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To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before - Discussion Questions (!!SPOILER ALERT!!)
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Here are my answers:
Most important question first: Josh or Peter?
* At first, I was all for Josh being Lara Jean's love interest and I thought Peter was kinda a jerk. I was surprised when about halfway through the book I changed my mind. It was right around the part of the book when they dress up for Halloween and Peter chases Lara Jean around the school shooting fake spiderman webs at her. :D So definitely Peter!
Are you planning on completing the series to see how it all ends?
*I am definitely going to finish the series. The third book came out yesterday and I went to get it as soon as I could.
What did you think of the character representation in this book? Whether in terms of gender, race, age, sexuality, family dynamics, etc.
*I thought the character representation was pretty well done. Women/girls were just about the same in number as men/boys as far as main characters went when you count all three sisters and then Josh, Peter, and the girls' dad, and the dad could probably be considered a supporting character. I may be forgetting people... :l There were definitely more boys as background characters though. Since the book was YA I thought that it was appropriate for most of the characters to be teenagers. I loved the family dynamics!!! Family was so important to Lara Jean and I relate to that like crazy.
What did you think of the plan between Lara Jean and Peter?
*The plan was pretty cliche, but I expected that from this book as far as romance went so it didn't bother me much. I was expecting it to work out differently, meaning I thought she would be with Josh, so it was still surprising in a way.
What was your most memorable scene?
*I loved the Halloween scene that I mentioned above. I also liked the cookie baking scene between Peter and Lara Jean.
What did you think of the characters? Any favorites? Did your impression of them change throughout the novel?
*I liked all of the characters! Except Genevieve...not a fan of hers. My favorites were Peter and her baby sister (her name escapes me). The only character that I changed my mind on throughout the story was Peter. I thought I would hate him to start out, but he turned out to be a great character in my opinion.
Basically, this whole book made me relive my first experiences dealing with boys that I liked. I mean Lara Jean was immature about a lot of things, but I had those moments with boys at times too. Not in high school though...more like junior high. My one problem with the whole book was the immaturity at her age. She's a junior in high school in the book and a lot of what she said, thought, and did made me cringe. But overall I ended up giving it a 5/5 stars because it was really enjoyable to me and I was easily able to look past the immaturity to the story as a whole. :)
Alighty I should probably preface this with saying that the romance genre as a whole is not usually my cup of tea and I have an odd relationship with YA...but that having been said...Josh or Peter?
Peter, all the way. I had a huge problem with Josh being a contender. While I understand that you cant always control who you crush over - especially as a teenager - your sisters boy is always off limits.
Are you planing to continue the series?
No. I dont really care enough about the characters nor the plot to continue.
What did you think about character representations?
I found them to be incredibly cliche and stereotyped. All of them fit into the nice little boxes of what they "should" be - the absentee doctor father, the obnoxious jocks, the nice boy next door, the rebellious friend. It felt too cookie cutter to me.
What did you tink about the plan between Lara Jean and Peter?
It was a cliché highschool plan if ever there was one.
What was the most memorable scene?
I did like the bit where Lara Jean crashes the car and Peter sat with her. Ithought that was a sweet moment that captured Peter really well - they hadnt spoken to each other in years and yet hes still willing to comfort her.
What did you think of the characters?
As I said above, I didnt particularly like any of them. LaraJean I found incredibly immature, the young sister was entertaining - though spoke in a voice alot older than she was supposed to be. The elder sister....well as the eldest of three girls myself, I resent the stereotype that the eldest is cold and serious all the time. The clichés surrounding every character in this book prevented me from bonding with them.
All out, not my cup of tea and I gave it 2 stars
-Most important question first: Josh or Peter?Both of them should run screaming from this chick.
-Are you planning on completing the series to see how it all ends?
Nope. Don't care.
-What did you think of the character representation in this book? Whether in terms of gender, race, age, sexuality, family dynamics, etc.
I actually thought everyone was represented pretty terribly. The girls looked mean, lacking of intelligence, and petty. The guys looked silly, naive, and..well, I just kept imagining Josh as a sad puppy. Big eyes, floppy ears and all.
The inter-relationships were also terrible. The dynamics with Lara Jean's family is really off. Why were so many of the responsibilities on the girls? The Dad is a doctor. They are obviously well off. You telling me they can't afford a maid? A grocery delivery service? Come on. That costs like $5-8 per delivery. Why are they letting their young daughter/sister eat cereal for dinner? And, I know he's a doctor and probably busy, but the only thing the Dad did in the whole book was bring home take-out once. Seriously? He was the cliche clueless absentee parent. That bothered me. Parents were generally treated terribly in this. I remember something about the scene with Peter's mom annoyed me too, but I can't remember exactly what it was...
-What did you think of the plan between Lara Jean and Peter?
Immature and pointless. Disney Channel movie logic. It just felt like a plot-device for the love triangle. So did the letters, btw. The book was called "To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before" but the book didn't have much to do with the letters.... I wish it did. That was the most interesting part.
-What was your most memorable scene?
When Lara Jean basically robbed that old man. Charming.
-What did you think of the characters? Any favorites? Did your impression of them change throughout the novel?
I didn't think much of them. My impression of them did change because I don't think they changed. I don't think any of them had any sort of arc or character development. Which was a shame.
Rating: Two stars.
