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 breakfast, Kitty asks if they can put up their Christmas tree over the weekend. Lara Jean secretly wants to put up the tree too, but she notes that Margot might be mad if they do it without her. Daddy says they can do it, so they drive out to the tree farm on Saturday. Josh helps Daddy get the tree into the house and then stays to help decorate. Josh mediates an argument over what color lights to use and then, when Daddy is at the store buying more lights, he accidentally breaks an ornament.
Lara Jean is discovering that life doesn’t stop for her or her family just because Margot isn’t here. She, Daddy, and Kitty will continue living their lives and observing these family traditions without Margot. But again, some things do still feel the same, such as Josh helping Daddy and the girls with the tree.
Themes
As Lara Jean cleans up the glass, Josh notes that she acts different around Peter—not like herself. He warns her to be careful. Then, he asks why Lara Jean never said anything about liking him, long before he and Margot started dating. She should’ve told him. Lara Jean insists it wouldn’t have made a difference and says that Josh has never liked her; he’s just jealous, especially since Kitty likes Peter better. Josh looks angry, admits he’s jealous, and kisses Lara Jean. Lara Jean gapes at him and then runs to her room. Margot will be home in a few weeks, and Lara Jean just cheated on her fake boyfriend.
Josh fell in love with a specific version of Lara Jean, one that perhaps doesn’t exist anymore. And now, Lara Jean has to deal with some of the consequences of not being truthful throughout her life. Josh implies that the two of them could’ve dated, had Lara Jean been truthful. Josh’s kiss also becomes one more secret for Lara Jean to keep.
Themes
