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
Over dinner, Daddy announces that Margot called while Lara Jean was out earlier. Dinner is salad, toast, and cereal; Lara Jean needs to go to the grocery store. She’s only spoken to Margot twice since she left, and Margot seldom responds to emails. What if Lara Jean was dead? The least Margot could do is respond to emails daily. Dad says that Margot is going to try out for the shinty club team; shinty is, apparently, like field hockey. Lara Jean thinks this is boring, so she suggests they send Margot a care package. Kitty immediately runs and fetches a picture she drew of Margot petting an Akita.
Lara Jean is struggling to figure out how to live without Margot. She’s never had to grocery shop on her own, let alone know how to do anything else without Margot’s help. But, notably, Lara Jean is bored to hear about Margot. For now, at least, Lara Jean misses how Margot can help her, but she isn’t interested in Margot as a person or what’s going on in Margot’s life.
Themes
Kitty asks for a critique of her drawing and smiles when Daddy compliments the dog—she’s clearly trying to get him to agree to getting a dog. Lara Jean lists the other things she’s going to send Margot. Daddy notes that Margot asked specifically for her brown boots—the boots Lara Jean wore last week and wanted to keep. He offers to mail the box tomorrow morning, but Lara Jean says she’s in the middle of knitting a scarf. Daddy convinces her to skip the scarf.
Just as when Kitty discovered that Margot’s absence meant they could have Nutella at home, Lara Jean is also discovering good things about Margot being gone—such as being able to borrow her clothes and shoes. In other words, although Margot leaving has disrupted the way their family functions, her absence also gives Lara Jean a bit more freedom.
Themes
That night, Kitty slips her Christmas list under Lara Jean’s door. Unsurprisingly, she asks for a puppy. Lara Jean decides to get Kitty the ant farm, but she also decides to talk to Daddy about the puppy—a dog would help Kitty adjust to having Margot gone. Lara Jean slips into Kitty’s room, climbs into bed, and suggests they get a kitten instead. Kitty refuses a kitten and says she’ll take care of the puppy all by herself. Lara Jean agrees to talk to Daddy about a puppy if Kitty agrees to help out more around the house. It’s time for her to learn to do laundry.
Lara Jean might not think she’s as good of a big sister as Margot was, but she’s still interested in making sure Kitty feels secure and cared for. Lara Jean doesn’t seem like she’s all that interested in a dog, but because it’s important to Kitty, she’s willing to set aside her own feelings and talk to Daddy about it.
Themes
On Sunday night, Lara Jean gets a call from an unfamiliar number. It’s Peter. Lara Jean asks how he got her number. After an awkward silence, Peter offers to drive her to school in the morning.
Given Lara Jean’s surprise at getting this call, it seems like she wasn’t expecting to have much contact with Peter outside of school. Her lie is already getting bigger and more involved than she intended.
Themes
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