“To All the Boys I've Loved Before” is way more beautiful than the sequel “P.S. I still Love You”. I am not instantly disappointed when I finished reading it yet I am not completely satisfied too. Her other books, the Summer series, is way better than this duology. Maybe because when I’ve read the Summer series, all books is available for nonstop reading. While this duology, I have to wait a year for the publishing of the 2nd book.
The first few pages were very reminiscent of the first book and gave me high hopes. It didn't really make me go gaga though. Reading this is still fast paced but there's a boring part that made me stop once. I wish she didn’t rush into making this 2nd book. 3 years of waiting can be okay as long as it's worth it.
Part of it is quite predictable. The character did a lot of things that made me question this “Why are they even acting like that?” Why give a precious jewelry to your love one then return it again? Why does Peter still choose her ex over her girlfriend? The reason is not even that grave.
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| 2nd book in the duology |
It isn’t just right to ignore Josh after the years of friendship. He is, after all, the original character in the love triangle in Book 1. The arrival of new guy in Book 2, John Ambrose, doesn’t match the tension that came from the original Josh. John Ambrose just popped out in this book. There was no huge anticipation in his arrival and his character was not developed well in book 1. No wonder it’s not easy to root for him.
I thought it will be the same with the book “She's Dating a Gangster” where I've cried unexpectedly. In this book, the love triangle is simple and harmless. No emotional roller coaster ride. How I wish it has the same intensity. It's not like in book 1 where you will wonder how Lara Jean handles her secret puppy love with her sister’s boyfriend. How can she escape from that dilemma when all her secrets were suddenly revealed? Something like this.
Peter was the main reason why I liked the first book. I wish that his good qualities were emphasized after giving him a bad image due to hish ex girlfriend issues and after shifting the good lights to John Ambrose.
The unique quality of this book is its message regarding sex. It’s kinda awkward for those who are conservative and late bloomer. It may apply to other people’s lifestyle yet not so well with our old fashioned country. It opens the mind of readers and gives suggestions to a kind of mindset they can adopt. This confuses me for I find this book childish yet that topic is discussed casually. I wish it’s more subtle. You cannot just say to the young teenagers here “It’s okay to do that as long as you know the consequences” as it will clash in our culture and go against the our standard traditions. We’re not that fully liberal here yet. However, this is helpful for those who need counselling (esp. females).
A third book is unnecessary. I don’t want more and my heart is already broken. I’m yet to overcome with how things turned out but I’m not yet giving up with Jenny Han. I just hope that she will be consistent on the quality of her next books.
I strictly recommend reading “To All the Boys I've Loved Before” first. I’m not sure if I will recommend this to high school students here.
Rate: 3/5
I rarely buy non-educational books but I really wanted to have a hard copy of this because I love the first book (To All the Boys I Loved Before) and it’s my favourite. Bf bought this for me. You can read my review of the first book here: To All The Boys I've Loved Before
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