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
The next afternoon, Lara Jean finds Peter in the weight room. It’ll be better to break up here, not in his car. Lara Jean is going to miss being his pretend girlfriend, and she’s going to miss Gabe and Darrell. They’re not as “douchey” as people think. So, when she finds Peter, she tells him it’s time to “fake break up.” She’s talked to Josh, things are going back to normal, and Margot will be home soon. Lara Jean pulls out their contract and prepares to rip it in half, but Peter asks if she’s still coming on the ski trip. Lara Jean says she can’t—she doesn’t want to witness Genevieve and Peter getting back together. But Peter insists, so Lara Jean gives in. She wonders if this is what being in love is like.
Because Lara Jean knows that she loves Peter and no longer has a crush on Josh, her next steps seem obvious to her: break up with Peter, nurse her broken heart, and watch him get back together with Genevieve. With this, Lara Jean shows that on some level, she’s no longer comfortable lying about her feelings to Peter. She also shows that she’s learned she can’t judge people solely on their reputation, as when she laments that Gabe and Darrell aren’t “douchey” like most people think they are.
Themes
