Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

"Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something." 





Title: Eleanor & Park
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Genres: Young adult, romance, contemporary

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 and desperate enough to try.

Eleanor and Park first meet on the school bus. Eleanor is a misfit. It is obvious to Park and everyone on the school bus straight away. Park offers her a seat next to him on Eleanor's first day of school rather rudely when she has nowhere else to sit. They don't talk, have barely exchanged ten words between each other after a week or so. But then gradually, they start talking, start reading comics together, start listening to music together and bond over those things until they have become good friends, and then more.

This book is well written, flowed really well and had a good, steady, strong pace. Along with its obvious romance factor, Eleanor & Park deals with family issues, bullying and money problems. It's probably the first book I have somewhat enjoyed from sort of the completely romance genre. I loved the story and plot but didn't enjoy it as I'm not into mushy-gushy romance.

Eleanor: She is described as being chubby, has dark eyes with wild, red, curly hair who wears the craziest things Not your typical novel character. She has four other younger siblings and currently lives with her (abusive) step dad. I think she's a lively character who isn't fooled easily. She knows what's what and doesn't need anybody telling her so.

Park: He is half-Korean and half-American. He is described to be quite small considering his Dad's immense height with green eyes. Oh and he knows karate and even kicks butt somewhere in the book. A shy, quiet but amiable character with a lot to offer. 

Despite what I said above about not enjoying it, I liked it and thought it was a very sweet love story. A few of my friends have been reluctant to read it as the characters' appearance aren't exactly what you'd be jealous of or swoon over straight away as most YA books have good-looking, attractive characters but once you're thirty/forty pages into the book, their looks won't even matter, I swear.

Rate out of 5:☆☆☆☆

-C E L I N E