Jenny Han

Fieldnotes:
3 Young Ladies Out for Revenge
3 More-or-Less Deserving Victims
Several Instances of Bullying

1 Very Bad Best Friend
1 Jerk Jock (who kind of reminded me of Logan Echolls at his most obnoxious)
1 Major Class Divide
3 Instances of Possible Psychic(?) Powers
1 Prom People Are Bound to Remember

The Short Version: I absolutely tore through this one - it was decidedly addictive. I actually really enjoyed that there was a great deal of complexity. Both the protagonists and their revengees were show more shown with moments of nastiness and moments of vulnerability - enough to raise questions of whether the schemes are justified, whether they really help the girls feel better. I was taken aback by the Surprise!Psychic?Powers aspect. But I'm still hoping to get hold of the sequel because while the story didn't end on a cliff-hanger, it was definitely in the middle of action.

The Long Version:
Jar Island seems like it should be idyllic - small, picturesque and cut off from the mainland and its troubles. But three girls band together secretly to exact revenge for the wrongs inflicted by their classmates:

Kat has never forgiven her former best friend Rennie for ditching her (for the rich Lillia, no less) and treating her like trash because of her family's lack of money.

Lillia thought she had a great friendship going until her best friend is seen betraying her trust.

Mary is newly back on the island after bullying by the island's most popular charmer became too much for her in 7th grade. Now she's back with her strange artist aunt and trying to screw up her courage to confront her tormentor.

This was definitely an addictive read as the characters' backstories are slowly revealed in short chapters from each of their points of view and we're slowly sucked into the girls' plans for revenge, which begins simply and predictably enough with pranks designed to humiliate (although the sun screen thing was pretty bad, in my opinion), but they escalate into a really intense revenge scheme aimed at Reeve - and one that goes horrifically wrong due to one of the main characters' Surprise!Psychic?Powers (WHAT? Carrie? What are you doing in my Mean Girls?). Bits of the paranormal? element were sprinkled throughout, but in an "otherwise explicable" sort of way that meant I was really thrown for a loop during the big climactic scene.

What I did like about Burn for Burn was that it was more complex than your typical inner clique revenge story "bitchlit" YA stories (yes, Private, I'm looking at you!). Yes, the targets of the protagonists' revenge did some pretty horrendous stuff - Reeve's bullying, Rennie's self-centeredness and manipulations - but there are also clearly instances where the supposed slights were taken out of context and misinterpreted. Plus, although both Reeve and Rennie did some terrible things, they each showed a more vulnerable side as well that reminded us all that they're screwed up people, too. In fact, not necessarily that different from our misguided protagonists. show less

So, stupid me started this book at midnight thinking I'd read a few chapters really quickly and then go to bed and when I started I honestly felt that was going to be the case - I didn't like the narrator's voice at all and thought she read young. I was disappointed because I thought another 2017 book was going to underwhelm me but, let me tell you, I was dead wrong.

This book was sweet and endearing and kept me up until 4 am because I could not put it down. I fell in love with Lara Jean's show more journey and I can't wait to read P.S. I Still Love You and if the overdrive app would've allowed me to check it out right after I finished I would seriously be running on zero sleep.

Jenny Han - I already loved you because I follow you on twitter after meeting you at ALAAC last year and love your outspoken personality (and your politics) but now you've got a serious fan-girl on your hands. show less

Book Review: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before* by Jenny Han

One of the novel’s biggest strengths is its relatable protagonist. Lara Jean is not the typical confident heroine; she’s dreamy, introverted, and deeply family-oriented. Her relationship with her sisters, especially her strong bond with her younger sister Kitty, adds warmth and depth to the story. The fake dating trope between Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky is another highlight—filled with humor, chemistry, and moments of show more genuine connection that make their relationship feel authentic and engaging.

Jenny Han’s writing is light yet emotional, making it easy to get lost in Lara Jean’s world. The novel also explores themes of love, identity, and personal growth in a way that feels fresh and sincere. While some plot points can be predictable, the book’s heartwarming nature and lovable characters more than make up for it. show less

I just loved Jenny Han’s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. A big, full, book case heart for this one, great cover art, perfect YA novel within. My only regret, that I didn’t read it when I was a teenager myself! Shame I can’t time travel back to do a bit of reading. Anyway I’m still in touch with that side of me, my teenage self is still there somewhere deep in the layers of my enforced adulthood!

The initial idea behind the book, the hidden letters to her crushes, is a simple show more concept but the way Jenny Han develops upon this and draws us into the story is just wonderful. Lara Jean’s relationship with her older sister Margo begins to change when Margo goes off to University in Scotland and dumps her boyfriend Josh just before she goes. Lara is shocked, Josh is like one of the family and everyone loves him, and when I say love him, I mean love him. She finds herself now taking the role of “big sister” to her younger sister Kitty, who is wise beyond her years. I love how Jenny Han expresses Lara Jean’s confusion and distress at her new role by placing her behind a steering wheel and making her face her fears. Okay so it’s a bit of a disaster, she doesn’t manage to do everything perfectly like Margo does but that’s what makes her so endearing. She isn’t Miss Popularity. She isn’t Miss Confident, but none of that matters because she is Lara Jean, and Lara Jean is infinitely more likeable than some overconfident, pretentious girl. I found the relationships between the sisters so touching, probably because it spoke to me personally as I have an older daughter going off to University this September and both of my girls will be affected by the change. Jenny Han writes about the bonds, and dynamics of sisterly relationships with such humour and empathy. The fake relationship between Lara and Peter is perfectly written. Peter’s character evolves so naturally. I can’t find fault with any aspect of the book, the dialogue, and every single one of the characters are so convincing that by the end of the book it was almost as if Lara Jean and her family and friends live and breathe. In the beginning her fake boyfriend Peter doesn’t seem the right choice for her, but by the end of the book he steals the show from Josh. There are sad elements of the novel, that tug at your heartstrings but there are also happy and laugh out loud moments. In fact if there is a moral to this story it is that you can rise above the worst things that can happen to you, (her mother’s death), if you have one simple ingredient, a loving family that pulls together. It just encapsulates life’s up and downs in such a lovely, sweet way. It is without doubt one of my favourite YA novels to date. Oh, and the references to Korean food well that just sealed the deal for me, yum, yum.

As to the ending well let’s just say thank goodness there’s going to be a sequel, or we’d have to get a petition letter out there to Jenny Han super pronto!

I would highly recommend, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, 100% to readers of YA, Contemporary, romance.

My review is also at http://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/08/18/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-to-all-the-... show less