P.S. I Still Love You Book Review

psistillloveyou

Title: P.S. I Still Love You
Author: Jenny Han
Series: Book #2 in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before duology
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: May 26, 2015
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 337
Format: Purchased Hardcover

“P.S. I Still Love You” by Jenny Han is the sequel to “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” and it’s a continuation of the story of Lara Jean and Peter, and how they want to make their relationship real. But when a boy from Lara Jean’s past comes back into her life, so do her feelings for him. Can she love two people at the same time?

Spoilers to come as this is a sequel!

This book was both parts adorable and heartbreaking. But mostly adorable.

In this sequel we got to see Lara Jean and Peter interact differently than before. After the whole ordeal with word of the two of them having sex with each other spread (when they didn’t), and the kiss between them, and their growing feelings for each other, they decide to try to really start dating. They want to give it a go, and seeing the two of them together was some of my favorite parts in the book. I felt that seeing the dynamic between them grow and change was something that was really wonderful to see.

Not that it wasn’t without its complications, of course. It wouldn’t be much of a story without its troubles.

So let me first talk about some of the main characters:

Lara Jean isn’t much different from the first book except that I think she allowed herself to be worried about comparing herself and her relationship with Peter with his and Genevieve’s prior relationship. She also cares a lot about what others think of her because she’s never really been in the spotlight before she started seeing Peter. When a video of the two of them goes viral and she’s being called a slut, she gets worried, but I’m also glad that it doesn’t get her depressed to the point of serious depression or anything. I thought that she handled it better than Peter, actually. Eventually.

Also, I found her to be, well, a typical teen of sixteen going on seventeen. I don’t expect her to have all the answers, but what I do expect is what I saw in her: a fickle heart, a complicated relationship, fears, hopes, and more. I loved that about this book that we could see a real representation of teens (because let’s face it, we’ve all been there, done that, at one point or another).

As for Peter Kavinsky, my goodness. Okay, so I thought that he was totally himself and he was starting to show his feelings a bit more to Lara Jean, but I also think he sensed the distrust from her when it involved Gen. He said nothing was happening, and she didn’t believe him, though he said she was his number one girl. I thought he was telling the truth, but I was unsure at some points, too. But I thought he grew a little in this book in that he just wasn’t this “high and mighty” jock type that was just going along with some sort of elaborate plan. Rather, I felt that he was really developing feelings for Lara Jean and really trying his best to protect her. Like he said, he enjoys feeling “needed.” I think a lot of males have that desire because it’s just in their DNA, you know?

Anyway, Kitty. Kitty, Kitty, Kitty. She is such a little sassypants. I love how she think she knows it all, and really, you can get some of the best advice from little kids. I thought she had plenty of great pointers for Lara Jean, and I also thought her intuition about Peter and John and the situations around her were spot on. She’s one of my favorites.

John Ambrose McClaren. Okay, really, his full name did not need to be said as much as it was in the book (which was my biggest pet peeve when it came to page time for him), but his character overall was charming. Yes, he sort of had a hidden agenda (sorta, kinda, not really) when it came to Lara Jean, but the chemistry between them felt natural and nothing felt pushed or rushed. I liked that about these characters: they don’t force anything on anyone. I thought John to be very respectful and a good part of the story, but I also wished he hadn’t been there in a way so we could get more Lara Jean and Peter time.

The plot, well, it was kind of foretold in the synopsis, wasn’t it? Lara Jean does have feelings for both guys at once, but I don’t believe it was love on John’s part. I knew she would wind up with Peter just because of what they had been through, and the fact that they just… I don’t know, they go together. They’re like two pieces of a set, you know?

I felt the main part of the plot was between Lara Jean and Peter. They went through ups and downs in this book and how they overcome it in the end. But I also saw the plot of how John figured into the picture, about the girls trying to set up their dad with their neighbor, about love in general. This book was very focused on love, and frankly, I loved it.

There’s just a few things that I didn’t like, but they were minor in the scheme of things:

  • Some parts felt like filler. Eh. I dunno.
  • Long descriptions of desserts. I mean, I like dessert as much as the next person, but maybe that was just me wanting more romance.

