Eleanor And Park - Rainbow Rowell

[ZombieMack]

I read this book today, and I will say I'm surprisingly pleased with it. I saw a quote on a humor website I frequent, and fell in love with it, I had to get my hands on whatever encompassed such a beautiful statement. It was Eleanor & Park!

I will say one thing about this book, regardless of whether you liked it or not, Rainbow Rowell remembers what it's like to be in love at 16 years old.

[elovesbooks]

I liked how Rainbow Rowell developed the characters and the character's family. I also liked how the point of view was always switching. However, I just don't see this as being very realistic and it seemed that Eleanor and Park's relationship happened too fast. My favourite quote from this book: "She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something."

[A P Bullard]

I know that some people feel the relationship was unbelievable, and I agree to a certain extent. I do agree that Park went from being Mr.IReallyHateThisWeirdGirlSittingNextToMe to Mr.SheHasReallySoftHands pretty darn quick. However, anyone who has been a teenager knows that hormones and teenage emotions don’t always make sense. I started out disliking one of my exes, and then suddenly realized that he was actually really hot. In his own little way, of course. I feel the like the same thing happened here.

It was so adorable how much he cares for her, and how he starts sticking up for her. In an ideal world, he would not have cared what other students though, but…well…we all know how high school works. It’s one step away from being an accurate portrayal of Lord of the Flies, to be honest. Take away the adult supervision, and it most certainly would be. So, Park didn’t really have a lot of choice.

Their relationship worked well, and the love that grew between them was tangible. It was adorable, and it kept them both afloat when times were hard. She got along with his parents, and he learned about the darkness that envelopes her home. Both accepted one another for who they were, and it was so cute and fluffy!

The historical background was an issue for me, but not enough to really harm the rating of the book. So, the story takes place in Omaha in 1986, right? Racism was a really big issue at that time and yet Park, who is half Korean and half white, doesn’t experience any racial tension. There are a few comments, but it’s nothing negative.
I would have liked to have this ethnic background be part of his character development. Maybe it brought him closer to his mother? Park never really brought it up, though Eleanor never let the reader forget that he was Asian. At all.

There are times when a back-and-forth narrative throws off the flow of the book, and is just plain annoying to the reader. This was not one of those times. I liked getting insight into what the characters were thinking in the other’s presence and absence. It added an extra depth to the romance that blossomed between them, and really got me emotionally invested in their relationship.

I could completely relate to Eleanor, which made me feel closer to her as a reader. I could feel the pain she was experiencing and, having already dealt with that, counted my blessings for the millionth time. The plot was really good, and it was written in a way I would still related to, even if I hadn’t had her experiences.

I want to know what happened to the siblings. Not getting to know their ultimate fate really, really bothered me. I also wanted to know how Eleanor felt about everything after it was all said and done, so I felt that the ending didn’t give me any satisfaction. It did, however, make me feel like I was punched in the gut. It just wasn’t fair.

This is a really, really good book. It tore at my heart, and the ending punched me in the gut. I hated how it ended, but mostly because I was so darn invested in their relationship. It’s a pretty realistic portrayal of a teenage relationship, especially considering the circumstances. I won’t easily forget this book, or Eleanor. I just related to her far too much. It was like reading about parts of myself.

I most definitely give this a 4 out of 5 star rating, and highly recommend it to anyone who likes YA Romances.

[meghanelyse730]

I am definitely ready to start reading this book now! I have kept putting it off, trying to find another book to read, but this one is now at the top of my list!

[ellen may]

Two misfits. One extraordinary love.
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 enough and desperate enough to try.
This was my second Rainbow Rowell read, and although I would have to say I liked Fangirl quite a bit more, I still really enjoyed this book. It was nothing like I was expecting, but I thought the storyline was excellent and the writing was, as always, wonderful. The narrative was split between Eleanor and Park, and although it was written in third person, it read like it was written in first person which I thought was really interesting and a unique way to tell the story. Eleanor and Park were so cute together and I was rooting for them so much and the ending was heartbreaking (I don't want to give spoilers but I'm sure you will know that it is a sad ending), though not in the way I expected it to be which was a good thing as it made it unpredictable and exciting. However, my one criticism would be that it did not feel very realistic (something I found with Fangirl a bit also, but not to the same level and did not bother me so much) and I felt like this story and the characters needed to be more relatable and less dramatic to make it a really wonderful book. I still really enjoyed it though and know that, for a lot of people, this is one of their favourite books and their favourite of Rainbow Rowell's novels. I would definitely recommend it to fans of Rainbow Rowell, who has proved to be very versatile in her writing and story lines as this was completely different to Fangirl, and I will be trying to pick up Landline or Attachments soon.

[_dsimba]

Eleanor and Park had to be one of the most heart tugging stories I've recently read. The biggest thing about it is that the ending is much more of a reality that you'd say it's unbelievable. Eleanor isn't perfect or cliche and neither is park. Their parents don't have too much or too little money. I believe its much more real than others. The way they fell in love and the way they broke their promises to each other is true. First love is this book. First love is insecurity, fear and an end. That's why they're called our first loves not our only loves.

[aschuck_13]

Haven't read this book.

[ayoqohnah14351962]

The story line for this book was just common. Yet, I really enjoyed reading it. I also long for its sequel. I hope there's more into its sequel. I hate it when it ends like that. It's like friends-lovers in between. </3 </3

[talkwithtaylor]

I loved Fangirl, but I have yet to read Eleanor and Park because I've heard mixed reviews. I'll have to check it out now though- you've convinced me!

[RidiculousMuffin]

I love this story and I love how perfectly imperfect she makes the characters! Park is kind of a dorky Asian teen, whereas Eleanor is a bigger girl with big problems as well, but still they find this amazing relationship amid all the chaos and confusion of there lives. Yet, everything doesn't just "go perfectly for them". It still has problems and it has to be one of the most realistic books I've read in quite awhile.

[RStone]

Next time I see this book on the shelf at the library, I'm planning to pick it up. I did love 'Fangirl' by the same author- that one really hit close to home. It's about a young woman starting college and she really, really loves writing her fanfiction. It's not Harry Potter fanfiction, but it's pretty close. Lots of fun.

[fictionalthrone]

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH. & yes it just recently started becoming incredibly popular, but I've always loved the fact that she started a small trend of her own, trying to be relatable without shoving it down people's throats. She took Eleanor (a self-concious teenage girl with family dysfunction), and Park (a cute but awkward slight outsider) and paired them together. She didn't make them fall in love on sight like most do, she made it gradual, showing the real concerns and ups & downs of real relationships. Well-done.

[jessiblake]

I really liked this book despite it being a realistic fiction, which are typically difficult for me to get into. I loved the relationship built between Cath and Levi. I loved how relatable Catch was as a fangirl/fanfic author. I would try another of R.R.'s books, if only to convince myself I should buy Fangirl.

[jesslynn7]

I loved this book. I can never get enough of the underdogs and in this story you have two underdogs who find each other and create an unconventional love story. Unlike some other commenters here, I liked the open ending because it let you use your imagination as to what is going to happen.

[aileighcay]

This is an easy read, but it's also a book you find yourself not able to put down!!! I do love that Rowell takes the story into focusing on what most people would consider the outcasts in high school, It's an oddly beautiful love story and is definitely a must-read! (I may have stayed up all night just to read it, it's just that good! )