58 pages • 1 hour read
Always and Forever, Lara Jean
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Chapters 9-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary
Lara Jean wakes up already dwelling on the things she will miss out on by not going to UVA: living at home, her sister’s first period, Kitty’s birthday. She recognizes that the sisters will all be separated, but Kitty will still have Trina. Meanwhile, Kitty asks her if she can move into Lara Jean’s room when she leaves. At school, Lara Jean visits Mrs. Duvall to tell her she didn’t get accepted, who is shocked but not worried about her overall prospects. When she tells Chris, Chris reveals she’ll be moving to Costa Rica to work on a farm for a year. Chris suggests Lara Jean give Peter a sexy photo of herself. Lara Jean suggests a scrapbook of all their best moments together.
Chapter 10 Summary
Mrs. Duvall had told Lara Jean to expect an answer from William and Mary that day, so now she can’t focus on anything else. Unexpectedly, she hears instead that she’s been wait-listed at University of North Carolina (UNC). She is beginning to worry about her prospects and doesn’t eat her lunch. Peter suggests she could transfer from William and Mary or U of R to UVA after a year; he seems relieved to have a plan, and so does Lara Jean. Soon after, she finds she has gotten into William and Mary, and the two are very pleased about it. Lara Jean mostly feels relieved. She texts her father, Margot, Kitty, and Trina with her good news and receives encouragement in response. Mrs. Duvall has positive things to say about the school, and Lara Jean’s place there. As the week progresses, she gets into James Madison and University of Richmond, but she is set on William and Mary. She’ll go, and then after a year she’ll transfer to UVA.
Chapter 11 Summary
Lara Jean is in charge of picking up Margot and her boyfriend, Ravi, from the airport. Ravi is tall and thin with a dark complexion, hair, and eyes, and Lara Jean can see the appeal. She makes it her mission to see what Hogwarts house he fits into by the time he leaves. At home, Trina is there with the family; Margot reacts fussily, visibly stiffening when Trina hugs them. She puts her foot in her mouth by pointing out Kitty’s bra.
Margot makes things awkward by insisting she and Ravi will sleep in the same room, after her father suggests bringing Ravi’s belongings up to the guest bedroom. Their father disappears into his office, and Trina leaves for a girls’ night out with her friends. When she and Lara Jean are alone, Margot criticizes Trina. Her father walks in and confronts her about sleeping in the same room as Ravi, but he loses again. At dinner, Ravi reveals he is a vegetarian and cannot eat the chicken their father has cooked. The dinner feels different; Kitty is calm, Ravi is very polite, and Lara Jean is trying to lighten the mood.
After dinner, she and Peter go on a double date to the movies with Margot and Ravi. Before, Ravi sets himself up in the guest room, which they all think is very considerate of him. He goes on to buy all four tickets at the movies, which Peter finds “classy.” Peter sits next to Ravi in the movies so they can keep talking about soccer together. After, they take Ravi for frozen custard for the first time. Lara Jean notices how energized Ravi makes Margot and realizes they may be right for each other—even more right than Margot and Josh, her ex-boyfriend.
The next day, Margot and Ravi visit museums in Washington, DC. Ravi likes the National Museum of African American History and Culture the best. They watch a BBC show about the area where Ravi grew up. Lara Jean expresses hope that Margo and Ravi continue dating, at least until she can visit them in London. When Ravi leaves, Margot advises her to enjoy William and Mary for what it is, not as a school to be passing through. Margot convinces her to slow down and reflect she’ll have in Williamsburg while she is there.
Chapter 12 Summary
In the morning, the three sisters find themselves home alone and contemplating skipping school to spend more time with Margot. They fantasize about taking a train to New York to win tickets to see Hamilton. After school, Kitty and Lara Jean get back into their pajamas and order pizza for dinner. They are having a casual night in when their father announces he would like to marry Trina. Kitty and Lara Jean are overjoyed, and Margot is also encouraging, but looks stunned, admitting she hardly knows her. They agree to pick out the ring and set up the proposal together, with Margot involved from abroad by video.
During cleanup, Margot calls the wedding “bonkers” to Lara Jean. She wonders why they can’t just “date like two grown-ups” (182). Lara Jean joins in after Margot suggests Trina will be living with them, but Lara Jean shuts down her questioning in favor of Kitty’s enthusiasm when she remembers she’ll be away at college. Margot feels excited to go prom dress shopping with Kitty for Lara Jean and promises her father they will also do something one-on-one during her visit.
Dress shopping the next day, Margot is determined to make an event of it. They each pick out looks for Lara Jean and then rate them. Kitty announces she’ll be wearing a leather dress to prom. The topic of breast sizes comes up, and Kitty shares that Trina’s large breasts are natural; she told her so herself. Lara Jean doesn’t come away from the experience with a dress, but she knows more about what she likes. Margot is leaving for Scotland the next day, and Lara Jean promises to send photos.
Chapters 9-12 Analysis
A major focus in this set of chapters is on Margot’s feelings toward her father’s new romantic relationship with Trina Rothschild. Margot has stayed in touch with Lara Jean and, presumably, the rest of her family via video call, and thus returns to the home confident she’s maintained her place in it. However, she receives a shock when she discovers her father’s girlfriend, Trina, has all but moved into the house. She and Trina have several altercations, and she also fights with her father; these issues are all easily traced to Margot’s sense of boundaries and comfort. Trina’s sodas take up room in the refrigerator, her shoes take up room in the closets, etc. Margot is ill at ease in what was once familiar surroundings, and she also recognizes that she’ll only be home long enough to regain control of her situation before it’s time for her departure.
Addressing Margot’s specific feeling of homesickness followed immediately by displacement and loneliness is crucial at this phase in the book. Margot’s problems are based in a concept of love, similar to Lara Jean’s. However, Lara Jean’s immediate issue is one of romantic love, whereas Margot’s are familial. Margot feels confident within her relationship with Ravi—so much so, that she is willing to stand against her father’s wishes so that they can sleep together in the same room while she’s home. Of course, in the Covey household steps are taken to repair the relationships once the issues have come to the surface and been verbalized.
Margot, as the oldest, is more resistant to change because she’s had longer to adapt to a one-parent household. She sees her family as a unit all its own and doesn’t recognize that Trina might improve Kitty and her father’s lives. Coming home to another woman in her family makes Margot feel displaced and, like Lara Jean, she has trouble adjusting to change.
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