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 feels like a strawberry marshmallow, since she’s dressed all in pink. She clicks into her skis, starts down the bunny slope, and tries to concentrate. There are little kids whooshing past, and they scare her. Lara Jean keeps an eye out for Peter and finally spots him. She calls for him, and he seems to hear her, but he doesn’t acknowledge her.
Lara Jean’s timidness on her skis contrasts with the younger children’s skill, which further emphasizes how unconfident she is both athletically on the slopes and socially among her peers. Peter, meanwhile, seems to be holding a grudge against Lara Jean for the way she rebuffed his advances earlier.
Themes
Chris heads back to the slopes after dinner. Lara Jean runs into Peter, Gabe, and Darrell in the hallway. They’re in swim trunks. Gabe and Darrell say they missed Lara Jean earlier, but Lara Jean says Peter didn’t respond when she called to him. Gabe and Darrell leave for the hot tub, leaving Lara Jean and Peter alone. Lara Jean asks if he’s mad and notes that since he talked her into coming, he could at least speak to her. Peter bursts out that Lara Jean could’ve sat next to him earlier. She’s flabbergasted that he’s so upset about that, even when he says it’s just what people who are dating do.
Lara Jean doesn’t have any idea why Peter is so upset because she’s been so focused on her own thoughts and emotions. It hasn’t occurred to her that Peter might have real feelings for her too, and that she might’ve seriously offended Peter by refusing to sit with him on the bus. But Peter makes it clear that Lara Jean violated a standard expectation for boyfriends and girlfriends at their school, one that’s very important to him.
Themes
Lara Jean says she didn’t realize it was such a big deal and promises to sit next to Peter on the way home. He agrees—and then says he brought special donuts for her. He ate them all. Then, seriously, Peter says he’s started to like Lara Jean. He kissed her in seventh grade, and he’s going along with this charade, because he thinks she’s cute. Lara Jean asks if he’s still in love with Genevieve. Peter acknowledges that he cares about Genevieve, but he likes Lara Jean. Lara Jean doesn’t know what to do. She wants to be Peter’s first choice, so she tells him that if Peter really liked her, he wouldn’t also care about Genevieve.
Lara Jean hasn’t had a boyfriend before, so she didn’t have any way to know what was expected of her in this relationship, which began as a charade. So, Peter’s admission is difficult for Lara Jean to handle. While she likes him back, she’s not happy to hear this. Accepting that he likes her and taking him at his word would mean that Lara Jean would have to address her discomfort with intimacy. In this situation, it's easier to just accuse him of liking Genevieve.
Themes
Lara Jean and Peter argue, and Peter gets angrier. He insists that Lara Jean chooses to fall in love with boys she doesn’t have a chance at actually dating and asks what she’s scared of. Lara Jean insists she’s not afraid and accuses Peter of being angry that she didn’t “die of happiness” because Peter said he liked her. Peter says Lara Jean would rather be with a fantasy than a real person, tells her to grow up, and leaves for the hot tub.
Peter is angry and is responding rashly, but his accusation may have a kernel of truth. It doesn’t seem like an accident, for one, that Lara Jean has befriend Lucas, who’s gay and therefore isn’t someone she can date. When confronted with a person who actually wants to date her, Lara Jean freezes up and gets scared—and she lashes out to protect herself.
Themes
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Lara Jean is shaking. In her room, she changes into her pajamas and gets in bed. Peter is so out of line, but is he right? Lara Jean has always known she couldn’t have him, so why didn’t she tell him the truth—that she likes him—when he expressed the same? He’s not just a handsome boy. Lara Jean decides to be brave and fall in love, so she heads for the hot tub.
It's a mark of how much Lara Jean has matured over the last few months that she can go immediately from thinking that Peter is being ridiculous to wondering if he might be right—and deciding to tell him the truth. This shows that Lara Jean is becoming more secure and confident in herself. She’s no longer happy to rely on lies.
Themes
