Reader Left Hanging At End of Book

Jenny Han is the talented author of the “To All Boys I Loved Before” series and the first two books can be awarded an A plus. In my opinion, they both outdid the movie, but the final book did not leave a lasting mark. 

“Always and Forever Lara Jean” is the ending to the series and I was super excited to finish Lara Jean and Peter’s story, but it did not reach my expectations. It worked up slowly, lacking the climatic appeal the first two had and there was nothing in the majority of the chapters that really gave the book excitement. Not until the last few chapters was there really anything that made the reader want to keep reading. 

I do understand that the last book is final, so Han definitely had to close some holes which she did well. She had to make college a main point in the book since it was Lara Jean’s senior year and she had to give an ending for Dr. Covey’s relationship, but for most of the book there was nothing involving what the story is about: Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky. 

When she did decide to write on their relationship, I stayed up until two in the morning to finish it. She provided chapters that built up tension, created the drama, and of course ended it with a wholesome ending although I can not say that I was completely satisfied with it. It was dry and did not give a look into their lives in college. 

I would have been more satisfied with a “One Year Later” type of ending, but instead the reader is left hanging to assume that their college romance lasted throughout their career. Hopefully the movie does a better job at giving an ending that does not leave the reader to guess or assume.

I can say that I am excited to see the movie on Netflix. The second movie did not do the book justice at all and the third book had lots of substance and just lacked appeal to keep reading. Hopefully the Netflix movie has substance and provides appeal.