Eleanor and Park

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Average customer rating 4.5 (16 comments)

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One of the best I've EVER read. The characters are relatable but still manage to have so much depth. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading more from this author!

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Great book! loved it, going to start reading more rainbow rowell

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I cried my eyes out from the very beginning of this book,its just so so...sweet,and real...I just can't get over this.What a beautiful book,no one will be sorry for taking the time to read this.People call this a 'Romance' but I disagree,it the characters did fall in love with each other is a sweet realistic sort of way,but there is so much more to the book then just their relationship.Perfect read,not to long,and easy to fly through the pages.Most readers will likely not put this book down until it is finished.

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I don't know where to even begin. I absolutely LOVED every single second of this book - I loved the writing style, Eleanor and Park, Park's parents, Eleanor's "friends", even Tina and Steve, by the end. There are lines so beautifully written in this book that they made me want to cry (and I'm not a book crier...I'll cry over commercials and movies, but not books). This was truly an amazing story. The author made me absolutely despise the situation Eleanor found herself in, and in addition to hating the situation, I despised her mother and "step-father". They were beneath any care or consideration. I cannot fathom treating your children - or allowing your children to be treated - the way this mother did. Mother of the Year, she is not, nor will she ever be. Eleanor, however, will be okay...she's a strong girl. Here are some of the most poignant lines... ...'his eyelids fluttered. (Only eyelids do that. And butterflies.)' 'It felt so good that it crowded out all the bad things. it felt better than anything had ever hurt.' These are beautiful. I also learned that Bono was 15 when he met his wife. That makes me happy.

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I had heard so much about this book that I had to get my hands on it, just to see what all the talk was about. I'm glad I did because I'm hooked! Rowell is such a talented writer, all her books are now on my "to-read" list. While parts of this story are sad, the love and meaning behind the sadness shines through. I find myself rooting for Eleanor and Park. And the ending, it's such a mystery. A must read for anyone, not just YA.

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Have you ever put off reading a book because you know that there is no way it can be as perfect as it is, unread, in your head? That's been the case for me with Eleanor and Park. I've read Rowell before (Attachments) and I've purchased Fangirl, and I want to read it, but first I knew I needed to pick up E&P. So, as I sit here coming off of a brutal first semester of graduate school and many, many books read that have challenged me, I knew I needed to pick something up that would make me laugh, a bit. Make me cry, a bit. And, basically, remind me of what it's like to live life and be young, a bit. I definitely got that with Eleanor and Park. This is what I loved the most about this book - although Eleanor does not fit the mold of most female YA protagonists, there's not a big deal made over that, really. Rowell is realistic. Eleanor, at one point, realizes she's not that "nice" girl that you bring home to your parents. She's Eleanor. And the best part of that realization is when Park affirms that's what he sees in her - that she's not something that is the same old same old, she's something different. The same goes for Park. I loved seeing him break out and grow throughout the year (and man, 1986 - what a great year for a book to be set - I was 10 years old in 1986 and loved life). I loved seeing his family dynamics change, the love (and lust) his parents had for each other, the stereotypes they also had to break through and the growth they had. You know what else I loved? Having parents up front and center in a young adult book. And not just any parents, a wide variety of the sort - from absent fathers, to brutal step-fathers, to worn-down mothers, to functional marriages with their own problems and, hey, even grandparents. I loved seeing the mean guys actually step up and show humanity in instances, and seeing family step in to protect and care for one of their own. Basically, Eleanor and Park reminded me of life. Messy, full of big moments and not-so-big moments, that can break your heart or fill it so full you don't even know how to breathe. I wish I had been given this book as a teenager (and that it had existed to be given to me). And I love, love, love Rowell for choosing Omaha to set it in - a place that was home to me in 1986. Now, I can't wait to crack open Fangirl.

