SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for all three books in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series by Jenny Han, and the amazing movie-adaptation of the first book recently released on Netflix.
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Unless you’ve been living under a Netflix-less, Twitter-less rock, you’re probably in love with Peter Kavinsky. The male lead from Netflix and Jenny Han’s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before has completely stolen our hearts and we’ve all gone insane.
I too would also throw Noah Centineo to the ground to make out with him
My obsession with Peter K. started about two weeks ago; my roommates and I needed a fun romcom to watch after a long day of band camp, and TATBILB was what popped up first. Needless to say, it’s the best Netflix recommendation that I’ve ever received. We spaced the movie out over a couple of nights, meaning that the days in between were filled with “I HOPE SHE ENDS UP WITH PETER!!!!” texts during rehearsal (Sorry, not sorry, band directors!) By the end of the movie, the whole house was swooning. As we dove into endless Buzzfeed quizzes to see how compatible we were with Peter (I got 97% !!!!!!!), I took a detour onto my Kindle and downloaded the book. This was on Wednesday, and by Saturday, I had finished the trilogy.
JUST LOOK AT HIM
SPIN MOVE
The books were obviously amazing, but there’s something that makes them even more special… they’re set in Charlottesville.
Though the movie is set in Oregon, the books are set in Cville, only an hour away from Richmond where the author Jenny Han grew up. It took me a little bit to realize that the Lara Jean lived in the ‘Ville, but I caught the UVA references right away. In the first book, Lara Jean is talking to her older sister Margot, who is going off to college in Scotland. Margot talks about how far away Scotland is, and that “it’s not like [she’s] going to UVA.” Later, we find out that Gen, resident mean girl and Peter’s ex, dumped Peter for a UVA boy she met at a frat party. That’s when I knew it must have been in Charlottesville; I highly doubt high school girls would be traveling long distances just to go to an Elmo party.
My response when I realize just how sticky a frat party really is
UVA is referenced throughout the series, but most heavily in the third and final installment, Forever and Always, Lara Jean. TLDR: Peter goes to UVA on a lacrosse scholarship but Lara Jean doesn’t get in. She originally plans to go to William and Mary and then transfer her second year, but then she gets into UNC and realizes that SOMEHOW she’s a Tarheel at heart (at least it wasn’t Duke). Peter and Lara Jean have a few bumps in the road but they’re so totally in love that OF COURSE they stay together. But, before the whole “did I get in – did I not get in???” drama, Peter and Lara Jean make a spontaneous trip into town to visit UVA at night. Sitting on the Rotunda steps, they talk about how great their lives would be if they both went there. I knew something was up when the details started getting freakishly accurate. They talk about how good Bodos is, how they should streak the Lawn, and about going to O’Hill (though out of all of the things to talk about, O’Hill doesn’t make my list), and at one point, Lara Jean starts rattling off UVA trivia like a U-Guide (I found out later that our very own Dean J – the one with the dog and a blog – was a consultant for the book, which is why it’s so detailed!).
I know I just spoiler-vomited all over everything, but there is one main takeaway here. Even though Lara Jean ended up at UNC, Peter freaking Kavinsky ended up at UVA.
If alternate universes are real, there is a universe in which I go to the same school as Peter Kavinsky. As much as I love Covinsky, well… just because there’s a goalie doesn’t mean you can’t score. Besides, Lara Jean can meet some amazing guy down at UNC and I can be the fun girlfriend that attends all of the UVA lacrosse games to cheer on her charming, sensitive, athletic boyfriend. I can already imagine meeting up with Peter at the dumpling truck, chilling in the window seats of 1515, and sneaking a snuggle in the McGregor room (though the books say that Peter isn’t a good student, so I highly doubt you’d find him in a library). No offense LJ, but I think #Harvinsky is the way to go.
Pretend this is me and not Lara Jean
Let’s say that it’s humanly possible for you to not be into Peter. If so, don’t worry, this is all still a good thing. The fact that the characters live in C-ville means that Dr. Covey and Kitty are also nearby. Imagine going in for a checkup and have your gynecologist be Lara Jean’s dad (okay, maybe that isn’t as amazing as I thought). Imagine running into the fiery teen feminist that is Kitty Song Covey at Kroger. Imagine becoming best friends with Josh Sanderson. I’m talking about a perfect world where dreams come true, boys like Peter really do exist, AND they want to date me. Now we just need science to advance far enough to shoot me into this parallel universe ASAP.