“To all the boys I’ve Loved Before” is an adult romance novel in which a sixteen- year- old girl, Lara Jean Song writes love letters to every boy she has ever loved to get over them, until one day, the letters, get mailed out.

This book was later adapted into a movie which premiered on Netflix on August 17, 2018. Like any book adaptation, the film sparked controversy.

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Students were asked three questions. Rank the book or film 1-10 (Ten being the best and one being the worst.)

  1. In one word, describe the book and/or movie.
  2. Who is your favorite character and why?  
  3. If you are one of the lucky ones and were able to read and see the film, could you please write a short comparison?

Sixteen students in total were interviewed and here are the average results:

  1. The average ranking is an 8.
  2. The word “charming” was used by 30% of the students to describe the book and/or film.
  3. For the majority of the students, Peter Kavinsky was their favorite character. Their response on average was because of his physical appearance, which many described as “hot”.

Out of everyone interviewed, only 12.5% had read the book, 37.5% had seen the film, and 50% had never seen it.

Due to the percentages, we could see how a very small amount of people are avid readers. Here is a message from Mrs. Cavazos, the Jimmy Carter Early College Librarian. “It isn’t that students aren’t motivated but that student doesn’t want to make the time to read. They have time for everything, but they always make excuses when it comes to reading. Slow down and pick up a book and learn to make up the time.”

Spoiler Alert

These are four major comparisons between the film and the novel:

  1. In the movie, Kitty sent out the letters, all in an effort to help her sister find a boyfriend. However, in the novel, when Lara Jean finds out about Kitty’s crush on Josh. Kitty decided to send out the letters before Lara Jean is able to tell Josh about it. We see how in the movie Kitty is trying to help her sister while in the novel she was trying to harm her.
  2. As we may know Gen is the reason why Peter ends up getting into the secret relationship with Lara Jean. However, in the film, he hopes to get back with Gen after their breakup.  In the novel, he is trying to send a message to Gen that their relationship is over.
  3. After their big hot tub film explodes over the internet,  In the movie, Lara Jean and Peter break up after she finds out that he went to Gen’s room that same night. In the book, they end up breaking up after she speculates that he still loves and has strong feelings towards Gen.
  4. In the book,  it’s pretty obvious that Josh has feelings towards Lara Jean. We see him get jealous of her new relationship with Peter this is after he realizes his feeling for her. In the movie, it’s not really clear why Josh hates Peter. It just seems like he’s really protective of her because of their friendship, and all he wants to do is protect her from getting heartbroken.

Additionally, don’t forget to read the book and see the film. Jimmy Carter Early College High School Library has the book so make sure to check it out. As for the film, go see it on Netflix and see if you can spot the comparisons mentioned and many more.  

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