“All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” by Jenny Han is the romance novel that has most recently caught the attention of both avid readers and those who rarely pick up a book. It narrates the story of Lara Jean Covey, a senior in high school trying to cope with the new responsibilities she has to take on as her older sister moves away for college. A hopeless romantic, once Lara Jean gets over a crush, she writes them a letter telling them all the reasons she liked them. However, problems arise when her letters, which she never planned on mailing, get sent out, and Lara Jean is left to deal with the aftermath. Overall, it proved to be a good book to read to pass time, but may not be as wonderful as the internet has hyped it up to be.

First of all, the actual writing of the book was quite basic. For example, one line from the novel reads, “She acts like she doesn’t care, but I know she does, at least a little.” A sentence like that could have easily been written more creatively. Also, the vocabulary used and the general sentence structure was not advanced in any way and did not add to the story. However, it was straightforward and communicated the story effectively in a way that the reader could easily understand.

The surprising events in the book and its nicely developed characters were mainly what made it entertaining. Lara Jean was a very dynamic character, allowing readers of all kinds to be able to connect with some aspect of her. She and the other main characters in the story were also written quite realistically. Their actions, thought processes, and personal motivations were logical as well as believable. The plot was interesting and upbeat, maintaining the reader’s attention throughout. It was not as predictable as romance novels usually are, but much of it could still be easily anticipated.

All in all, it can be said that even for those who do not enjoy romance books, this novel would make be an engaging read. However, as with most things these days, it was not as ground-breaking as everyone said it was, yet a decent story in its own right.