "You're too little to stay at a hostel."
She crawls over to Margot and climbs in her lap, even though she's nine and nine is too big to sit in people's laps. "Margot, you'll let me go, won't you?"
"Maybe it could be a family vacation," Margot says, kissing her cheek. "You and Lara Jean and Daddy could all come."
I frown. That's not at all the Paris trip I was imagining. Over Kitty's head Josh mouths to me, We'll talk later, and I give him a discreet thumbs-up.
It's later that night; Josh is long gone. Kitty and our dad are asleep. We are in the kitchen. Margot is at the table on her computer; I am sitting next to her, rolling cookie dough into balls and dropping them in cinnamon and sugar. Snickerdoodles to get back in Kitty's good graces. Earlier, when I went in to say good night, Kitty rolled over and wouldn't speak to me because she's still convinced I'm going to try to cut her out of the Paris trip. My plan is to put the snicke...
JOSH IS MARGOT'S BOYFRIEND, BUT I guess you could say my whole family is a little in love with him. It's hard to say who most of all. Before he was Margot's boyfriend, he was just Josh. He was always there. I say always, but I guess that's not true. He moved next door five years ago but it feels like always.
My dad loves Josh because he's a boy and my dad is surrounded by girls. I mean it: all day long he is surrounded by females. My dad is an ob-gyn, and he also happens to be the father of three daughters, so it's like girls, girls, girls all day. He also likes Josh because Josh likes comics and he'll go fishing with him. My dad tried to take us fishing once, and I cried when my shoes got mud on them, and Margot cried when her book got wet, and Kitty cried because Kitty was still practically a baby.
Kitty loves Josh because he'll play cards with her and not get bored. Or at least pretend to not get bored. They make deals with each other-if I win this next hand, you have to make me a toasted crunchy-peanut-butter-sandwich, no crusts. That's Kitty. Inevitably there won't be crunchy peanut butter and Josh will say too bad, pick something else. But then Kitty will wear him down and he'll run out and buy some, because that's Josh.
If I had to say why Margot loves him, I think maybe I would say it's because we all do.
We are in the living room, Kitty is pasting pictures of dogs to a giant piece of cardboard. There's paper and scraps all around her. Humming to herself, she says, "When Daddy asks me what I want for Christmas, I am just going to say, ‘Pick any one of these breeds and we'll be good.'?"
Margot and Josh are on the couch; I'm lying on the floor, watching TV. Josh popped a big bowl of popcorn, and I devote myself to it, handfuls and handfuls of it.
A commercial comes on for perfume: a girl is running around the streets of Paris in an orchid-colored halter dress that is thin as tissue paper. What I wouldn't give to be that girl in that tissue-paper dress running around Paris in springtime! I sit up so suddenly I choke on a kernel of popcorn. Between coughs I say, "Margot, let's meet in Paris for my spring break!" I'm already picturing myself twirling with a pistachio macaron in one hand and a raspberry one in the other.
Margot's eyes light up. "Do you think Daddy will let you?"
"Sure, it's culture. He'll have to let me." But it's true that I've never flown by myself before. And also I've never even left the country before. Would Margot meet me at the airport, or would I have to find my own way to the hostel?
Josh must see the sudden worry on my face because he says, "Don't worry. Your dad will definitely let you go if I'm with you."
I brighten. "Yeah! We can stay at hostels and just eat pastries and cheese for all our meals."
"We can go to Jim Morrison's grave!" Josh throws in.
"We can go to a parfumerie and get our personal scents done!" I cheer, and Josh snorts.
"Um, I'm pretty sure ‘getting our scents done' at a parfumerie would cost the same as a week's stay at the hostel," he says. He nudges Margot. "Your sister suffers from delusions of grandeur."
"She is the fanciest of the three of us," Margot agrees.
"What about me?" Kitty whimpers.
"You?" I scoff. "You're the least fancy Song girl. I have to beg you to wash your feet at night, much less take a shower."
Kitty's face gets pinched and red. "I wasn't talking about that, you dodo bird. I was talking about Paris."
Airily, I wave her off. "You're too little to stay at a hostel."
She crawls over to Margot and climbs in her lap, even though she's nine and nine is too big to sit in people's laps. "Margot, you'll let me go, won't you?"
"Maybe it could be a family vacation," Margot says, kissing her cheek. "You and Lara Jean and Daddy could all come."
I frown. That's not at all the Paris trip I was imagining. Over Kitty's head Josh mouths to me, We'll talk later, and I give him a discreet thumbs-up.
It's later that night; Josh is long gone. Kitty and our dad are asleep. We are in the kitchen. Margot is at the table on her computer; I am sitting next to her, rolling cookie dough into balls and dropping them in cinnamon and sugar. Snickerdoodles to get back in Kitty's good graces. Earlier, when I went in to say good night, Kitty rolled over and wouldn't speak to me because she's still convinced I'm going to try to cut her out of the Paris trip. My plan is to put the snicke...
