Author: Jenny Han
Series #1
Publisher: Scholastic
Year Of Release: 2014
Genre: Children’s Fiction, Family Matters, Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Chick-Lit
Relese Date: 7 August 2014
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Synopsis
Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. One for every boy she’s ever loved. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say 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.
Review
Laura Jean Covey has a fabulous love life……. in her imagination and on paper in the form of letters, kept in a teal hatbox given to her by her late mother. In real life it’s none existent, that’s until she discovers her treasured hatbox and it’s contents are nowhere to be found, hopefully, her dad can return her hatbox from goodwill? and all will be well in her universe once more.
The next day at school Lara Jean is aproached by her friend and next door neighbour Josh Sanderson in his hand is a letter the letter she wrote him sometime ago, her secret letter, telling him she loves him, this cannot be reality surely Lara Jean is dreaming? Except she is not, this is reality! Lara Jean wants to die!!! Josh Sanderson isn’t just her friend and her neighbour Josh Sanderson also happens to be her sister’s boyfriend. Add in Peter Kavinsky the guy every girl wants walking her to class and things are about to get complicated.
I genrally don’t read nor seek out YA (Young Adult) books nor do I find myself enjoying them as much, but there is something infections about Lara Jean and her family that make it impossible not to get swept up in the hype of this family.
Author Jenny Han has created a world where the reader has no choice but to get sucked in and never want to leave. Han has created female characters who are proud to be indivdual young women, who don’t need a man to survive but wanting one is Ok to. I applaud this trait in a book. I also loved Lara Jean was a homebody, baker, and knitter there is something that made me warm to her being an introvert myself I can relate to the solitary activities.
“My letters are for when I don’t want to be in love anymore. They’re for good-bye. Because after I write in my letter, I’m not longer consumed by my all-consuming love…My letters set me free”.
If you’ve read my previous reviews where Romance was involved you would know I don’t enjoy romance as an element in a story, more often then not I’m team ‘no-one’ or worse ‐ team ‘is this over yet?’ but not this time I’m team Kavinsky!!
The plot line is straight out of Hollywood and I’m not complaining; although I will say at times Lara Jean’s narration was over the top (Yes I’m aware this series is aimed at a younger age). Our heroin is 16 years of age so to read a character refer to her parents as mummy and daddy was a touch cringe worthy, I think Peter makes up for these moments for me helping Lara Jean get comfortable with more mature activities alongside people her own age.
This is a must-read for anyone looking for a light and fluffy contemporary, chick-lit read with short chapters, even if you’ve seen the movie adaptations on NETFLIX already. Those films inspired me to buy the books both are super cute, I’m usually book before movie kind of gal, but covid happened, we all have our weakness and this series was mine!