Always and Forever, Lara Jean – Jenny Han (2017)

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han, published in 2017, is the final installment in the widely beloved To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy. In this heartfelt young adult romance, Lara Jean Covey enters her senior year of high school, where everything she thought she knew—about love, family, and her future—is called into question. The novel explores the fragile transition between adolescence and adulthood, particularly the shifting landscape of first love and the bittersweetness of leaving home.

Plot Summary

In the tender warmth of early spring, Lara Jean Covey finds herself watching Peter Kavinsky from across a crowded room, marveling at how someone so impossibly handsome and popular could belong to her. Their relationship is steady and sweet, built on late-night movie marathons, shared inside jokes, and stolen kisses in quiet corners. With their senior year drawing to a close, the world begins to open wide around them – glittering with possibilities and tinged with uncertainty.

Peter has already committed to the University of Virginia with a lacrosse scholarship. Lara Jean dreams of joining him, believing their love story will continue seamlessly into college life. Her entire sense of the future is delicately crafted around home, family, and Peter – all of which UVA promises to protect. But dreams are fragile things. When the acceptance letter she has been waiting for doesn’t come, the ground beneath her shifts. A letter from the University of North Carolina arrives instead, offering her a place at a school farther away than she ever imagined going. Her acceptance is a triumph, but one that casts a long shadow over her imagined life.

She tells herself she still has time. Time to figure it out, time to make the right choice. As promposals bloom in the hallways and senior week themes turn every day into celebration, Lara Jean tries to hold onto the world she knows. Her days are filled with baking cookies, decorating eggs with rhinestones and dried lavender, and late-night drives with Peter. They plan for the future like nothing will change, promising not to be one of those couples that drifts apart. But change is already in motion, slipping between the cracks of their well-laid plans.

The Covey household, once shaped by grief and memory, begins to glow with the light of new beginnings. Dr. Covey’s relationship with their neighbor, Trina Rothschild, deepens into something real and lasting. Kitty claims matchmaking credit with glee, watching her father smile more and laugh louder than he has in years. Lara Jean sees how love can evolve, how it can stretch and shape itself into something new without losing its tenderness.

As the senior class sets off for New York on their final school trip, Lara Jean is caught between joy and apprehension. The city dazzles her – towering buildings, endless energy, moments that feel like scenes from a movie. She and Peter wander through the city together, stealing quiet kisses in the chaos. But beneath the fun, a quiet ache grows. Every moment she spends with him feels like a memory in the making.

Back home, the decisions grow heavier. She doesn’t want to disappoint Peter, doesn’t want to break his heart or her own. But as she thinks of the McGregor Room at UNC, the library her mother once studied in, the echoes of a past she never lived but deeply cherishes, a quiet certainty forms. She’s afraid, but not of leaving Peter – she’s afraid of not becoming the person she’s meant to be.

Peter struggles to understand. He tries to be supportive, but he’s hurt. He doesn’t know how to let go of the future he thought they would share. For a while, they stumble through it – missteps, silences, doubts that neither can fully voice. But their love has always been built on something solid, something more than convenience or proximity. It is filled with patience and humor, forged through time and trust.

Even as they prepare to graduate, Lara Jean surrounds herself with the comforts of the familiar. She bakes, she crafts, she plans her father’s wedding with Trina down to the smallest detail. When the day arrives, the garden ceremony blooms with joy. Trina, radiant and laughing, slips into the family like she had always belonged. Kitty beams with pride, and Margot, home from Scotland, offers her quiet wisdom. Lara Jean watches her father dance and thinks that maybe love isn’t about never changing – maybe it’s about holding on gently while letting go.

With her mind made up, she chooses UNC. She tells Peter gently, bracing for heartbreak, but he surprises her. He promises to try, to make it work, to believe in what they have even if the road ahead is uncertain. They kiss under the stars, surrounded by fireflies and dreams still tender with hope. It isn’t a goodbye – it’s a new beginning.

On the last day of summer, she bakes her perfect chocolate chip cookies, packs her suitcase, and writes a letter she doesn’t intend to send. It’s not for Peter or her father or her sisters. It’s for herself – a quiet reminder of where she’s been, of all the pieces that make her whole. She folds it into her journal, closes it softly, and looks out the window as the car pulls away.