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This book will instantly make you remember what it was like to fall in love for the first time and how terrified and excited you were the first time you held someone's hand. Eleanor and Park are both well developed characters with great taste in books and music. That being said there were some times I definitely wanted to throw up from how sugary sweet their romance was and other times I wanted to throttle them both for being so bad at communicating with one another, but thus that is what being a teenager was all about and I probably would have been so over it if I didn't read it in two days. My only real criticism is that they don't really show how or why Eleanor's mother would continue to stay with her abusive stepfather, it would be more realistic and have a bigger impact if they explained more about how impossible it is to get out of those situations.

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This book is on my top 5 list. The story had such good rythm and it made me want to keep reading it. I finished it in less than a day; couldn't put it down.

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This book so perfectly captures that crazy teenage time of first touches. When you had no idea a person's hand on your neck could make you feel electric. So sweet and innocent, and yet...not. This book is a perfect depiction of that first love where you just KNEW it would last forever, and of course it didn't.

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“Don’t bite his face, Eleanor told herself. It’s disturbing and needy and never happens in situation comedies or movies that end with big kisses.” Swoon. Swoon. Swoon. This book was amazing. Eleanor & Park centers around two misfits trying to get through high school in the year 1986 but gradually fall in love. It all begins when new girl, Eleanor, steps onto the school bus and takes a sit next to Park. This isn’t instant love; disgust, anger, and judgment hinder communication and attraction. It isn’t until a comic book is brought onto the bus that things start to turn. Comic book reading, music listening, and finally small talking takes the two to another world and brings them closer. Park and Eleanor would rather think about each other, but at times their home life tears them apart. It’s clear from the beginning that both protagonists are imperfect but together they are perfection. Eleanor and Park are so real. The emotions they convey become your emotions. You love them as characters, but you love them more when they’re together. This is no ordinary romance; it will have you smiling stupidly, crying uncontrollably, and more than anything warming your heart. I haven’t read a book that was so realistic, so lovable, and so heartbreaking, all at the same time.

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I doubted that Eleanor and Park could live up to its rave reviews, but it did. It has been described as a modern day Romeo and Juliet, but I think it is more of an updated The Outsiders. Eleanor is stuck in a horribly poor, horror of a home. She is also a white newcomer in a mostly black high school. She tries to hide her poverty by making it look like she is wearing tattered ill-fitting clothes on purpose. Park is also a misfit. He is a middle class, artistic "mixed" Asian among the mostly blue color sports and party centered student body. He does not like Eleanor for a long time, but when his friends start to harass her, he feels sorry for her. He sort of adopts her just to reduce the amount of belittling she has to endure. Their romance blooms when he introduces her to super hero comic books and punk rock. Eleanor is not an easy person to love. She is so guarded and fearful, she can barely have a normal conversation, but she appreciates Park's optimism and confidence. She also loves being in his normal home with his normal parents. When she needs him most, Park, and his parents, are there for her even though Park knows it means he may never see Eleanor again.

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I devoured this book like Saturday morning breakfast cereal. Rainbow Rowell captures about as perfectly as I could hope that feeling of teenage love--the consuming, overwhelming, enveloping feeling of wanting and needing and feeling hungry to consume another person that anyone who had a relationship that mattered to them in high school is sure to recognize. And in Eleanor and Park, she creates the kind of misfits that so many teenagers can identify with. Not so much the idealized wunderkind who other YA writers celebrate, but the mostly average kid who is passionate about a few things and lost about a lot of things and feels broken much of the time and doesn't know she (or he) needs someone who helps her (or him) feel found. Kids who love music and comic books and are smart, but they're not savants, and they're not about to change the world or save the world, because they're just trying to survive. Because sometimes high school can be the loneliest place on the planet. And then someone says something like, "You can be Han Solo. And I'll be Boba Fett. I'll cross the sky for you." And if your little heart doesn't melt a little at that, then you're not the kind of person I probably have much in common with, because damn, that's fantastic. And that's just the tip of the iceberg for Rowell's millions of metaphors about trying to capture that feeling of love. There is drama here. One of the two lives in a hellacious and abusive home. Teenage cruelty, and parents who don't understand, and figuring out how to get time alone. All that drama is here, and more. But at heart, it's about being an outsider, and finding someone who makes you feel like you're a part of the only inside circle that matters. I loved it. (PS: On Spotify Rowell has listed a killer soundtrack to the novel. A mixtape from Rowell to us--a kind of "Best Of" of Park's mixes for Eleanor. It's fantastic.)

