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
When Peter drops Lara Jean at home after school, Kitty races for Peter and invites him inside. He agrees. Once they’ve finished some snacks, Kitty suggests she and Lara Jean show Peter “the dance,” a dance that Margot and Lara Jean choreographed a few summers ago. Neither of them are good dancers. Peter encourages Lara Jean to show him and, finally, Lara Jean agrees—as long as Peter dances next. Lara Jean and Kitty take their places and dance. Peter laughs and claps, and then he asks Kitty to teach him the moves.
Spending time hanging out like this makes Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship start to feel more real and more secure. This becomes clearer when Lara Jean agrees to dance in front of Peter—he’s able to make her feel secure and comfortable stepping outside of her comfort zone. Their relationship can be fun—it doesn’t have to be stressful or scary.
Themes
Lara Jean happily watches Peter and Kitty dance—until she realizes that Kitty shouldn’t get too attached to Peter. He’s temporary. So, when she walks Peter to his car later, she says he shouldn’t come over anymore, so that he doesn’t confuse Kitty. Peter jokes that he wants joint custody of Kitty after this is over. Impulsively, Lara Jean kisses him on the cheek and insists she kissed him in thanks for being nice to Kitty.
Things are starting to get difficult for Lara Jean. She’s having a great with Peter, but she also can’t let herself forget that this all just pretend. Lara Jean’s impulsive kiss shows how out of hand her lie is getting—physical intimacy has been frightening in the past, but now that she feels more comfortable with Peter, it’s not so scary.
Themes
