“Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.”
Hamlet | Act II, Scene II

Ah...the sweet pain of love. Relax readers, Valentine’s day isn’t early and the coronavirus lockdown hasn’t driven you nuts. Yet.

Our this month’s theme is ‘Love that changes the world for you’ and I am
bringing to you the universal debate on the topic as they say and I quote, ‘Are books better than their movie adaptations?’

Today’s book in question is the all-favourite rom-com ‘To all the Boys I’ve loved before’ by Jenny Han. A story fitting this month’s theme perfectly.

Before I delve deeper into this debate *cracks knuckles* please let me set a few things straight, like :

• A— There are some major spoilers for those who haven’t watched the
movie or read the book yet and,
• B— I have and always will prefer books over movies.

So before all the Noah Centineo fans start chasing me with pitchforks *hides behind a book-shelf* I solemnly swear that I will try to be as unbiased as is physically possible for me. Now that the life-threatening situations are avoided let us begin this tête-à-tête. Et Voila!

Have you ever had a heart-wrenching crush on someone? Ever felt hopelessly love-sick? Then you can definitely relate with our protagonist Lara-Jean Covey.

She is the epitome of every teenage girl and, with the way Jenny Han has
created her character, she is destined to win hearts.

Lara-Jean is a smol bean who loves reading books, baking and has a very peculiar habit. Writing letters-complete with address-to the boys, she has had
romantic feelings for. And did I mention that she also has an intense crush on the boy-next-door slash boyfriend of her older sister Margot?

You know you are screwed when you are head over heels over the guy your sister is going out with. And Lara-Jean knew that too.
So down she sat and poured all her feelings in a letter one night, addressing it to Josh-and kept it for safe-keeping in her teal hatbox hidden from the eyes of
the whole world. There were 5 letters in total, which were never meant to be posted. Or so Lara-Jean thought.
Imagine going to school one morning, completely oblivious, following your
daily routine and then suddenly realizing that somehow your super-secret totally embarrassing love-letters have been mysteriously posted to the boys.

And one of them is actually heading your way holding the said letter. *Sips Tea*

LET THE DRAMA BEGIN!!!

I have both read the book and watched the movie. Now the readers and movie-buffs out there are better judges of what they choose to read or watch but I absolutely enjoyed every second of the time I read it.

While I am all about that creative freedom, and, honestly appreciate the work Susan Johnson-the director-has done on the movie, I do not like how most directors take the story in their hands, and twist it for unfathomable reasons.Much alike many other films, this one has also been the prey of the incorrigible whims of the director. It is a long list but, I will shorten it for your sake *burns the stacks of parchment*

1— Lara Jean's first kiss.
The movie showed Lara Jean kissing Peter Kavinsky in a game of spin-the-
bottle much to the dismay of Genevieve her, childhood friend. As opposed to
the book, where she was kissed by Peter when they were sitting next to each
other after a party. And it was very much unexpected for her as she clearly
stated in the letter addressed to him that he 'stole' her first kiss

2— The mystery behind the letters getting out. I was a little bummed when they changed Kitty's-Lara Jean's younger sister— motive behind sending out the letters. In the book, the main motivation behind Kitty posting the letters was the fact that She was mad on Lara Jean for embarrassing her in front of Josh. While in the Movie Kitty was portrayed, as more of a shit-stirrer who posted the letters just because of the drama it promised. Her excuse being, she wanted to 'help' Lara Jean get out more.

The first scenario not only showed us the sheer innocence of Kitty but also sibling— rivalry at its best, thus making me even more bummed for them changing it.

3— Last but not the least: Josh doesn't kiss Lara Jean in the Film. Okay so it might not seem like it but, I really screamed with frustration when I
realised that this part was actually cut from the film. As opposed to the books Josh doesn't have much screen-time in the film. THIS was the reason why Lara Jean started fake dating Peter Kavinsky. She didn't want to weird things outbetween herself and Josh. In the book, Josh not only confesses his feelings to Lara Jean but also kisses her! Creating some great havoc between her and Margot.

Let us all mourn silently, the death of perfect character development and
drama at the hands of draconian directors. For me, I'd rate the film a three out of 5 in terms of character development and sticking true to the original story.

Well, this was a short piece on the Book v/s Movie full of hyperbolic
expressions and dramatic perspective. But I dearly hope you enjoyed it. I wish you all find love amidst chaos like Lara-Jean does.

Until next time...Stay safe...stay home...and stay loved.

A bientôt! Bises!

Love,
_raven_ash_