"PS I Still Love You" & a Real Quick Jenny Han Interview

A few years back I was looking for something to read and came across a suggested read on Goodreads. I think I had just read something by Gayle Foreman and Goodreads suggested a book by Jenny Han called The Summer I Turned Pretty. I wasn’t a mega Young Adult reader at the time but I remember going to work the week after I discovered Jenny Han’s series and telling one of my co-workers I finally found a young adult author that writes exactly what I like to read.

Over the last few years I’ve read everything Jenny has put out and without fail her unique voice has kept me interested and ready to pimp out her books to every person who comes into my library. Last year Jenny released To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and after devouring it in one sitting I quickly proclaimed it to be my favorite YA book of the year, (Read my Review of it here).

So when it was announced that there would be a sequel, I did a gig and started counting down the days! The good news is that P.S. I still Love You is out now and the even better news is, that it’s just as good as the first. It is heart-clenchingly good! Big congrats to Jenny because it’s already #2 on the New York Best Sellers list for Young Adult Fiction!

P.S. I Still Love You

The book continues exactly where we left off, and we get even more of the characters we came to know and love in the first book. Plus there are a few new characters to make things interesting wink wink! In P.S I Still Love You we read as Lara Jean navigates her heart through her first true love and a little bit of heart break, all while trying to stay true to herself. Lara Jean also finds her reputation at risk after a private moment goes “viral,” something that is become increasingly common in this age where no one is safe from the camera phone, bringing to light the stunning double standard many girls face in high school. If you haven’t read this series yet, do yourself a favor and take the plunge and once you’re done with these go back and read everything else she has written. You won’t be sorry.

Real quick Interview with Jenny Han

We reached out to Jenny and she was kind enough to answer some questions for That’s Normal readers.

Q: Last year I said that To All the Boys was my favorite Young Adult book of the year, I love your depiction of sisterly relationships. I myself am a middle sister, with my very own real life Margot and Kitty. Do you identify with any of the sisters personally?

JH: Thank you so much—I’m honored! For me, I think I am a Margot-Lara Jean hybrid. I’m very much a big sister, but I also like being taken care of by my little sis, who incidentally, is the inspiration for Kitty! Like Lara Jean, I like baking and being cozy at home. I’m also a romantic!

Q: Lara Jean loves to bake, Have you ever considered writing a short companion cookbook to go with the series? I mostly ask because I want I really need some of those recipes.

JH: I’ve always wanted to do a cookbook of foods found in books. I love, love, love to write about food, probably because I love to read about food. Food descriptions in books are so visceral. I’ll never forget the Turkish delights in Narnia, Katniss’s lamb stew with dried plums, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s maple syrup candy!

Q: How often do you go to sites like Goodreads to see what people are saying about your books? As an author do you think it’s healthy to your voice as a writer to read what people think?

JH: Writers are always telling each other never to read the reviews on Goodreads, and for good reason. I think in life in general, it’s most often the negative things people say that resonate, very rarely the positive things. When you are a sensitive person, and I think most writers are, reading a bad review of your book shake your confidence. I’ve definitely gone on Goodreads late at night and read a review or two, and then quickly shut my computer and felt sad. I need to not do that! It’s hard enough writing a book without someone whispering in your ear that you suck.

Q: One of the most emotional parts of PSISLY for me was when Lara Jean has a conversation with Ms. Rothschild after the dance, what scene in PSISLY you are you most excited for people to read/ or one that you knew was going to be special as soon as you wrote it down.

JH: My favorite scene to write was the treehouse scene, because so many ghosts from Lara Jean’s past were converging all at once. I think it’s overwhelming for anybody when worlds collide—your college friends, your childhood friends, your work friends all in one place, all who’ve known you at different points in your life. It’s especially overwhelming for someone like Lara Jean who is somewhat introverted and not completely at ease in big groups.

Q: What do you think the common thread of all of the boys Lara Jean has loved? Are there similarities between them?

JH: It’s not so much that they themselves are similar, but that Lara Jean sees something special in each one. She’s such a romantic, such an optimist, and she’s so observant. So I think the common thread is the good she sees in each boy.

Q: If you had to pick one of the boys who do you think you’d end up with? Also part of me really wants Kitty and John to fall in love later down the road like, maybe while she is in college, can you make that happen?

JH: If I had to pick, it would be Peter but that would probably be the wrong choice for me. Part of me would always wonder about John. And Kitty and John falling in love down the road would be like Amy and Laurie from Little Women—so, no, I can’t do that! It should have been Jo and Laurie!

You can find Jenny on Twitter, Instagram and her Super Adorable Website. Pick up P.S. I still Love you today!