Most important question first: Josh or Peter? Peter, most definitelyAre you planning on completing the series to see how it all ends?I already have book two as I got a good price (less than $2) for the ebook, so yes.
What did you think of the character representation in this book? Whether in terms of gender, race, age, sexuality, family dynamics, etc.. This is where I tend to agree with Heather. While I love the relationship of the sisters and how they banded together after the death of their mom, I SERIOUSLY have to wonder what this dad is thinking... He's a physician. He can't have a maid or a nanny of some sort? I'm all for allowing my kids to learn how to make a meal and other life lessons, but leaving the groceries to a high schooler just seems weird. Personally, my pantry would be full of energy drinks and hot cheetos.
What did you think of the plan between Lara Jean and Peter? It definitely seemed on the cheesy side, but honestly, that's what I was looking for in this book. I've read several serious and deep books lately, and I needed fluff.
What was your most memorable scene? Hmmm... I did like the cookie discussion where both Peter and Josh were there.
What did you think of the characters? Any favorites? Did your impression of them change throughout the novel? I really liked Josh in the beginning, but felt like he became more wishy washy as the book went on. Peter started to grow on me as the book went on. Kitty was probably my favorite. She cracked me up.
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Just out of curiousity, a question for those of you in the States, do you have a legal age where (as a kid) you can be left home alone? Is there a difference between that age and being allowed to baby sit?
Dana wrote: "Just out of curiousity, a question for those of you in the States, do you have a legal age where (as a kid) you can be left home alone? Is there a difference between that age and being allowed to b..."I believe most places don't have a legal age where it's ok to be home alone, but Oregon (my state) does. I think it's like 10. No idea about babysitting, though.
Memphistigergal wrote: "Most important question first: Josh or Peter? Peter, most definitelyAre you planning on completing the series to see how it all ends?I already have book two as I got a good price (less than $2) f..."
Let us know how you like the next one!
Heather wrote: "Dana wrote: "Just out of curiousity, a question for those of you in the States, do you have a legal age where (as a kid) you can be left home alone? Is there a difference between that age and being..."10 seems really young - its 14 here - and I guess because of that, Kitty being left alone struck me as odd. But if theres no age restriction that makes far more sense - doesn't make it right, but it makes sense lol
Heather wrote: "Memphistigergal wrote: "Most important question first: Josh or Peter? Peter, most definitelyAre you planning on completing the series to see how it all ends?I already have book two as I got a goo..."
Will do! It will be a while, though. I have an obnoxious TBR pile -lol
Josh or Peter? Peter is far more fun. Josh is a bit wet for me.I will be completing the series, it left me wanting more.
I enjoyed the character representation. The three girls worked well together with their father.
The plan with Peter was silly but it's YA so it's as expected.
I'm not a romance reader so my best scenes were deciding on which cookies to make and the general feeling of homely Christmas. I felt it even though I was reading in Spain and it's hot .
My impression of Peter changed through the book. I'm hoping in the next book we will find out more about Peter.
I gave it 4*
DISCUSSIONS QUESTIONS: Most important question first: Josh or Peter?
Definitely Peter for me. Josh was a bit boring to me, also it felt like he was either with the Song girls or by himself. Surely he has other friends in his classes as he's in a different year. He's not independent enough for me. Also Peter bring Lara Jean out of herself and makes her have fun and smile, even though it all started out being fake.
Are you planning on completing the series to see how it all ends? I'm definitely intrigued on carrying on.
What did you think of the character representation in this book? Whether in terms of gender, race, age, sexuality, family dynamics, etc.
I liked parts of this dynamics, but it was all a but happy families. I also didn't need reminders that Lara Jean was Korean, especially during the Halloween section. I have to choose Asian characters as it's assumed I'm a manga character sentence happened a few times. I heard you the first time!
What did you think of the plan between Lara Jean and Peter?
Obviously cheesy as everyone's said but its a YA romance, so expected to be cheesy.
What was your most memorable scene?
Probably the cookie scene, but none I would consider a memorable scene as such, I enjoyed a few, like I enjoyed the house clearance scene.
What did you think of the characters? Any favorites? Did your impression of them change throughout the novel?
Favourite character was Kitty, she made me laugh a few time for being an irritating kid sister. My next favourite is Peter but I think that's because I enjoyed Lara Jean more when she was with him. Actually my impression of Josh changed throughout the book, I found him getting whiny as the book went on.
I gave this book a low 4* as I do enjoy a YA romance book every so often as it's like a quick fix, and they are always cheesy.
Mod
Most important question first: Josh or Peter?
Definitely Peter for me. Josh was a bit boring to me, also it felt like he was either with the Song girls or by himself. Sure..."
Agreed about the reminders that she's Korean. They said it so. dang. much. Once, ok cool. Twice, yeah. Ok. By the third time I was getting annoyed.
Here are some discussion questions for you to ponder. You don't have to answer these specifically if you don't want to, but feel free to use them as a springboard for your discussion. Also, if you have any questions, free free to ask them. Tag me (just type Heather and I'll see it) and I can add them to the list of questions.
DISCUSSIONS QUESTIONS:
Most important question first: Josh or Peter?
Are you planning on completing the series to see how it all ends?
What did you think of the character representation in this book? Whether in terms of gender, race, age, sexuality, family dynamics, etc.
What did you think of the plan between Lara Jean and Peter?
What was your most memorable scene?
What did you think of the characters? Any favorites? Did your impression of them change throughout the novel?