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
Lara Jean walks into school on Saturday, wondering what to say to John Ambrose. She figures she’ll just slip in the back and watch, but then a delegate in the back holds up a piece of paper and asks Lara Jean if she’s a page. Lara Jean doesn’t know what a page is, but she sees other people delivering notes, so she delivers notes for a while. Then, she approaches a delegate and realizes it’s John Ambrose. He’s clean-cut and looks serious—exactly what Lara Jean expected. She takes his paper and whispers hello, and he looks at her with surprise and recognition. Later, when Peter texts and asks if Lara Jean saw John Ambrose, Lara Jean lies that she didn’t. She’s not sure why—she’s just happy that John Ambrose remembered her, and she wants to keep that knowledge for herself.
In this chapter, Lara Jean starts to realize that it’s fulfilling to be honest with herself about her feelings and deal with them rather than trying to avoid them. In this case, that means seeing John Ambrose and then keeping it for herself that this happened—if she tells Peter, she’d have to account for her time and put into words how she felt about it. This is a secret of sorts, but it doesn’t work the same way that Lara Jean’s other secrets have. This one makes her feel good and fulfilled, rather than afraid she’ll be found out.
Themes
