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
Before Mommy’s death, Lara Jean and Margot fought constantly. Once, Lara Jean borrowed Margot’s doll to play with and ended up ruining her face with lipstick and toothpaste. Things changed after Mommy died, and everyone took on new roles. Margot and Lara Jean stopped fighting and threw themselves into taking care of Kitty, which was what Mommy always wanted. Now, in the present, Margot refuses to speak to Lara Jean. Kitty watches her sisters warily. Lara Jean is afraid that she and Margot will never make up.
Here, readers learn that Mommy’s death truly catapulted Lara Jean and Margot into early adulthood. Before she died, the girls were able to be children and engage in childish squabbles. But once Mommy was gone, that simply wasn’t going to work anymore. In the present, the family seems to be going through another change like this, where everyone’s role starts to shift and it’s unclear how they’ll move forward.
Themes
