Let's Bust a Recap : To All the Boys

Oh Lara Jean. I can't be the only bookworm to happy sigh every time I recall a book I particularly loved, right? And this adorable trilogy falls squarely into the Happy Sigh category. 

I read these books last July for my recently formed book club, and may I just say: we came out bangin' in our little book club. Our first month we read The Penderwicks and followed up immediately with To All the Boys—both grand slams for me. Even though our technical book club "assignment" was only to read the first book in each of these series, I read all five Penderwicks books in quick succession, and I inhaled the To All the Boys trilogy in a week. 

First of all, this trilogy is perfect summer reading. Light, fun, unputdownable—it checks all my boxes. Second, I have to take a second to crush on how cute the physical hard copies are themselves. I also can't be the only bookworm to crush on some cute books, can I? I think if we're all honest with ourselves, we can admit that even though we're not supposed to, sometimes we just judge a book by its cover, and I have to confess that these cutie hardcovers make my day every time I look at them. If you look closely at the photo, sans dust jackets each book is a popping pink, sky blue, and purple. I'm so glad I stumbled across the hardcover editions at The Book Shelter instead of settling for the paperbacks. In fact, I ordered the middle book off amazon because I only found the first and third installments at The Book Shelter and even though one of my friends offered to send me the second book for free because she had an extra copy, I declined because I needed the hardcover. Are you so over me crushing on these books? I get it. Let's move on to the actual recap. 

In To All the Boys I've Loved Before, our main character Lara Jean discovers that all the love letters she's ever written (five total, to be exact) have somehow been mailed out and ended up in the hands of the boys who were never meant to see them—including her older sister's boyfriend. (If you're a female, you should have just died a little inside hearing that premise.) The resulting consequences land Lara Jean in a fake relationship with one of her letters' recipients to avoid dealing with the awkwardness of confronting Margot's now ex-boyfriend who is still super-close with the family. Throughout the trilogy, Lara Jean and Peter have to navigate whether or not they are developing real feelings for each other and learn to trust each other despite their unconventional beginnings. 

I loved every second. To All the Boys I've Loved Before was published in April of 2014; P.S. I Still Love You a year later in May of 2015; and Always and Forever, Lara Jean two years later in May 2017. God bless all the hearts that were reading these books as new releases because I would have actually laid down and died if I had not been able to immediately start reading P.S. I Still Love You upon finishing To All the Boys I've Loved Before. The three together read like one big novel, and I would have lost every single friend I have complaining about having to wait for the next installment. 

My book club buddies and I couldn't help comparing the Covey girls to the Penderwicks because in both series, we have tight sisters who fiercely love their widowed dads. The dynamics between Margot, Lara Jean, and Kitty and the conflicts they have to navigate are different than what the four Penderwick girls go through, but in each series the love is so authentic and real. I fell in love with both families and was rooting for them with my whole heart. 

In rare form, I actually watched the To All the Boys movies that were adapted for Netflix before reading the books, and, though I enjoyed the movies, didn't have any serious plans to read the books until one of my favorite bloggers Sheree at Keeping Up With the Penguins reviewed To All the Boys I've Loved Before on her blog. After hearing her glowing review, I immediately decided these were must-reads for me, and I'm so glad I didn't miss out on them. As per usual, the books offered so much more for me to love than the movies ever could by themselves, but in reading them, I still thought the movies were sweet and perfectly cast (with the possible exception of Jordan Fisher playing fair-haired John Ambrose McClaren). I actually called my brother who lives in Hollywood and works in the movie industry and told him to make Netflix release these on DVD so I could add them to my collection. (Still waiting, Reagan...)

Anyway, I will 100% be visiting Lara Jean again...maybe even this summer. While I don't think this trilogy is for everyone and wouldn't recommend it as widely as I would The Penderwicks, it was definitely for me and I'm so glad Sydney picked it for book club because otherwise, who even knows how long it would have been till I got to meet the Coveys?? Thanks, Syd!

What books make you Happy Sigh? And do you crush on cute books?