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
On the day of the ski trip, Daddy drops Lara Jean at school early in the morning. He pulls an old pink hat of Mommy’s out for Lara Jean and tells her to have a good time. As he drives away, Lara Jean sees Peter laughing with Genevieve. He gestures for Lara Jean to join him as Genevieve walks away. Peter snuggles Lara Jean close while watching Genevieve, but Lara Jean squirms away. As Ms. Davenport and Coach White search kids’ bags for alcohol, Lara Jean texts Chris not to bring any alcohol and asks if she’s even awake. Just then, Chris’s mom pulls into the parking lot, and Chris stumbles out of the car. Lara Jean is relieved. Now, she can sit next to Chris, and Peter can sit with Genevieve.
While Lara Jean has made up her mind that Peter and Genevieve are getting back together on the ski trip, Peter hasn’t given any indication that that’s actually what he wants to happen. So again, Lara Jean’s unwillingness to be honest and open with Peter is causing problems, as she’s making assumptions about him that could easily be wrong. Also, because Lara Jean does have feelings for Peter, it’s no longer fun or exciting to snuggle close to him just to annoy Genevieve.
Themes
Genevieve approaches Chris and insists that Chris can’t come, since she didn’t sign up for the trip. Peter comes over and encourages Genevieve to let it go, which just makes Genevieve angry (Chris says nothing and smirks). Finally, Chris says that Ms. Davenport said it was fine if she comes. Genevieve flounces away. Chris tells an exasperated Lara Jean that she stayed quiet just to annoy Genevieve—and she has tequila stashed in a shampoo bottle.
As Genevieve’s cousin, Chris knows how to easily wind her up. Peter and Lara Jean don’t seem to grasp that Chris is doing this on purpose. This suggests that Lara Jean might not always be aware of when others (like Kitty or Margot) are doing things to purposely annoy her, as when Margot doesn’t give Lara Jean any credit for keeping the household going.
Themes
As they board the bus a bit later, Peter invites Lara Jean to sit with him. She insists she’s sitting with Chris, but Peter says she has to sit with him—she’s his girlfriend. Chris shakes her head when Lara Jean sits next to her, and Lara Jean frowns when she watches Genevieve sit next to Peter. She’s tired of only kind of being his girlfriend. Chris warns Lara Jean to be careful of Genevieve and falls asleep.
Since Lara Jean is pretending to be Peter’s girlfriend, Peter believes that they should act in a certain way. But Lara Jean is getting tired of living this lie. She’s not really in a relationship with Peter, and she believes she knows Peter and Genevieve are going to get back together, so it’s becoming too emotionally taxing to play along.
Themes
When the bus pulls in at the lodge, Chris goes to snowboard with Charlie, a boy she started flirting with on the bus. Lara Jean would go snowboard with Peter, but he doesn’t invite her. She goes to get lunch and tries to avoid Ms. Davenport, who’s also eating. Ms. Davenport waves Lara Jean over and explains that she doesn’t care about skiing; she’s happy at the lodge. She asks why Lara Jean isn’t on the slopes, especially since Peter is a great snowboarder. Lara Jean’s heart squeezes. She’s not ready to let Genevieve have Peter yet, so she announces that she is going to go outside.
Lara Jean appears to be even more of an outcast when she’s the only person not out on the slopes, and it’s embarrassing to have Ms. Davenport point this out. So, while deciding to go out onto the slopes is partially so Lara Jean can cement her hold on Peter, she also does so to conform with her peers. In this way, she starts to step outside her comfort zone: she’s trying something new, and she’s advocating for what she wants.
Themes
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