Book Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Title: To All The Boys I've Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Genre: YA Contemporary
Published: 2014
Rating: 


Brief Overview: Lara Jean writes letters to all the boys she's loved and keeps them in a box in her room never to be shown to anyone...until, somehow, all the letters get sent. One boy's letter is returned to sender, one of the boys is gay, one used to be her friend, and one is her sister's (recent) ex-boyfriend. While all this is going on, Lara Jean's older sister leaves for college and Lara Jean ends up in a (fake) relationship with one of the boys from her letters.

Main Character: Lara Jean is a bit innocent for her age and she tries hard to be good. Her family is important to her and in the book she has to grow up a little when her older sister Margot goes to college and she becomes the oldest sister at home. She is fashionable and smart and although she is a bit naive and unsure of herself, you can tell she is tough on the inside.

Impressions: What I liked most about this book is Jenny Han's writing style. She does realism so well. She describes details down to the food they eat so clearly and yet somehow it never feels overly descriptive or wordy. This book is so sweet and captures an awkward time in Lara Jean's teenage life in such an honest way. I liked that while this book was about high school and boys, a huge element of it was about family and what it means to be sisters.

If you liked To All The Boys I've Loved Before, you might like: 
The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith or The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Book Review: Since You've Been Gone

Title: Since You've Been Gone
Author: Morgan Matson
Published: 2014
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction
Rating:

Brief Overview: Emily's best friend Sloane and her family have mysteriously left town, leaving Emily with a list of tasks to complete. The book also flashes back to Emily's memories of their friendship. As Emily completes her tasks with the help of her new friend and running partner Frank, she hopes to find some sort of clue that will lead her to Sloane.

Impressions: OK, seriously guys what did I miss that made you think this book was awesome? I was B.O.R.E.D. This book would have been a DNF except that I had read so many great reviews of it. I enjoyed reading about Emily and Sloane's friendship. It was one of the few things I liked and it made me think of my own best friend. The concept of a list of tasks for Emily also seemed like such a fascinating idea but I didn't think it played out in an interesting way. I also found the plot to be slow moving. I was expecting more of mystery or plot twist surrounding Sloane's disappearance. The characters had potential - like Emily's eccentric playwright parents, but even they didn't impress me that much. Overall, I think this book was okay but didn't live up to the hype.

If you liked Since You've Been Gone, you should read: 
The Year of the Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty or How I Lost You by Janet Gurtler

Do you agree that it was boring? Or did you love it? Leave me a comment telling me why you agree or disagree.

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