The road to Chapel Hill winds ahead, lined with trees just beginning to turn. She holds Peter’s hand in her heart, carries her family’s love in every mile she travels. Everything she’s leaving, everything she’s stepping into – it’s all part of the same story. Not perfect, not predictable, but hers.

And it is only just beginning.

Main Characters

• Lara Jean Covey: A sentimental and thoughtful teenager who cherishes family traditions, romantic fantasies, and home comforts. Her love for baking, scrapbooking, and writing letters reflects her nostalgic nature. As she faces the reality of growing up, college decisions, and the uncertainties of her relationship, Lara Jean matures emotionally, learning to balance her dreams with life’s unpredictabilities.
• Peter Kavinsky: Lara Jean’s charming and athletic boyfriend, Peter is a lacrosse star with a surprisingly sensitive heart. Although confident and easygoing, he grapples with abandonment issues stemming from his parents’ divorce. His love for Lara Jean is steady, but he fears change, especially the possibility of a long-distance relationship.
• Kitty Covey: Lara Jean’s precocious younger sister, Kitty is sharp, witty, and often the voice of blunt honesty in the family. Despite her youth, she has an uncanny ability to orchestrate major events, such as setting up their father and neighbor. Kitty also grounds the story with her mature observations and humorous interjections.
• Margot Covey: The eldest Covey sister, now studying abroad in Scotland, Margot represents Lara Jean’s more pragmatic side. Though geographically distant, she remains a guiding influence, offering wisdom on independence, identity, and navigating the adult world.
• Dr. Covey: Lara Jean’s widowed father is a gentle, devoted parent who anchors the family with stability and love. His growing relationship with their neighbor, Trina Rothschild, marks another shift in Lara Jean’s understanding of change and acceptance.
• Trina Rothschild: The Coveys’ vibrant and slightly eccentric neighbor who becomes romantically involved with Dr. Covey. Trina’s warmth and humor help bring new joy into the household, challenging the girls, especially Lara Jean, to embrace a redefined family structure.

Theme

• Coming of Age and Transition: The novel centers around Lara Jean’s final year of high school, capturing the anxious anticipation of leaving home, choosing colleges, and preparing for the future. These pivotal moments highlight the emotional turbulence and growth required to embrace adulthood.
• Love and Letting Go: Lara Jean’s romance with Peter is tested by looming separation. The novel explores the tension between holding on to love and allowing it the space to evolve. This theme extends to familial relationships as well, particularly in how the Covey sisters adjust to their changing family dynamics.
• Home and Belonging: Lara Jean’s deep connection to home permeates every decision she faces. UVA represents both physical closeness and emotional safety, while out-of-state options challenge her to redefine what “home” truly means. Her journey is as much about self-discovery as it is about geographical movement.
• Identity and Independence: Navigating college acceptances and rejections, Lara Jean begins to carve out an identity separate from her family, her boyfriend, and her comfort zone. The tension between her romantic ideals and real-world decisions forces her to define who she is—beyond daughter, sister, or girlfriend.
• Tradition and Change: Baking cookies, decorating eggs, and celebrating holidays—the narrative is steeped in tradition. But as life shifts, so must the characters. The beauty of the story lies in how it honors the past while gently nudging its characters forward.

Writing Style and Tone

Jenny Han’s prose is intimate, warm, and conversational, mirroring the internal monologue of a thoughtful teenage girl. She captures the nuance of adolescent emotion with clarity and depth, using vivid sensory details—from the texture of cookies to the soft cadence of family rituals—to create a fully immersive world. Han’s style relies on small moments to carry emotional weight, giving importance to everyday conversations, minor traditions, and subtle gestures that resonate profoundly with readers.

The tone throughout the novel is sincere, nostalgic, and hopeful. There’s a gentle wistfulness embedded in Lara Jean’s narration, as she clings to the comforts of the familiar while peeking anxiously into the unknown. Even in moments of heartbreak or uncertainty, Han maintains a tone that reassures rather than overwhelms, guiding readers through the turbulence of growing up with grace and humor. The story walks the line between fairytale romance and real-life coming-of-age with tenderness and care, offering emotional realism while keeping its sweet heart intact.