A Vulture Best YA Book of 2017 Lara Jean’s letter-writing days aren’t over in this surprise follow-up to the New York Times bestselling To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and P.S. I Still Love You. Lara Jean is having the best senior year a girl could ever hope for. She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her dad’s finally getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms. … getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms. Rothschild; and Margot’s coming home for the summer just in time for the wedding.
But change is looming on the horizon. And while Lara Jean is having fun and keeping busy helping plan her father’s wedding, she can’t ignore the big life decisions she has to make. Most pressingly, where she wants to go to college and what that means for her relationship with Peter. She watched her sister Margot go through these growing pains. Now Lara Jean’s the one who’ll be graduating high school and leaving for college and leaving her family–and possibly the boy she loves–behind.
When your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to?more
Finished this book yesterday. Now before I get into my full review I really hope Jenny Han writes a fourth book. I need some answers on somethings that happened in this third book. Yep not disappointed at all reading this book. I can’t believe it took me so long to read these books. I really had fun reading them. I definitely would reread these books. I want bored or hated any of the characters. I will miss reading about these characters kinda hoping maybe for a fourth book. To see what happens to Lara jean and Peter and how college is for both of them. Highly recommend all three of these books.
Always and Forever, Lara Jean is a cute read about senior year of high school and the stresses of college. Although, I’m not a personal fan of Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship, I think it is shown well with the stresses going on in both of their lives. In the end, I think this series is amazing at showing readers to follow their hearts. I highly recommend reading this series from the beginning.
I enjoyed this book as I did the first two… the characters are still excellent and very believable. This book just felt super episodic to me. Lara Jean and Peter have been together for over a year when the story starts, and they’re preparing to go to college. Lara Jean wants to go to the in-state school that Peter already knows he’ll be attending on a Lacrosse scholarship, but she doesn’t get in. She plans to go to a different school that’s only a few hours away and transfer to his school the following year, but then she ends up getting in to another one that is much better and much farther away. This puts tension on their relationship–should they keep trying to date long-distance, or should she let him go (as Peter’s mom wants her to do), so that he can focus on Lacrosse?
I encapsulated the whole book right there more or less, but those elements of conflict are a VERY slow boil. For the most part, Lara Jean is baking, trying to perfect her chocolate chip cookie recipe, and trying to plan her dad’s wedding to the next door neighbor. There’s a definite bittersweet quality to much of the book, and it encapsulates that coming-of-age sadness of leaving the old behind in order to embrace the new. I’m glad there wasn’t a love triangle in this one (that would have gotten a little old), and I definitely love Lara Jean and Peter together. And (spoiler alert) I’m glad it ends happy. I’d have been REALLY annoyed if it didn’t. (Still, I kind of wonder whether Lara Jean and Peter will make it, long-term. It seems more likely they’ll break up after a year or two.)
One thing I loved about this entire trilogy was that, while the author clearly acknowledges that sex is a common element of teenage relationships, Lara Jean and Peter never actually do it, despite having dated for over a year. She never explicitly gives a reason for this, and I like the fact that it doesn’t seem like they need an excuse. It’s a big deal, and they just… haven’t yet. I wish more books targeted at teens made this seem like an ok choice.
My rating: *** 1/2
I WANT TO BE JENNY HAN WHEN I GROW UP.
This book was so darn good I can’t stand it. Jenny Han is a master storyteller. She kept me hooked from the beginning until the very last page. I loved all the characters, but especially, Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship. Lara Jean is almost the opposite of me in real life lol she cares a lot about clothes and baking and being perfect, etc. but she was still an awesome character. And Peter was dreamy 🙂 I wish there was more to the story after they go to college. That is my only complaint, but I get that Jenny needs to move on. She did a wonderful job creating this world and telling an unforgettable story, though. Highly recommend this series!
Beautiful characters and inspiring stories in this series.
The final story in the series left me wanting to know how the story continues. Lara Jean is in her senior year of high school. Jenny Han does a great job showcasing the different emotions that are present during this stage of life.
3.5
I didn’t love the ending of the trilogy. I loved some aspects of it but one of my biggest issues is no epilogue and the ending. I would’ve loved to see Peter and Lara Jean post college. Secondly, the ending just felt a bit weak and cliffy to me. There was a big promise and then that’s it, it just ends. It didn’t feel as final as it should’ve been for the ending of a trilogy.
the life of two teenagers in love ready to go to college with each other this is a book about high school sweethearts and college soulmate
This is the third book in the To All the Boys Series and it was added after the Netflix success of the first two. I did love catching up with Lara Jean and Peter to see how well they were navigating their real relationship ‘for real’ this time. The first half of the book has adorable but probably unnecessary scenes of the two of them interacting in typical teen ways. The second half was devoted to them trying to avoid facing the changes that will inevitably occur as they go off to college. Much frustration from me about their inability to discuss any of these issues until almost the last second, but then they’re high school seniors and it’s a huge milestone and adjustment for both of them. The book ends just as it should. Here’s hoping the movie will do the same.
Always and Forever: Sweet As Candy!
*self-purchased. No need of sugar daddies called promo teams*
What’s this book about? (I’m trying to give as little spoilers as possible)
Things are about to change for Lara Jean. She’s in her senior year and big decisions await. After planning everything meticulously, she finds herself in a strange position of having to rethink all her plans.
This is my third Jenny Han read. I loved book one. Book two was torture. I waited almost six months to finally pick this up. I watched the movie to the second book when it came out and I’ve been meaning to get to reading Always And Forever, Lara Jean, for some time now.
