To All the Boys I've Loved Before Review

News about this book/movie has been popping up lately, but I was still surprised by it this weekend, and it was a beautiful surprise. This is one of the few instances where I watched the movie before reading the book. Now that I have watched the movie… twice, I’m on a waiting list to read the fabulousness that is To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

I’ve read novels by this author before and she has a way of describing relationships that is so relatable, it always reminds me of people in my own life.

This movie tells the story of Lara Jean, a girl who loves to read and daydream. Her room is always a mess, she spends the weekends hanging out with her sisters, and she writes letters to her crushes in order to sort out her feelings.

Usually there are at least a few scenes in a romantic comedy that make me cringe because they’re overly stressful or cheesy or just painful in general. And while this movie has its difficult moments, they’re painfully relatable. This movie is so well written. It’s a high school story that applies to every stage of life.

The main character is so classy and sweet. Lara Jean may be scared of truly falling in love and losing people,  but she’s still completely comfortable with herself. She’s quiet, but she’s confident. I love how she doesn’t let people walk all over her. She’s not loud and outspoken like her sisters, but she doesn’t back down from her opinions and interests and style. She’s so smart and mature, and makes these simple little insights about the people around her. I just appreciate how secure she is with herself.

Her sisters crack me up. Margo is such a good older sister, she takes care of her family and keeps them all together. It’s really nice that she gets to go away to college and be on her own and just focus on herself for the first time since their mom died.

And then there’s Kitty, the steamroller who forces her sister to act her age and have a social life. This teenage romance is a little light on the comedy, but Kitty is seriously hilarious. She’s extremely precocious and totally ready to take the world by storm (a very feminist girl power storm, specifically).

Their dad is so sweet, and Lara Jean’s best friend Chris is even more precocious and hilarious than Kitty. I love when Chris blatantly asks Dr. Covey about his inspiration to become a vagina doctor. It’s a real concern. I also love how Lara Jean and Chris are such opposites. Not all friends are exactly alike, and we see that in their friendship.

And then we have all the boys in the Song girls’ life.

Josh is the classic boy next door, though he does have some unrealistic expectations about Lara Jean’s innocence. Quiet doesn’t always mean sweet, a distinction that Peter definitely understands. Peter knows how tough Lara Jean is, and pushes her to branch out more and experience life instead of just living through books. Lucas does facials with her and listens to her boy problems.We never meet the camp kid, but the UN crush makes a last minute appearance during the credits… which was a delightful turn of events.

I’m a big fan of that surprise credits scene, it’s so perfect.

It’s a fantastic movie, with perfect timing. Lara Jean learns the difference between dreaming and actually living. She takes a big step and does scary things. She drives by herself, confronts an enemy, and is honest about her feelings. She’s a wonderful protagonist and example to young girls. Between this and Crazy Rich Asians, it looks like we’ll hopefully be seeing more diverse love stories.