Eleanor and Park

I binge-read Eleanor & park since last night - the story was in my head the whole day! There weren't many characters, nor did it have much of a timeline or places, but both Eleanor and Park and their respective worlds were so beautifully written. Park being half-Korean, his own questions and coming to terms with his identity hit the balance just right. And Eleanor felt like someone with so many layers - the author painted a realistic picture of what it's like to live in an abusive household, facing poverty and the shame that comes with it, while trying to balance school and coming of age. The relentless bullying she faces at school and the awful treatment she (and her siblings) face at home is a common scenario in many households today show more - many children, hiding from CPS, etc - and was depicted so realistically and without exaggeration (or trauma porn)

Their love was so beautiful, so simple yet so heartwarming because each moment meant SO MUCH to them. I was really touched by how unconditional and pure their love was. Young Adult isn't my favorite genre, but this one took me back to simpler times. show less

Park is a half Korean high school student who isn't quite an outcast, but hovers close to that category. The last thing he needs is the exceptionally weird looking chubby new girl with wild flaming red hair to sit next to him on the bus.
Eleanor is dirt poor, lives with three younger brothers, one younger sister, a mother who has given up on life, and an abusive step-father. And she's stuck every day riding the bus to school with this Asian kid who won't even look at her.
And what follows is the most romantic book I've ever read.
Eleanor and Park was me with the first girl I ever kissed. It was our short lived love on a school trip overseas, when we had to return home to our families in different towns.
Eleanor and Park was me with my show more first long term girlfriend, who I ached for for months before I ever had the nerve to ask her out.
Eleanor and Park was me and the one who got away. The girl I also longed for for months, but never did actually tell her how I felt, because she was Jehovah's Witness and I was Methodist, and I didn't see how that could work long term.
And Eleanor and Park was me and the woman I've been so happily married to for the last 14 years, who I wake up still in love with every day.
I've never read a book that described so perfectly and so relentlessly what falling in love feels like. Especially the first time.
The book is light on plot. But that is not a detriment.
Like Eleanor, and like art, this book is supposed to make you feel something. And it succeeds. show less

I'm a tough sell when it comes to YA books. Most of them are too obvious for me to enjoy, either as dystopian hellholes or glossy music videos. But when a friend recommended "Eleanor and Park" to me, I was ready for either hellhole or music video, as long as it was a fast read for a chilly autumn evening.

What I read was a savvy paean to young love between two misfits amidst the myriad land-mines that dot adolescence. Darker issues also lurk in the background of one of our protagonists, but these are written so gracefully that they don't feel like plot devices. (Trigger warnings apply, however; this is not a Hallmark card.)

The most remarkable thing about this remarkable book is that the two protagonists are completely believable human show more beings that aren't forced to change what makes them unique in order to find acceptance, to find happiness.

I enjoyed every moment of reading this, not least for the nostalgic dip into my own awkward youth in the 1980s. I read it in one sitting, tearing up often and crying wholeheartedly at the ending, which leaves its characters with hope that is neither saccharine nor contrived. This was a beautiful book and I look forward to reading more of Rainbow Rowell's fiction. show less

This book consumed me. I lived in every word, and felt every feeling. I was just about to write about how this book made me remember those beginning feelings of love, when I realized that the author claims that it would..right in the description.

Rainbow Rowell, you poet you. From the very first few lines of the very first page, I knew I was done for. I was hit with an unrelenting rush of feeling, of longing-in the least corny way possible. Everything in this book felt real to me. Can I just tell you..how INCREDIBLY refreshing it was to read about a legit, REALISTIC, teen romance? No paranormal mumbo involved. Just straight, uncomplicated (okay, maybe a little complicated), good ol' 80's, hormone enraged, teenage LOVE. I wanted to HUG show more it. I wanted to HUG THIS BOOK.

Park: A half Asian, half white, male teen existing in a world populated by mostly whites. He stuck out like a sore thumb, which was important for the story, but he also stuck out in my mind as well. I long for content in books that describe the ethic and cultural background of their characters-I want to be able to envision these characters down to their every DETAIL. That was handed to me in this book, it was handed to me and I DEVOURED it. I loved that Park was Asian; I loved that we were reminded of that very fact on every few pages.