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If it weren’t for the school bus, Eleanor and Park would have never gotten to know each other. But Eleanor was new and looking for a seat, and Park was the only one who moved over to give her one. Eleanor really stands out in a crowd, not that she wants too. Her hair is red and curly and there’s lots of it. There’s also lots of Eleanor. Park is half-Asian (his mother is from Korea), the only Asian kid in his school in Omaha. Each of them is sure the other could never be attracted to them, yet once they start sharing the things that are important to them, like music and comics, they find a lot to like about each other. The trouble is, Eleanor lives with an abusive stepdad, and she has to keep her relationship with Park a secret. She’s knows it’s just a matter of time before Ritchie finds out and ruins everything. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell is a tender, sweet romance about two misfits who find each other. Eleanor can’t imagine how she can ever have a normal life when her family is so messed up. Park comes from a stable family, but he’s never been the type to do the things his dad wants him to do, like hunt and fish and drive a stick shift. Their friendship grows slowly until it becomes so much more, yet it’s a fragile thing that is easily strained. Their stops and starts are tentative and real, and I worried that the ending would be painful. But the story of Eleanor and Park is safe in Rowell’s hands; she treats her characters as gently as they treat each other. I recommend Eleanor & Park for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and up. The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Young adult romance is not the sort of book that I normally read. If I do venture into the young adult genre, it is usually something along the lines of The Hunger Games or such. However, I had heard so many wonderful things about Eleanor and Park that I had to give it a try. That being said, I was a little apprehensive because hype doesn't always work out for me. Thankfully (oh so thankfully!), this was a book that lived up to the hype. There are a lot of things going for this book for me. For one thing, this book is set in my time. As far as I can tell, Eleanor and Park--if they were flesh-and-bone beings--would only be a year older than I am. I'm a sucker of nostalgia and this book brought a lot of that for me. Secondly, Eleanor and Park does romance the right way--the real way. I don't think their relationship is unconventional at all--although I wish that Eleanor's living situation was. This isn't a hallmark card love story. The best I can describe it is that it is a couple steps past a John Hughes movie (again, I think I just dated myself). The dual narrator format can be difficult, both to write and read. In Eleanor and Park, it is what makes the book work. Readers experience the turmoil of emotions inside both of the main characters as they try to figure out their feelings for each other and for themselves. Don't let the "Young Adult" label turn you off this book. It may be about two teenagers, but it is a timeless story.

