Why you should read the To All the Boys trilogy

To All the Boys 2: P.S. I Still Love You stole our hearts just like the first movie. While you wait for the third movie, you need to read the books.

Netflix has stolen our hearts with To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and its sequel, P.S. I Still Love You. The third movie will arrive on the streamer this year, but what do you do until then? How about reading the To All the Boys trilogy?

Any fan of the movies will need to check out the books. If you read them a few years ago, now is the perfect time to reread. You’ll be surprised by how little bits will stand out that never did in the past. We all change as we get older.

One of the biggest reasons to read the trilogy is to get to know more details of the story. There’s only so much the movies can include. While this isn’t at the same level as Outlander trying to condense 800+ pages of book to 12-16 episodes, To All the Boys movie writers still had a big task at hand.

While the movies will make you laugh and swoon, the books bring more detail. The writing is flawless, with dialogue that rolls from page to page. It flows so beautifully between the characters, that you can hear their voices come off the page. Don’t get me wrong; the movies have done a wonderful job. I just think there’s something to the books that can’t be replicated. I find that with a lot of book-to-screen adaptations.

You’ll also get to see different sides to the characters. LJ and Peter are not quite the loveable characters you get to see in the Netflix movies. And that isn’t a bad thing. We get an immature girl and a stereotypical guy who end up coming together in ways they couldn’t imagine. The movie helped to grow them up, but that’s where some of the lack of translation comes in. With the books, you see more of a character growth throughout the trilogy.

Something that can be difficult to remember with the books is that they’re teenagers. That’s why some people haven’t got on with the books and found they read better after watching the movies. You have a couple of actors who look more like the ages the characters are supposed to be. It allows you to put more into perspective.

The To All the Boys trilogy is going to be a quick read. I managed to finish each book within a day or two (depending on commitments). But honestly, that’s not a bad thing, especially compared to the months that it took me to finally finish “The Fiery Cross” from the Outlander series!

What do you think of the To All the Boys trilogy? Share your thoughts in the comments below.