Eleanor and Park

Eleanor and Park
by Rainbow Rowell

Genre:  Young Adult
Pages:  320
Published:  2/26/13 by St. Martin's Press
Format:  ebook

My rating: 
5 out of 5 stars




  

Set in 1986, Eleanor and Park is the story of two awkward teens named Eleanor and Park (go figure!) who fall "in love" while riding next to each other on the school bus and sharing their love of comic books and music.

This is just the sweetest love story. So adorable and charming! It's not all bright and sunny, and there are some serious issues faced by these characters. But most of the time I couldn't help but just sigh with happiness as I read about how Eleanor and Park fell in love.

I loved the switching points of view between Eleanor and Park. I thought it worked splendidly for this novel. I especially liked when they switched back and forth within the same conversation or with just a few sentences from each character at a time. It was a clever way of telling the story that worked really well in my opinion.

I also loved that this book was different than most teen romance books out there. It still had plenty of romance (i.e. cheesy, mushy, over the top declarations of love for each other). But the relationship between Eleanor and Park was also awkward and insecure and real. Both Eleanor and Park (though Eleanor more so than Park) were considered misfits who were unattractive in some way and didn't fit in with the majority of their peers. They weren't beautiful or perfect, but they were real. And I loved that about them.

I've seen several reviews complaining about the lack of resolution with the ending. I get where those people are coming from, as the story could have ended with more closure. Often that can drive me crazy about a book. But in the case of Eleanor and Park, I really liked the ending. I felt that the story was resolved enough to satisfy me, but still open enough to engage my imagination in what the future might hold for Eleanor and Park.

I seriously loved this adorable book! I'm going to have to check out Rainbow Rowell's other books now!