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I very much enjoyed Eleanor And Park. It was a warm and charming love story that started on a school bus. I loved watching their story unfold through comic books and music. Although at times the love story felt a bit too angsty and saccharine at parts, it also felt realistic. It felt like teenage love, where you everything seems infinitely more important. And it was okay to be unsure of yourself. I am usually not one for romances filled with endless love proclamations, but Eleanor and Park is so much more than that. Although I had gripes with character development, I still wouldn't hesitate to recommend this novel. Definitely one of the best I've read so far this year. Misfits? Who? The blurb calls Eleanor and Park, "two star-crossed misfits." But I have to disagree with that. I didn't feel either of them were "misfits," other than their physical appearances. They were not exactly misfits because everyone shunned them, but because they were so enamored with each other, everyone else was an annoyance to them. Or they never try to make friends in the first place, especially Eleanor. And then she blames it on her appearance. All of the "friend" characters had to approach them. Eleanor and Park were supposed to be these funny, "cool" people--but I didn't want to be their friend. Eleanor is made to be a misfit more because she is fat, has curly red hair, and wears weird clothes than because of her family circumstances. I found her family situation heartbreaking. It is what made the story addicting. I wanted to know more about her troubled family life, especially her mother. For me, Eleanor's mother was the most intriguing character in the entire novel because of her conflicting emotions and her role in the family as a loving mother and good wife. And perhaps being divorced once has made her feel unloved to the point she can't easily walk away from domestic abuse. And I wanted a lot more backstory for Eleanor's step-father. However, Eleanor's dysfunctional family is often overshadowed by her eccentric clothing (which I see as more of a personal choice than something forced upon her.) Despite these gripes, I didn't mind Eleanor's constant attention to her personal appearance (though I don't think she really cares about remedying the situation.) Because that is what teenage girls do. I still wish she would own up to her fashion choices though and be like, "This is my style, deal with it." Oh, and apparently can't afford toothbrushes, so she has to rub salt on her teeth. I'd hate to imagine her dental hygiene. I liked Park for being a minority. I feel there needs to be more minorities in YA literature, ones that aren't used as cheap plot devices. You know how those stories go: ethnic kid goes to new school where everyone are vicious, racist bullies and then somehow everyone realizes they're wrong. And then all the bullies apologize and everybody cheers. And then confetti falls. THE END. Park broke that stereotype. Despite his personal insecurities, People liked him. He had friends. What a miracle! However, here's where my gripes come out. I only liked him because he was Asian. Take that quality away from him, and he wouldn't be so special anymore. In fact, I was bored of him by the second half. I only wanted to figure out Eleanor's family. Let's Talk About Being Asian-American: Even though I am Asian American, I can't relate to Park. This is not a fault of the novel at all. I've been raised in a very different time and place, and have never once felt uncomfortable with being Asian (though I wouldn't mind being about a feet taller.) Perhaps because of my cultural background, my radar is alert (this just made me sound like a cyborg) when I come across Asian culture in literature. For the first time in a long while, I enjoyed how Asian-American culture was portrayed. Perhaps because Park is only half-Korean that many of the cultural aspects were left out. Park's family seemed much more "American" than "Asian," and I was completely fine with it. I didn't mind the focus being on Eleanor and Park, and their teenage romance. I'm VERY grateful that Rowell didn't use this opportunity to throw in a bunch of Korean words into the dialogue. Instead, the Korean accent is tackled in a much more subtle and humorous way. If I had a nickel for every misused Chinese word I've come across recently, I'd be rich. Stop using Google Translate, people! Comic Book and Music References, Thank God I Read This After Watchmen: Coincidently, when I got my hands on Eleanor and Park from the library, I was also assigned to read Alan Moore's Watchmen for school. Thankfully I finished Watchmen before I started Eleanor and Park, so I wasn't spoiled. (But really, why did the ending have to be spoiled? Or a I just the last person on Earth that hasn't read Watchmen) Eleanor and Park is filled with comic book and music references--many of which went over my head. I only heard of The Smiths because two of their songs were on the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack. Shame on me. I'm glad that these music/comic book references didn't take away from the story. I think there always has to be a balance with references to pop culture. While they help set the scene in a specific time period, too much of them can alienate the reader. I found that balance was done well, and I appreciated them. Not because I knew all the references, but because the romantic idea of walkmans, vinyl records, comic book serials, and MIXTAPES did a wonderful job reminding me that it was the eighties, a time where mixtapes had to be painstakingly made with CASSETTE TAPES instead of dragging song files on ITunes. If someone took the time to make a mixtape for you, it meant something. Overall, I really enjoyed Eleanor and Park's story. I am usually not a "contemporary" romance reader (though it is set in the mid eighties, but to call it an historical sounds like something from the WWII era,) but Rainbow Rowell just won me over. Despite being a YA novel, I feel this book will also be a good fit for older adults--for nostalgic reasons. Now, onto Attachments! P.S. Don't read this book if you plan to read Watchmen for the first time sometime in the near future.

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This book is advertised as a YA novel, but the story is for everyone who's ever felt like an outsider, because outsiders fall in love too. The story is about Eleanor, wild haired red head with a troubled home life, and Park, the only Asian in his neighborhood and on the school bus, who is obsessed with comic books and forced to take Taekwondo. At first, they are thrown together simply because the empty seat next to Park is the only one available on the bus. The two slowly bond over music and Park's comic books. It's a beautiful love story, much more appealing than the heated vampire stories that have been popular lately. It's not the ending I was expecting but lovely nonetheless.