Last year, after watching the popular To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Netflix-original, I read the novel that inspired the movie. Although the novel was admittedly a bit cheesy, author Jenny Han still did an amazing job creating an enjoyable teenage novel. Immediately after reading the first book in the series, I ordered the second, P.S. I Still Love You. I just got around to reading it this summer, and it turned out to be well worth the wait! Here is a recap on the novel and a breakdown of whether the book is worth a read.  

To start off, in my opinion, the sequel to the trilogy was well written. I almost liked P.S. I Still Love You more than I enjoyed To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. After watching the movie version, as well as reading the first book in the series, I felt like I connected with the characters better while reading this book. The plotline was slightly more complicated than other young-adult novels I have read. I liked that the main characters, Peter Kavinsky and Lara Jean’s relationship was already well-developed throughout the novel. I especially enjoyed all the drama and the introductions of new characters in the story. I read it on a late summer night, which I found to be very therapeutic. Personally, I would give the novel a solid 4 out of 5 stars. 

Many would label the entire plotline to be unrealistic or too good to be true. I can definitely see from this viewpoint because typically, high-school relationships do not work out in the way that Lara Jean and Peter did. However, Han did do her best in trying to picture the flaws of life in various scenes. At the beginning of the novel, Lara Jean and Peter are a strong high-school couple. Yet due to some classmates, their relationship is weakened. Eventually, Lara Jean’s old crush, John Ambrose McClaren, comes back into her life. The whole second half of the novel depicts Lara Jean and John’s growing relationship and her struggle to choose between John and Peter. The story is a classic high-school love triangle. Lara Jean struggles emotionally as she must make a decision between the two: “I suppose you can’t hold on to old things just for the sake of holding on.” 

As I stated previously, I genuinely loved the novel inside and out. Some parts of the story were a bit too perfect to be true, but they were also the most vivid scenes. The book does not include any unnecessarily complicated language or detailed rhetorical devices; it is meant to be a book to be read for enjoyment. It definitely helped me de-stress on summer weekends, which was exactly what I needed it for. I would recommend this book and will be reading the final book in the trilogy. It is a “feel-good” type of novel. Kirkus Reviews summarizes the sequel perfectly, “An ultimately compelling exploration of teenage growth and young love.” 

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