Editors Reads Verdict
Han avoids the sophomore slump by making the love triangle genuinely difficult rather than a plot device: both Peter and John Ambrose are written as worthy, and the question of who Lara Jean chooses is less important than why and what it says about who she is becoming.
What We Loved
- The love triangle is genuinely difficult — John Ambrose is written as a real alternative, not a narrative placeholder
- The exploration of what it means to be in a first relationship, as opposed to the approach of one, is rendered with authentic teenage psychology
- Lara Jean's volunteer work at Belleview gives her a world outside the romance that enriches her characterisation
- The family dynamics continue to deepen, particularly Margot's return from college and what it shifts in the household
Minor Drawbacks
- The social media jealousy subplot involving Gen feels borrowed from a different kind of YA novel
- The middle section can feel meandering relative to the first book's structural clarity
- Some readers find the love triangle frustrating rather than genuinely difficult
Key Takeaways
- → Being in a relationship is a different emotional skill set from wanting one — the transition requires its own kind of learning
- → The version of ourselves that exists in someone else's memory can feel like a competing self
- → A love triangle is only as good as both options within it — when both are genuinely worthy, the choice becomes a form of self-knowledge
- → First relationships teach us what we need, not just what we want
| Author | Jenny Han |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers |
| Pages | 357 |
| Published | May 26, 2015 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young Adult, Contemporary Romance, Coming of Age |
| Difficulty | Beginner |
| Best For | Readers who finished To All the Boys I've Loved Before; fans of YA love triangles with genuine emotional stakes; anyone invested in Lara Jean's continued development as a character. |
P.S. I Still Love You Review
Lara Jean and Peter are finally, officially together — which means the novel begins precisely where most love stories end, and has to figure out what comes next. What comes next, in Jenny Han’s hands, is both more interesting and more complicated than the simple pleasures of the first book’s fake-dating premise.
Reading Order
P.S. I Still Love You is the second book in the To All the Boys trilogy, following To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and preceding Always and Forever, Lara Jean. It should not be read independently of the first book.
The Love Triangle That Works
The reappearance of John Ambrose McClaren — who received one of Lara Jean’s letters and wrote back — is the novel’s central complication, and Han handles it with more care than the trope usually receives. John Ambrose is not a decoy or a cautionary tale. He is warm, attentive, genuinely interested in Lara Jean, and entirely plausible as an alternative. The triangle is real, which means Lara Jean’s eventual choice is meaningful rather than foregone.
Being in the Relationship
Where the first book was about the approach to love — the letters, the longing, the managed distance — this one is about the daily reality of being with someone. Lara Jean discovers that she is less practised at vulnerability than she thought. The insecurities that arise — around Genevieve, around Peter’s history, around what it means to be chosen and whether she can believe it — are rendered with the specific anxiety of a first real relationship.
Lara Jean Growing Up
The volunteer subplot at the retirement community, where Lara Jean meets Stormy — an elderly woman whose approach to life is the opposite of Lara Jean’s cautious interiority — is among Han’s finest pieces of characterisation across the trilogy.
Our rating: 4.3/5 — A YA sequel that avoids the sophomore slump by presenting a love triangle in which both options are genuinely worthy, demanding real emotional work from its protagonist.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "P.S. I Still Love You" about?
Lara Jean and Peter are officially together now — but an unexpected letter from another recipient of her love notes introduces John Ambrose McClaren back into her life. A genuine love triangle unfolds as Lara Jean navigates first relationship pressures, family dynamics, and competing versions of herself.
Who should read "P.S. I Still Love You"?
Readers who finished To All the Boys I've Loved Before; fans of YA love triangles with genuine emotional stakes; anyone invested in Lara Jean's continued development as a character.
What are the key takeaways from "P.S. I Still Love You"?
Being in a relationship is a different emotional skill set from wanting one — the transition requires its own kind of learning The version of ourselves that exists in someone else's memory can feel like a competing self A love triangle is only as good as both options within it — when both are genuinely worthy, the choice becomes a form of self-knowledge First relationships teach us what we need, not just what we want
Is "P.S. I Still Love You" worth reading?
Han avoids the sophomore slump by making the love triangle genuinely difficult rather than a plot device: both Peter and John Ambrose are written as worthy, and the question of who Lara Jean chooses is less important than why and what it says about who she is becoming.
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