But there were also some things I was really grateful that they were in there:

  • The fact that Jenny pointed out several times how there’s a double standard against woman: if something goes viral and it involves both a male and female, there’s a certain stigma placed on both; the man will be cheered while the woman is looked down upon. LOVED that she pointed this out. Thank you, Jenny.
  • The fact that Jenny (while talking through her character Stormy) stated that your body is your own. If you’re not ready to have sex or go through with something that someone wants you to, then don’t do it. You control your body. Not anyone else.

Other than that, I really enjoyed it. It may have had it’s duller parts and more exciting parts, but I think that’s what makes a good plot based on real life: there’s going to be not as exciting times. And that’s what makes the story that much better.

Overall, I rated it 4/5 stars and highly recommend it for those who read the first book.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Book Review

toalltheboysivelovedbefore

Title: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Series: Book #1 in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before duology
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: January 1, 2014
Genres: Young Adult – Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 288
Format: Purchased Signed Hardcover

“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” by Jenny Han is a story about a girl named Lara Jean who writes love letters to every boy she’s ever loved – five in all. She pours out all her feelings into these letters, but never sends them; they’re written as a means to an end, a way for her to say good-bye, even though the boy never knows that she liked him to begin with. One day her letters are somehow sent out and soon she’s set in a whirlwind situation that she never hoped would happen.

When I first read the premise for this book, I thought that it was really unique and cool. We were all teenagers once (or are…or will be) and so we know what it’s like to have crushes, to be infatuated with someone and wish we could tell them everything we feel about them. Well, I know I have, anyway, and so when I first picked up this book I was very excited to read it.

It was really hard to get into at first. Han’s writing style is different than what I expected and the story itself at the beginning just seemed slow. It took me probably about 50-75 pages to really get into it before I felt like the story was picking up and moving along.

Throughout the book I noticed a lot of typos of extra words being placed in sentences that didn’t need to be there or lines that didn’t make any sense whatsoever. Whoever edited the book didn’t do a superb job on it, but oh well.

The story itself was cute. It kind of reminded me of stories where people pretend to date and really don’t like each other, but over time, emotions do become real and things go down. Some of it kept me guessing, some of it was reminiscent of my high school days (which I don’t miss), and some of it was heartwarming, funny, and romantic.

Lara Jean herself is an interesting girl I could see myself being friends with if she were real. She’s quirky, artistic, funny, creative. But she has her weak points of sometimes being oblivious or letting her emotions reign over herself. She seems like a pretty average teenage girl, really.

Her sisters, Kitty (the little sister) and Margot (the older), are both unique individuals, as well, and play their role as the must-take-care-of-everything older sister and the can-get-away-with-anything younger sister. Seeing it through the perspective of Lara Jean’s eyes, though, we obviously don’t get an extreme depth or perception of these other girls, but the basic nuts and bolts are there.

Josh, the boy next door, is super sweet and nice. I thought he was very… well, I found him predictable, like Lara Jean did in the story. But sometimes I saw more and was happily satisfied with how he acted, other times I didn’t like it much.

Peter is how I would envision when I imagine jerk jocks, but then there’s always the side you find later on because you don’t know the person and discover how they act and who they really are over time. From afar, he acts stupid. Up close, he’s actually quite charming.

I don’t like Genevieve.

All in all, the characters each had their own flaws and unique characteristics that made them believable throughout the story. Can I also just mention that a lot of these names, especially for the girls, are weird? Not in a bad way, but just really unique. I thought it was weird to read it in a contemporary novel, but I guess it’s also refreshing to see such unique names in a real place setting.

The plot itself seemed like it would drag on at times, especially at the beginning, but as I read on I was more and more engulfed in the story and wanted to see how it played out. I realize that this is the first book in a trilogy (I think its a trilogy), and I really hope we get to see what happens next between Lara Jean and Peter because I have a few theories that I want to see if they get played out or not.

Overall, this book was fun and cute and definitely reminiscent of high school, first loves, and all the drama in between.

I rate this book 4/5 stars.