To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

by

Jenny Han

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before makes teaching easy.
Lara Jean, Margot, and Kitty’s father is an ob-gyn and a widower; Mommy, his wife, died six years before the novel starts. Though he’s kind, loving, and adores his daughters, he’s a somewhat distant presence in their lives because he works such long hours. Prior to Josh and Margot’s breakup, Daddy adored Josh and Josh often helped Daddy around the house with various chores. Daddy doesn’t stop loving Josh once he and Margot break up, but he does grieve Josh’s diminished presence in the months after. Since Mommy died, Daddy has relied on Margot to keep the household running and to get Lara Jean and Kitty where they need to be. When Daddy is home, he encourages Lara Jean in particular to have fun (he’s very supportive of her relationship with Peter) and he seems to feel some regret about how driven and family-focused Margot was before she left for college. In an attempt to keep his Korean American daughters connected to their Korean heritage, Daddy regularly hosts Grandma (Mommy’s mother, who’s Korean) for holidays like Thanksgiving and cooks Korean food. However, when Daddy tries to cook bo ssam for the girls, it’s inedibly salty—a sign of his distance and inability to truly be there for his daughters. Kitty pesters Daddy throughout the novel for a puppy for Christmas and, ultimately, the family adopts a puppy named Jamie.

Daddy Quotes in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

The To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before quotes below are all either spoken by Daddy or refer to Daddy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Family, Responsibility, and Growing Up Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2  Quotes

We three Song girls have an unspoken pact: to make life as easy as possible for Daddy. But then again, maybe it’s not so unspoken, because how many times have I heard Margot say, “Shh, be quiet, Daddy’s taking a nap before he has to go back to the hospital,” or “Don’t bother Daddy with that; do it yourself”?

Related Characters: Lara Jean Song Covey (speaker), Margot Song Covey, Kitty Song Covey, Daddy
Page Number: 10
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 37 Quotes

I volunteered to bake six dozen cupcakes for Kitty’s PTA bake sale. I did it because Margot’s done it for the past two years. Margot only ever did it because she didn’t want people to think Kitty’s family wasn’t involved enough in PTA. She did brownies both times, but I signed up for cupcakes because I thought they’d be a bigger hit.

Related Characters: Lara Jean Song Covey (speaker), Margot Song Covey, Kitty Song Covey, Daddy, Mommy
Page Number: 172
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 51 Quotes

Grandma gives me an approving look. “Good girl,” she says, and I feel warm and cozy inside, like how I used to feel after a cup of the Night-Night tea Mommy used to make me when I couldn’t fall asleep at night. Daddy’s made it for me a few times since, but it never tasted the same, and I never had the heart to tell him.

Related Characters: Lara Jean Song Covey (speaker), Grandma (speaker), Margot Song Covey, Kitty Song Covey, Daddy, Mommy
Page Number: 265
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 60 Quotes

Margot groans. “Puppies are so much work. You have to let them out to pee like a million times a day. And they shed like crazy. You’ll never be able to wear black pants again. Also who’s going to walk it, and feed it, and take care of it?”

“Kitty will. And I’ll help.”

“Kitty is so not ready for the responsibility.” Her eyes say, And neither are you.

“Kitty’s matured a lot since you’ve been gone.” And so have I. “Did you know that Kitty packs her own lunch now? And she helps with the laundry? I don’t have to nag her to do her homework, either. She just does it on her own.”

“Really? Then I’m impressed.”

Why can’t she just say, Good job, Lara Jean? That’s it.

Related Characters: Lara Jean Song Covey (speaker), Margot Song Covey (speaker), Kitty Song Covey, Daddy
Page Number: 298-99
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 70 Quotes

“You know what Mommy would always say to me?” She lifts her chin higher. “‘Take care of your sisters.’ So that’s what I did. I’ve always tried to put you and Kitty first. Do you have any idea how hard it was being so far away from you guys? How lonely it was? All I wanted to do was come back home, but I couldn’t, because I have to be strong. I have to be”—she struggles for a breath—“the good example. I can’t be weak. I have to show you guys how to be brave. Because…because Mommy isn’t here to do it.”

Related Characters: Margot Song Covey (speaker), Lara Jean Song Covey, Kitty Song Covey, Daddy, Mommy, Josh
Page Number: 346
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before LitChart as a printable PDF.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before PDF

Daddy Quotes in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

The To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before quotes below are all either spoken by Daddy or refer to Daddy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Family, Responsibility, and Growing Up Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2  Quotes

We three Song girls have an unspoken pact: to make life as easy as possible for Daddy. But then again, maybe it’s not so unspoken, because how many times have I heard Margot say, “Shh, be quiet, Daddy’s taking a nap before he has to go back to the hospital,” or “Don’t bother Daddy with that; do it yourself”?

Related Characters: Lara Jean Song Covey (speaker), Margot Song Covey, Kitty Song Covey, Daddy
Page Number: 10
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 37 Quotes

I volunteered to bake six dozen cupcakes for Kitty’s PTA bake sale. I did it because Margot’s done it for the past two years. Margot only ever did it because she didn’t want people to think Kitty’s family wasn’t involved enough in PTA. She did brownies both times, but I signed up for cupcakes because I thought they’d be a bigger hit.

Related Characters: Lara Jean Song Covey (speaker), Margot Song Covey, Kitty Song Covey, Daddy, Mommy
Page Number: 172
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 51 Quotes

Grandma gives me an approving look. “Good girl,” she says, and I feel warm and cozy inside, like how I used to feel after a cup of the Night-Night tea Mommy used to make me when I couldn’t fall asleep at night. Daddy’s made it for me a few times since, but it never tasted the same, and I never had the heart to tell him.

Related Characters: Lara Jean Song Covey (speaker), Grandma (speaker), Margot Song Covey, Kitty Song Covey, Daddy, Mommy
Page Number: 265
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 60 Quotes

Margot groans. “Puppies are so much work. You have to let them out to pee like a million times a day. And they shed like crazy. You’ll never be able to wear black pants again. Also who’s going to walk it, and feed it, and take care of it?”

“Kitty will. And I’ll help.”

“Kitty is so not ready for the responsibility.” Her eyes say, And neither are you.

“Kitty’s matured a lot since you’ve been gone.” And so have I. “Did you know that Kitty packs her own lunch now? And she helps with the laundry? I don’t have to nag her to do her homework, either. She just does it on her own.”

“Really? Then I’m impressed.”

Why can’t she just say, Good job, Lara Jean? That’s it.

Related Characters: Lara Jean Song Covey (speaker), Margot Song Covey (speaker), Kitty Song Covey, Daddy
Page Number: 298-99
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 70 Quotes

“You know what Mommy would always say to me?” She lifts her chin higher. “‘Take care of your sisters.’ So that’s what I did. I’ve always tried to put you and Kitty first. Do you have any idea how hard it was being so far away from you guys? How lonely it was? All I wanted to do was come back home, but I couldn’t, because I have to be strong. I have to be”—she struggles for a breath—“the good example. I can’t be weak. I have to show you guys how to be brave. Because…because Mommy isn’t here to do it.”

Related Characters: Margot Song Covey (speaker), Lara Jean Song Covey, Kitty Song Covey, Daddy, Mommy, Josh
Page Number: 346
Explanation and Analysis: