Review : Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Pages : 328
Genre : YA, Contemporary
Stand alone
My Rating : 4/5
About the Book :
Eleanor… Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough…Eleanor.Park… He knows she’ll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There’s a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises…Park.
Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.
My Thoughts :
I remember when Eleanor & Park came out and it was everywhere. It just couldn’t be avoided. So I got myself a copy, cracked it open and… couldn’t get into it.
I tried, and tried. Oh, I tried! Still, I didn’t see the appeal.
And yet, when Fangirl came out I added it to my shelf becase it sounded fun and I’m all about the second chances. I loved it, and went on to read Landline; which I also enjoyed, though differently, and so I decided it was time I gave Eleanor & Park another chance.
I’m really happy I did; this time it clicked almost immediately, and I fell in love like many other readers did before me. For me, it was all about Eleanor. She was easy to relate to, and I was really impressed by how Raibow Rowell wrote her sadness and her anxiety. It was done with a lot of empathy for her character, without it being all doom and gloom despite the context. Maybe it was the love between them, but I thought the text was filled with hope thorough the story.
Park was also an interesting character, though he could have used a little more depth; and while their love story felt a little too good to be true, it was immensely enjoyable. I’m particularly fond of YA stories involving parents, which this one did in a very realistic, balanced way. Some were better than others, some I hated, things were complex and more real than in a lot of stories I read in a similar genre.
Add a sprinkle of nerdyness, 80′s references aplenty, and you’re in for a really fun and emotional ride!
Rainbow Rowell has such a unique way to write that I really connect to. Her language and structure are simple, but in a way that accentuates the little details and her characters’ personalities. I’m not sure why I didn’t connect to this book before – it seems almost impossible to me now! But I am so happy I finally added it to my “read” shelf. I can’t wait to read whatever else Rainbow Rowell comes up with next!