[Note: Just so there isn't any confusion, I still love me my paranormal romances sprinkled here and there-I just needed a break.]

Eleanor: My brain found it harder to wrap itself around her. I hated myself for it, but I kept wanting her to not look the way she did. I wanted her to be something she wasn't. And then I mentally SLAPPED myself and realized that she was exactly how I wanted her to look. She was a bigger, freckled, red-headed beauty, and I learned to love everything about her at almost exactly the same pace Park did.

Park & Eleanor together: When what happened between them finally happened, I think time stood completely still for me. I was sitting right between them, I was. Miss Rowell completely entrapped me with her descriptions of longing, I ..couldn't..breathe. I especially loved that the storyline was broken into Park's view, and then Eleanor's. It made their interactions THAT much better.

The back stories and side stories in this book were also incredible, and SO well written. It wasn't just a love story. It wasn't. It was a story of pain, and overcoming, and acceptance, and simply getting by with what you have. It touched on so many sensitive topics, and they all worked together SO..SO well. I didn't want it to end, but I appreciate and respect where and HOW it did end. It was unsatisfying while being completely satisfying. Makes sense right?

If you're a sucker for love, read this book.
If you're not a sucker for love, DEFINITELY read this book. show less

When Park first sees Eleanor get on the school bus, he cringes. Everything about her is wrong - her size, her hair, her clothes. He knows the other kids will pick on her immediately. But for some reason, he tells her to sit down next to him, despite knowing it will attract attention -- exactly what Park doesn't want. However, over time, Park and Eleanor forge an unlikely friendship-- attention be damned.

I feel like reviewing this book can't do it justice. This was a lovely, amazing, heartwarming, heartbreaking novel. Rowell does an unbelievable job of capturing adolescent love, relationships, and high school life. And not your typical YA cool kids, easy romance, where the protagonists "meet cute" and fall in love on Day 1. Park and show more Eleanor's friendship isn't easy, their relationship isn't easy: their lives aren't easy. Rowell portrays all of this beautifully, even if it's agonizing to read, without making it seem trite. Park and Eleanor are two of the most developed characters I've read about in ages. They leap off the pages, to the point where I wanted to adopt Eleanor and hug and befriend Park.

The book slowed a bit for me in the middle -- the creep of an adolescent relationship can be a bit rough -- but it's worth it. The ending is crushing, in many ways, and I would just about kill for a sequel, even though I can grudgingly probably admit it's best the way it ended. No matter what, a beautiful read-- so worth your time-- and one I'll be recommending to anyone I can find who hasn't read it yet. show less

I read this at the bookstore. I didn't even buy it. Yes, I suck. It was a very long, very well-spent afternoon. I was late to dinner and had no regrets.
Sometime in the last couple of years, I gave up on YA. YA was my mainstay back in high school, but I felt like everything I picked up was boring, derivative, or both. Flat characters, dumb plots, contrived romances, the works. So I moved on to the fantasy genre, and have been very much in love ever since.
So when I read Eleanor and Park one afternoon over winter break at Barnes and Noble, I was utterly shocked to discover that this book isn't just good, it's excellent. It's beautiful. There are better reviews out there to describe how good this book is. Suffice to say, wow. I am show more impressed.
The joke's on me now, because I'm desperate to reread it (since I tore through it at a fairly break-necked pace) and I don't have a copy... show less

This was a charming story that I wished I could have handed my bullied self when I was a teen.
Eleanor is from a broken family, her mother is consumed by her relationship with her latest boyfriend while Eleanor is trying to survive and just get through school. She lives in poverty and knows that her mother's boyfriend is way too interested in her, so she dresses to dissuade him and to keep people away so she doesn't have to lose friends again.. Park is on her bus and finds her interesting, but their relationship is messy.
I enjoyed it and found it pretty realistic. It's messy and realistic and I just wanted to save them all.