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nerdinthelibrary 's review for:
P.S. I Still Love You
by Jenny Han
Review also posted to my blog.
1) To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before ★★★
ContemporaryAThon: the most recent contemporary you acquired, a book with blurple on the cover, a diverse contemporary, a contemporary you meant to read in 2018 but never got to
Feminist Lit Feb: an #ownvoices book about an experience other than your own
content warnings: loss of a parent, bullying, slut shaming, racism, infidelity
representation: biracial (korean-white) protagonist and main characters, interracial main relationship, gay side character
“Things feel like they'll be forever, but they aren't. Love can go away, or people can, without even meaning to. Nothing is guaranteed.”
This trilogy continues to be a fairly inoffensive, fun time that I’m happy I read. I will say, though, similarly to the last book, this book still falls short to the movie. The very start of this book is more-or-less the very end of the movie and it’s just so much better in my opinion, so maybe my enjoyment was slightly tainted by how much better I think the movie is??
Anyway, on the whole, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first book, despite giving it the same rating. This book felt somewhat redundant as the whole purpose of it is seemingly to force another love triangle, this time with Lara Jean liking Peter and John Ambrose McClaren. For the record, I am 100% team John Ambrose, which is going to cause some issues when it comes to the movie adaptation because I actually like movie!Peter.
Honestly, the romance aspect of this series is just kind of meh for me. I think Peter’s a massive douche 95% of the time who doesn’t deserve Lara Jean, Josh is just kind of there, and John Ambrose was clearly the correct choice. The area where this series really shines is the family dynamics.
I found Margot a lot more likable in this book, probably because she’s not in it as much and when she is there she’s actively helping Lara Jean as opposed to acting condescending. Kitty is significantly cuter and continues to remind me of my younger sister, and her trying to set up their dad with the lady across the street was adorable.
I also continue to love the small touches that Jenny Han adds in terms of Lara Jean being half-Korean. It’s just little things, like mentioning certain foods they eat, clothes they wear, traditions they uphold. Lara Jean also starts volunteering at a nursing home in this book and she mentions the casual racism that even some of the nicer residents have, whether that’s assuming certain stereotypes are true or using outdated terms to refer to Korean people.
To be honest, I actually really enjoy everything about these books except for the romance. I like the non-love interest characters, the dynamics between characters who aren’t in relationships, the descriptions of baking are wonderful, everything is really good. But this is first and foremost a romance series which is why this is going to remain a 3-star series.
1) To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before ★★★
ContemporaryAThon: the most recent contemporary you acquired, a book with blurple on the cover, a diverse contemporary, a contemporary you meant to read in 2018 but never got to
Feminist Lit Feb: an #ownvoices book about an experience other than your own
content warnings: loss of a parent, bullying, slut shaming, racism, infidelity
representation: biracial (korean-white) protagonist and main characters, interracial main relationship, gay side character
“Things feel like they'll be forever, but they aren't. Love can go away, or people can, without even meaning to. Nothing is guaranteed.”
This trilogy continues to be a fairly inoffensive, fun time that I’m happy I read. I will say, though, similarly to the last book, this book still falls short to the movie. The very start of this book is more-or-less the very end of the movie and it’s just so much better in my opinion, so maybe my enjoyment was slightly tainted by how much better I think the movie is??
Anyway, on the whole, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first book, despite giving it the same rating. This book felt somewhat redundant as the whole purpose of it is seemingly to force another love triangle, this time with Lara Jean liking Peter and John Ambrose McClaren. For the record, I am 100% team John Ambrose, which is going to cause some issues when it comes to the movie adaptation because I actually like movie!Peter.
Honestly, the romance aspect of this series is just kind of meh for me. I think Peter’s a massive douche 95% of the time who doesn’t deserve Lara Jean, Josh is just kind of there, and John Ambrose was clearly the correct choice. The area where this series really shines is the family dynamics.
I found Margot a lot more likable in this book, probably because she’s not in it as much and when she is there she’s actively helping Lara Jean as opposed to acting condescending. Kitty is significantly cuter and continues to remind me of my younger sister, and her trying to set up their dad with the lady across the street was adorable.
I also continue to love the small touches that Jenny Han adds in terms of Lara Jean being half-Korean. It’s just little things, like mentioning certain foods they eat, clothes they wear, traditions they uphold. Lara Jean also starts volunteering at a nursing home in this book and she mentions the casual racism that even some of the nicer residents have, whether that’s assuming certain stereotypes are true or using outdated terms to refer to Korean people.
To be honest, I actually really enjoy everything about these books except for the romance. I like the non-love interest characters, the dynamics between characters who aren’t in relationships, the descriptions of baking are wonderful, everything is really good. But this is first and foremost a romance series which is why this is going to remain a 3-star series.