Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family, Responsibility, and Growing Up
Love and Fear
Social Structure, Reputation, and High School
Lies vs. Honesty
Summary
Analysis
Lara Jean thought she was over Josh. When she wrote her letter to him years ago, she said goodbye—letting Margot have Josh was her way of thanking Margot for putting everyone else first. Now, though, Lara Jean can’t help but think that she loved Josh first, and that she’d never leave him if they were together. It feels “traitorous,” especially since Margot hasn’t even been gone a week. Deciding there’s only one thing to do, Lara Jean decides to add onto her letter to Josh with a postscript. She adds on that she still loves Josh—and that this is a huge problem. When she’s finished, Lara Jean puts it in her diary rather than her hatbox. She’s not sure she’s done yet.
In Lara Jean’s mind, it’s not necessarily a bad thing that she gave up on Josh when he and Margot started dating. Rather, she thinks it was noble and mature of her. But now, she has to confront the possibility that trying to make herself get over Josh so suddenly hasn’t actually worked. In this way, Lara Jean’s goodbye letters may be convenient and easy ways to deal with difficult feelings, but they don’t seem particularly effective in the long run.
Themes
