To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Fiction | Novel | YA

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Chapters 26-28

Chapter 26 Summary

Lara Jean goes to the bookstore Josh works at to buy a book for English and to tell Josh that she and Peter are back together. Josh doesn’t express a big reaction to the news, surprising Lara Jean. Lara Jean’s goal is to convince Josh that she is not in love with him, but his lack of reaction to her relationship with Peter confuses her.

Chapter 27 Summary

The family sits down for dinner, and their father gives them news from Margot. Lara Jean realizes that she’s only spoken to Margot twice since she’s been gone. Lara Jean understands that college must be busy, but she is disconcerted by the lack of communication. The family decides to send Margot a care package, a way of showing their love and support from so many miles away.

Kitty tells Lara Jean she wants a puppy for Christmas, and Lara Jean agrees to try to convince their father if Kitty can help out more and prove that she’s ready for the responsibility. The next day, Lara Jean is doing her homework when she gets a call from an unknown number. It’s Peter, telling her he’ll pick her up for school the next morning.

Chapter 28 Summary

Peter picks Lara Jean up at her house, but Kitty also needs an emergency ride to her elementary school to make it early enough for a field trip. When Kitty asks Peter who he is, he tells her he’s Lara Jean’s boyfriend. Kitty can’t believe that Lara Jean didn’t tell her she has a boyfriend, but luckily, the elementary school is not far, and Lara Jean’s able to avoid telling more lies.

Peter takes Lara Jean to the cafeteria for breakfast, a spot known for being where the popular kids hang out. Lara Jean realizes how invisible she’s been, and now people are staring at her, wondering who she is and what makes her so special. In class, Lara Jean overhears a sophomore whisper about how odd it is that Peter would date Lara Jean after someone like Genevieve, which destroys Lara Jean’s confidence. At home, she tries to get the comment out her mind and is forced to lie to Kitty when she comes home asking about the new boyfriend.

Chapters 26-28 Analysis

Han reveals that Lara Jean and Margot have not really been speaking. For two people who are so close, it is odd that they’ve only talked on the phone twice and that Margot doesn’t respond to Lara Jean’s e-mails. This gap in communication is likely due in part to Lara Jean’s inability to tell her sister everything that is going on without telling her the entire truth about Josh. Therefore, Han is articulating the message that lying keeps loved ones apart.

Furthermore, Han reveals that the girls keep their father out of the loop of their personal lives. The Song sisters work hard to make sure their father’s life is not further disrupted after the death of his wife, but somehow this consideration has morphed into not telling him anything at all. It is strange that no one told him about Margot and Josh’s breakup, especially considering how close Josh is to the family. The Song girls have not yet figured out that being considerate also means letting their father in emotionally. This dynamic may be a contributing factor to why Lara Jean doesn’t try to talk to Margot more—she has learned to keep bad things, such as the car accident or the situation with Josh and Peter, to herself. More isolation, however, will not help Lara Jean, and even though she has a new friend in Peter, she is already alone.

Lara Jean also begins experiencing the publicity of being Peter Kavinsky’s girlfriend. Until she starts to experience the feeling of no longer being anonymous, Lara Jean didn’t really know what she was in for. Han has characterized Lara Jean as a nice girl for so long, and now that Lara Jean is in the public eye, her character development has been propelled into a whole new context.