--- description: Find out why 'To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before' made the list. title: 'To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before' Is on TIME’s List of the 50 Best Romance Novels image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt822f31bd6d9c7e05/698a594b929fad88b3bfccce/To-All-the-Boys-Ive-Loved-Before-Jenny-Han.png?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 01, 2024 # To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by [Shannon Carlin](/author/shannon-carlin/) ## Shannon Carlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Carlin is a contributor for TIME.  A pioneering voice in the YA romance landscape, [Jenny Han](https://time.com/6291824/jenny-han-interview-the-summer-i-turned-pretty-season-2/ "undefined")’s books have expanded the genre by celebrating inclusivity and the very real emotions that come with adolescence. Her most swoon-worthy novel, [_To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before_](https://time.com/collection/100-best-ya-books/6084715/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before/ "undefined")_,_ was inspired by her own teenage habit of writing love letters to her crushes. The 2014 book, which would later be adapted into a popular [Netflix film series](https://time.com/5368864/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before/ "undefined"), follows Korean American high-schooler Lara Jean Song Covey, who writes love notes to five boys but never sends them. At least that was her plan. When the letters are mysteriously sent to their recipients, including Lara Jean’s older sister’s ex-boyfriend, the protagonist has to get creative in order to mitigate the damage. She decides to strike up a fake relationship with another letter recipient: Peter Kavinsky, a charming classmate looking to make his own ex jealous. As Lara Jean starts to get to know Peter, old feelings come to the surface, and she’s forced to reconsider everything she ever wanted. **Buy Now:** _To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781442426719 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4cYjK02 "undefined") These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996637/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-2/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996637/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-2/"},"headline":"To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before","datePublished":"2024-08-01T12:16:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:34:12.993Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996637/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-2/","keywords":["Books","E-Commerce","list","Special Project"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt822f31bd6d9c7e05/698a594b929fad88b3bfccce/To-All-the-Boys-Ive-Loved-Before-Jenny-Han.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shannon Carlin","jobTitle":"Carlin is a contributor for TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/shannon-carlin/"}],"creator":"Shannon Carlin","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt822f31bd6d9c7e05/698a594b929fad88b3bfccce/To-All-the-Boys-Ive-Loved-Before-Jenny-Han.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996637/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-2/","name":"To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Romance Authors Share Their Favorite Tropes","description":"Romance authors share their favorite tropes","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Dul0O82x/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-07-30T10:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Dul0O82x.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996637/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-2/","duration":"PT57S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996637/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-2/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```