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
In his daily note, Peter invites Lara Jean to go get frozen yogurt at Tart and Tangy after school. Lara Jean agrees and accompanies Peter and his friends to Tart and Tangy. Peter insists on paying for Lara Jean’s yogurt, since his friends are watching. Genevieve isn’t here. In fact, she’s been “disturbingly quiet” about Peter and Lara Jean’s relationship. She’s going to strike at some point. But Lara Jean enjoys her time with the boys—it’s more fun than organizing her shoes.
Again, when Peter insists on paying for Lara Jean’s yogurt after saying he wouldn’t pay for things, it suggests that Lara Jean and Peter are far more concerned with what other people think of their relationship than they perhaps need to be. This is backed up by the fact that Genevieve has been so quiet—it’s impossible to tell if she even cares.
Themes
When the group is done eating, Peter’s friend Gabe says that if you say Lara Jean’s name fast, it sounds like Large. He announces that he’s going to call Lara Jean “Large” from now on, which is funny because she’s tiny. Darrell agrees to the nickname as Gabe picks Lara Jean up and throws her over his shoulder. He spins her around and only puts her down when Peter says to. Peter assures Lara Jean that his friends love her; they all hated Genevieve. Lara Jean is thrilled to feel like part of a group.
The relationship is getting more emotionally complicated for Lara Jean. She may have entered into it for show, but she’s also finding that she likes Peter’s friends and enjoys being social. This experience shows her that she can experiment with the kind of person she is and try out new things. She might end up liking something that she never expected to.
Themes
