Tag: Jenny Han

Friday YA: P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #2) by Jenny Han

Starting off right where To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before ends, Lara Jean decides she wants to be a real girlfriend to her fake boyfriend Peter Kavinsky. Writing another letter, Lara Jean delivers it in person to Peter and finds him at home. They have a sweet reunion and their relationship is now cemented in reality. That doesn’t mean all of the drama has ended! Peter still talks to he ex, Genevieve, on a regular basis.

Admittedly, I read To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and P.S. I Love You back to back and may be getting a few details between the two books mixed up, so please forgive me if I do!

P. S. I Love You’s Lara Jean is not quite as relaxed as the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Lara Jean. Peter is her first boyfriend and dealing with a boyfriend who won’t let go of his ex starts to undermine her self confidence and those doubts make her sound a bit whiny. In the first novel I wanted to crack Peter over the head for his obtuseness, and in this novel I switched over to wanting Lara Jean to stop being so whiny!

There are two key conflicts in this novel. The continued resolution of who shot the hot tub video, and another of Lara Jean’s past love’s responding to her letter. Peter’s response to who shot the hot tub video made me swing back into the “this guy’s a jerk, just let him go already” team. I was riding the edge already because he’s a bit cocky, but his defense of Lara Jean arrives a little late. When John Ambrose shows up, he seems like a white night in comparison to Peter. That contrast made me sit up and take interest in a novel that had started to feel a little flat.

Kitty, again, steals the show. That kid had such sass, she was great fun to read. I also really liked Lara Jean’s interactions at the senior living center, and in particular her conversations with Stormy. A resident of that community who could give Kitty a run for her money in sass and fun. The USO party Lara Jean threw with John Ambrose’s help only made me like him more and I wondered why Lara Jean had such a problem picking her leading man. In my eyes he was definitely the better pick!

Again, this series totally reminded me of the insecurities of my own youth. I never had two guys fighting over me, but that is a fantasy that all girls and women have that despite it being stereotypical always adds a nice tension to a story. In this case it was definitely needed. I haven’t yet read the third and final novel in this series, but have it on my TBR and I know I’ll get to it sooner rather than later. I am invested in reading Lara Jean’s story and want to see her mature and grow into the awesome woman she’s on her way to becoming.

Explicit Ranking: I’d give this novel a 3 out of 5 based not on Lara Jean’s own actions, but on conversations about sex. The hot tub video and how her peers reacted differently to both Peter and Lara Jean is a conversation starter in how women are perceived if they’ve had sex versus men. I think this is a great lesson learned early and appreciate how it was displayed in this novel, even if I didn’t like every reaction.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase!* P.S. I Still Love You (2) (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before)

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

Friday YA: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Lara Jean’s sixteenth year is full of many changes. One of three girls, her home life gets shaken up when her older sister Margot goes off to college in Scotland, breaking up with her boyfriend Josh, the boy next door. Normally sitting on the outside of the drama between her classmates, she finds herself in the center of attention when popular guy Peter approaches her about a letter she wrote and was mailed to him a few years ago. When she looks for her stash of letters she realizes that every letter she’s ever written to a boy she’s loved has been mailed out. Including one to her sister’s boyfriend Josh.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before has such a cute premise and Lara Jean was the funny, sweet heroine who could pull off all of the hijinks that ensue from having her private feelings shared with the boys who were never supposed to know about them. I really enjoyed how different each character was and how Lara Jean’s interaction with them showed a different side to her personality.

JOSH- the boy next door and Lara Jean’s close friend. It was this relationship that showed her youthfulness the most. He was trying to deal with her sister’s break-up and keeping the Song family in his life. This letter kind of threw a wrench in things.

PETER- the popular boy at school who just broke up with his long time girlfriend Gen. I liked how his interactions were a little more mature than Lara Jean’s but thought he was a bit cocky and didn’t really feel like he was a great love interest for her.

KITTY- by far my favorite character in the series. She is only 10, but outsmarts everyone around her, is wily, and a master manipulator. Lara Jean tries to be the authority figure but really, Kitty’s in charge.

This was a fun sweet ya contemporary. It reminded me of when life was so innocent. On the scale of 1 to 5 on the explicit scale this was a 3. There was talk of sex and how girls are viewed vs boys if they do have sex. I thought it was handled really well. Lara Jean is pretty innocent and her POV about the topic seemed pretty true to life. It’s definitely a topic that needs to be discussed in YA novels.

If you’re looking for a quick summer book, and this one has slipped past you give it a try! Fair warning though, it ends on a cliffhanger and you’ll immediately be reaching for the second novel in the series.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“..To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before read like real life. Despite such a preposterous premise, the details felt so authentic. I adored the little bits about every day life. Making sandwiches, bake sales, where you go before school, riding the bus. The way even small moments feel so huge when you’re young.” Never Not Reading

Click this link to purchase!* To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads4 Comments