The structure to this novel was the same as in the previous ones. I’ve grown to love Lara Jean, but I don’t want to read her stories unless I’m really desperate for some positivity and optimism in my life. There are very few hurdles here and perhaps, that’s exactly why this series is such a bundle of joy. It works for its audience.
I can’t hate on Lara Jean because she’s adorable in lots of ways; she seems very proper in lots of others. Her chemistry with Peter was lovely. Their relationship made appearances in this novel, however, at times it felt like we were focusing a lot on Lara Jean’s family. Which, to be honest, since she was in her senior year and she was about to leave for college, was completely fine. I just would have personally liked more Peter appearances. Peter EVERYWHERE.
Speaking of Peter, he had major developments here. We finally see him crack, in some ways. His family dynamics are explored and in typical Lara Jean fashion, she wanted to make it all okay. I understood Peter and the decisions he made concerning his family, sometimes wanting to rattle Lara Jean awake and tell her to lay off the poor boy for his choices LOL. Not everyone can have the picture-perfect family!
Kitty was the CUTEST. I think she was the mastermind behind the entire orchestration of her family’s lives! Margot played a more crucial role in the story this time around. I understood what she felt and why she behaved the way she did. It’s difficult to leave your home and when you come back, find that everything’s changing. She was the most emancipated out of the siblings and it was truly fun to see how scandalous she seemed with her trivial relationship to her family. It seemed hilarious to me.
I recommend this read to anyone who doesn’t mind getting sentimental over teenagers going through their senior years, Lara Jean stans and people who need some fluffy and cute reads in their lives.
This one was a little rushed, but it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t near as good as the second book, but it was better than the first. I found Lara Jean’s father’s relationship with Trina to be the most exciting part of the book. Once again, I thought Peter was unbearably annoying. As a series overall, I found it to be overrated, yet not horrible. I think it deserves some of the attention it gets, but I also think it gets more credit than it should.
This is book #3, in the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. For reader understanding, and to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading this series in order.
Lara Jean’ story continues in this book with her deciding where to go to college. She has so much going on with finishing her senior year in high school, planning a wedding, and figuring out where she stands with Peter and other boys in her life.
Peter just wants to enjoy being with Lara Jean. He wants to hear words of forever and always. While they are having to decide where they stand as a couple and what they will do for school, there are outside commentaries that seem to effect the status quo.
This last installment in the series made me want to beg the author for just one more book. I love the characters. I have grown to love their families, the community, and I am so grateful to have taken the time to get to know these characters. There is so much that this story brings to life. So many surprises in store for the reader.
I stood by Lara Jean and Peter all the way through the whole series. Definitely recommend to people who love teen/young adult romance books.
This book was my favourite out of the ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ series.
I’d give this 2 1/2 stars. The writing is good; the plot? Not so much. It’s obvious from the get-go that the author is setting the protagonist up to–spoiler alert, but it’s unnecessary as you see it coming immediately–not get into the college of her dreams, where her boyfriend plans to attend. The rest of the book is heavy on fingernail painting, cookie baking, and the little sister being annoying, and light on tension, drama, excitement, cliff-hangers, hatable characters, and basically everything that makes a book exciting and causes readers to want to continue turning the pages. Every chapter ends blandly so you don’t really care what happens next. I did finish the book, so it wasn’t all bad, but I wouldn’t buy another one from this author.
Always and forever is the end of a series and obviously the third will not be the best but this book was still a read and gave me those butterflies.
A simple romance story that I would recommend for teens. It is an easy read that keeps you occupied throughout the whole story. I would recommend this whole series, since the story keeps the reader entertained the whole time.
** spoiler alert ** Jenny Han is a master at continuing a story without allowing it to become dull and overused. Her simple evolution of Lara Jean makes this third installment a wonderful and heart-touching read. I have enjoyed each book revolving around the world of Lara Jean and her love letters because the author gave more meat to the story than plain old unrequited love. She fleshed out the characters little bit by little bit, and she gave us reasons to fall in love with them over and over again.
Lara Jean is a realist in most cases, and her family is very important to her. The relationship she shares with her sisters and her father is continued in a beautiful expression of actions and dialogue. The fact that her father has found love again and hopes to marry is given in a fresh twist since the youngest sister loves the soon to be stepmom, and Lara Jean is able to handle the introduction of a new woman into her father’s life in a mature, level-headed manner. The older sister has a harder time with this intrusion since she’s been the caregiver when their mother died. The slow consideration of her turn-around was believable and honest, which makes this book even more endearing.
The continued relationship between Lara Jean and Peter as they embark on college matters and a decision for a long-distance relationship is heart-tugging and realistic. I love their ability to work through the tough questions and stay strong. Even when something comes along to disrupt their peace, they are able to face it in an often mature fashion.
Although I understand how some readers might see this third book as superfluous or unnecessary, I beg to disagree. Finding out what happens next in the “happily ever after” chapter of Lara Jean and Peter’s lives is essential. It’s great to have that “and now we’re together” phase that every other teen book usually ends upon instead of taking it one step further.
I appreciate and applaud Jenny Han’s decision to give us a little more in the life of Lara Jean. Kudos to her for helping us see more into her character’s relationships and ever-evolving world. It’s nice to end on such a high note and see our beloved characters making their way through what happens after high school, together, again.
The perfect final for Lara Jean and Peter! This book is the perfect way to close their story!!! I love it!
Was sad when I realized the series was over. I have dedicated my life to Peter Kavinsky…