Dear Lara Jean: In appreciation of TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE

Dear Lara Jean,

It’s been one week since your story, TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE, dropped on Netflix and I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m up to view three and as the weeks go by I’m sure that number will continue to grow. Over the last couple of years, I have followed your adventures of the heart through Jenny Han’s novels and had no hesitation of dropping my plans last Friday night just so I could see how the start of your journey would translate on screen. I’m not going to lie, I’ll admit that there was some apprehension of whether I was going to be disappointed or not (I’m fiercely protective of you Lara Jean and see a lot of myself in you) but once those 99 minutes were up, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I adored the film (which was beautifully shot by the way – colors and aesthetic totally on point) and how warm and fuzzy I felt inside. I didn’t even mind the changes that were made from your original story!

I’ve always been a big fan of teen rom-coms, especially when I was actually a teen and oh how I wish your story existed back then! Like you, I’m a hopeless romantic who appreciates a good John Hughes film and I cannot stress enough how heartwarming it is to see what I feel like is a representation of me on screen – as the lead heroine of her own love story, no less! Like you, I come from an Asian background and what I appreciated was that while acknowledging your heritage is important, it doesn’t define you – you’re a young woman with the same hopes and fears as everyone else.

I remember when I first encountered you way back in 2014 and was taken aback by our similarities – wallflowers that would rather stay at home on a Friday night than go out to parties, enjoys baking and scrapbooking – who are you?! It was like looking into a mirror. Crazy! Heck, I even make my younger sister braid my hair from time to time (mainly for special occasions) because like Kitty, she’s just so much better at it than me. Like you, I am one of three sisters who lost their mother at a young age and also struggles to open up and let people in. The film does a beautiful job of conveying that fear and those vulnerable moments. The scenes with you and your dad at the diner (my dad is nowhere as cool as yours though – no offense Dad) and also that scene with you and Peter at the diner the second time around – talk about bringing on the feels!

So you’re probably wondering what’s the point of this letter, I guess I just wanted to take the time to show my appreciation for you and your story on Netflix. It’s been awhile since I was 16 years old yet it is eerie how much I can relate to you but also SO nice to be able to witness that representation. I may not have my own Peter Kavinsky just yet, but after watching you onscreen maybe there is hope for me. At the very least, I know not to accept anything less than a Peter Kavinsky. (Hang on to him by the way, he’s a keeper and what I would give to have someone look at and look out for me the way he does you!) Thank you Lara Jean Song Covey for existing and I’m really hoping that we’ll get to see the rest of your stories translate onscreen too.

Love,
Ange

Dear Lara Jean,

First of all, I have to say that I wasn’t aware of your story until I started to see the advertising for the Netflix original TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE; and after watching the film, I wish I had known about it before!! I thoroughly enjoyed watching your adventures with Peter; and what an adventure you had with him.

While I am a few generations older than you, I can still relate to what it was like being the girl who was invisible in high school and being the girl who stayed home on Friday AND Saturday nights watching TV rather than going out for parties or much of anything else. I envy that you have both an older sister and a younger sister to turn to for advice or for braiding your hair, as I was stuck with two much older brothers. SIGH!

Most of all, I want to thank you for showing Hollywood what a real romantic comedy is supposed to look like, what it’s supposed to feel like, and what kind of positive effect it can have on its viewers. Hopefully your story will inspire others to go back to basics in telling romantic comedy stories, and more importantly, that Netflix will continue to tell your story.

Love,
Rueben

LJ,

I know we’re not friends, but I feel like if we’d been in high school together, we’d have been friends. I watched your story this weekend (after another great story, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society) and I feel for you. As a teacher, I watched your story knowing how awkward it is to be a girl with numerous crushes, but I still was impressed by your dedication to your principles of what those letters meant and what they are in the end.

Your relationship with all the boys in town who you wrote letters to points to the different views in high school, but I love how you made a friendship with Lucas when you needed another sounding board. He understood what you did with Peter, but he wasn’t going to fall into the same place. You didn’t judge him when he came out, and you found an ally in a school that looks like it’s not kind to you. Your letters opened up a world to you, one I think you were avoiding before Kitty sent your letters. In fact, you reminded me of one of my favorite shows as a high schooler, Daria, because you’re trying to be aloof with mixed results.

What comes next with you and Peter and how that kid from Model United Nations influences your story is something I’m so curious about.

Love,
Roz

Dear Lara Jean,

Do you have any idea what an impact you’ve had on the Nice Girls? We span several generations, two continents, many heritages, and a variety of family types, yet as you can see from these letters, we’ve all fallen hard for you and your story. I had to pause the movie at about the 30-minute mark to go gush to a couple of the Nice Girls that it was “so adorable, I might die. Watch it! Watch it now!” It’s been a long, long time since I felt such giddiness when watching something new, and clearly, I wasn’t alone.

We all see parts of ourselves in you and your high school experience. We all remember crushes so intense you just have to get the words out somewhere. We all remember wanting to fit in but also wanting to be unique.  That kind of universal specificity is what makes your story so relatable. 

Of course, we all have major crushes on Peter Kavinsky now. We all wish we were living the high school rom-com you were in, with our very own Peter Kavinskys spinning us from our back pockets. I’m pretty sure every one of us was yelling at you to pay attention to Peter Kavinsky and how he treated you because OBVIOUSLY he was smitten from the beginning. But you needed to figure it out for yourself, and come to believe it yourself. That’s a necessary part of the journey both in rom-coms and in real life. Also, it gave us all the feels to watch you make that journey.

And can we just talk about your relationship with your sisters for a minute? Like Rueben, I have two brothers and no sisters. I do, however, have 9 nieces, 8 of whom are sisters. Watching you, Margot, and Kitty interact was like watching them – mostly sweet and supportive, often silly, sometimes intrusive, occasionally bumpy, but always loving. What a wonderful – and refreshing – depiction of sisterhood! We should all be so lucky.

Thank you for sharing part of your life with us. I can’t wait to see more!

Love,
Melissa

TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE is currently streaming on Netflix.