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 Kitty was born, Mommy used to buy the same things in different colors for Margot and Lara Jean. Things got tricker when Kitty came along because of the age difference—and finding the same thing in three colors is hard. The hatbox is the only gift Lara Jean got from Mommy that was just for her. Lara Jean expected to find a hat inside when Mommy gave it to her, but Mommy said it was for Lara Jean’s precious secret things.
The hatbox was important to Lara Jean because it connected her to Mommy and her childhood. It made her feel special and loved in a way she didn’t get to feel all the time, since she usually got the same gifts as everyone else. So, the hatbox became a place for Lara Jean’s special things that also connected her to Mommy and her childhood.
Themes
Back in the present, Kitty apologizes, her chin trembling. Lara Jean is suddenly not mad and says that Kitty can keep the box for her own secrets, but Kitty refuses. Kitty says she put something in the box for Lara Jean. Inside the box are all of Peter’s notes that Lara Jean threw away; Kitty thought they were important when she found them in the trash, and she only read a few. Lara Jean insists that she and Peter aren’t getting back together, but Kitty tells her to read the notes and leaves the room.
Attempting to give Kitty the hatbox suggests that Lara Jean has come of age. She doesn’t have a need for this connection to her childhood anymore, especially since she’s gotten by just fine without the hatbox for the last few months. The revelation that Kitty saved Peter’s notes offers hope that Lara Jean will be able to replace the letters she wrote with something more meaningful: letters from someone she loves.
Themes
Lara Jean starts to read the notes. Most of them are silly and inconsequential, but in one Peter says that Lara Jean looks pretty in blue. Lara Jean hasn’t gotten a love letter before, but Peter’s notes sure seem like love letters. Lara Jean thinks that she loves Peter. She sees who he really is, and vice versa. She wants to be brave going forward, like Margot is.
Lara Jean and Margot might be taking different life paths, but Lara Jean can still use Margot as her guide and as an example. She can be brave, like Margot, but her bravery will naturally look different. In this case, being brave means being truthful about loving Peter and wanting to be with him.
Themes
Just before midnight, Lara Jean takes Kitty, Jamie, and the sparklers outside. Kitty dances with her sparklers and plays with Jamie. Seeing Josh’s light on, Kitty asks if he wants to light sparklers with them. Josh says he’ll join next year. He smiles at Lara Jean, and Lara Jean feels like things will be okay. Josh will always be in her life, and it feels like things are the way they’re supposed to be. Later, back in her bedroom, Lara Jean gets out her nice stationery and starts to write a real love letter to Peter.
Ending the novel with Lara Jean writing a letter to Peter (that she presumably intends for Peter to read) shows how much Lara Jean has changed over the course of the novel. Intimacy is still scary, but now Lara Jean is willing to face her fears, be truthful, and accept the challenges of being in a relationship. This open-ended conclusion leaves the reader with the hope that Lara Jean and Peter will be able to be honest with each other and continue to develop their relationship going forward.
Themes
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