Review Detail

Lara Jen Covey has a secret. She writes letters to the boys she’s crushing on, seals them, and hides them away in a box. No one is meant to see them. Until the day her letters get mailed out and she has to deal with the consequences.

This was a light, cute read that left me with a smile. It wasn’t a book full of twists and surprises and the plot was fairly simple, but I really enjoyed it. It was a perfect book for a summer read.

Lara Jean came off as a very young sixteen, naive and a little needy, but it made sense to me. It felt like her older sister Margot had sheltered her from most of the world while giving her jobs to make her feel like she was more of an equal. When it came time for Lara Jean to step into Margot’s shoes, she simply wasn’t ready for the responsibility. Her growth from that young girl into someone who was ready, someone who could be depended on, was really nice and I loved that it was a struggle. She wasn’t suddenly an adult because circumstances needed her to be.

I loved the contrast between the three sisters. Margot was the overly responsible one who acted like an adult most of the time, though she could have her own childish moments. Lara Jean was more immature for her age while Kitty was a mix of the two, she could be a brat at times and others she was very responsible. I also appreciated that their father, a very busy man, was still present in their lives and made an effort to make sure their mother’s Korean heritage wasn’t forgotten.

The development between Lara Jean and Peter was really sweet. First pretending to date due to circumstances, it slowly turned into friendship until the feelings Lara Jean thought she’d gotten over returned. It definitely wasn’t insta-love. There was a small triangle with neighbor Josh and at first, it was hard to choose but Peter won me over in the end.

This book could have stood on its own but there is a second one coming. Unfortunately it won’t be for months. Long, long months.