Book vs. Movie: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Book vs. Movie is a feature here at JenniElyse. I do a side-by-side comparison of the book and adaptation. Afterward, I reveal which I like better.

As I said in my review of TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE, I really liked Lara Jean and her sisters. I liked LJ and Kitty the most. I loved how feisty Kitty was. Margot got on my nerves a little bit, but I still respected her for how she took it upon herself to take care of her younger sisters and even Dr. Covey since the death of her mom.

I adored the movie. I liked the actors in the movie, especially the ones who played Lara Jean, Kitty, Dr. Covey, and Peter. I thought they all did a phenomenal job with their parts. I liked the chemistry between the actors and I don’t just mean Lara Jean and her “boys.” I mostly mean the Covey family. I like that we got to know Dr. Covey more in the movie and that he’s the one who talked about her mom not Margot.

I liked the two main guys in the book and how Lara Jean interacted with them. I hated the love triangle aspect of the story as it’s my least favorite trope. I’d hands down rather deal with instalove than a love triangle. I thought the movie put less emphasis on the love triangle aspect of the story. Of course, both boys were still there, but Lara Jean spent more time with one than the other, which made the romance that much more awesome.

Even though I didn’t like the love triangle in the book, I enjoyed the actual story. I thought it was fun to read the chaos from all the events that happened. I was excited for the typical YA rom-com happy ending, but I didn’t get it because the book doesn’t end and it’s so f*cking frustrating! What I loved most about the movie is that it didn’t follow in the book’s footsteps and ended in a very satisfactory way. The ending left the story open enough to entice the watcher to the second movie. And, if I don’t watch the second movie, it’s okay because the first movie works well as a stand-alone.

Verdict

I bet you know the verdict before I even say it. The movie’s different from the book, but the spirit of the story’s still the same. Most of the time, books are way better than their movies, but in this instance, I have no hesitation in saying that I think the movie’s better than the book.

Have you read TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE? Have you seen the Netflix movie? Which one do you think is better?

About Jenni Elyse


Hi, I'm Jenni. I’m an eclectic reader. I mostly read fiction and I favor fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, mystery, thrillers, and romance. The more kissing in a book the better!
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12 replies
  1. Greg
    Greg says:

    I didn’t realize the book ended on a cliffhanger! I haven’t read it but I thought the movie was well done. And it is nice when a movie is better than the book, or at least compares favorably! I’m not a fan of love triangles either, and was glad that the movie wasn’t too obnoxious in that regard! 🙂

    • Jenni Elyse
      Jenni Elyse says:

      I’m glad you liked the movie too. If you do ever decide to read the book(s), let me know what you think. Maybe, I’m making too big of a deal about the cliffhanger, lol.

  2. Suey
    Suey says:

    I re-read the book, but I didn’t re-watch the movie and now I’m wonder if I should have lol. I didn’t like the actor for Peter at first, but he grew on me. I guess that’s how it’s supposed to be, so good job actor dude!

    • Jenni Elyse
      Jenni Elyse says:

      The movie was cute, wasn’t it? Everyone I’ve talked to about the movie seems to love it. Even those in my book club who didn’t like the book loved the movie.

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