Eleanor & Park in DC Public Library

Nov 13, 2012 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, young-adult

4.5 stars. "Eleanor and Park" is a fantastic book that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who has been an awkward teenager. I had heard people raving and raving about this book and it took me much too long to get to. My TBR is always much too long and I never get to the books that I want to read very quickly. This book was certainly worth the wait though. Picture a John Hughes movie (oh yes, this takes place in the 1980s, which I absolutely loved) filled with a great storyline and truly memora 4.5 stars. "Eleanor and Park" is a fantastic book that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who has been an awkward teenager. I had heard people raving and raving about this book and it took me much too long to get to. My TBR is always much too long and I never get to the books that I want to read very quickly. This book was certainly worth the wait though. Picture a John Hughes movie (oh yes, this takes place in the 1980s, which I absolutely loved) filled with a great storyline and truly memorable characters and this is exactly what you get with this book and it is wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

Oh, high school. At least for me, it was a time filled with a lot of fun and a ton of awkwardness. This book reminded me a lot of my first love in high school. Instead of bonding over comic books and moody 80s music, it was bonding over Incubus and Adam Sandler songs on the Debate Club bus (yes, I was a pretty cool teenager) for me. I think a lot of us will find common ground with Eleanor and Park. In high school, most of us haven't quite found the confidence that we find later on. Both of the main characters are going through that process in this book. They find a lot of confidence from each other, which is truly wonderful.

Now this book is not just a sweet love story; there is a lot more to this book than just that. Both Eleanor and Park's family life factor into this book. Eleanor comes from a truly horrendous family situation. Her stepfather is absolute scum that makes Eleanor feel really bad about herself. Her mother both defends her and is victimized by the stepfather but chooses to stay just because she believes their tenuous existence is better than what she would find elsewhere. Park has a pretty good family life but feels misunderstood by his parents who don't seem to be able to cope with the changes that he is starting to go through.

This book was well written. The author captures all of those little details that really made the characters feel real. This is the first book that I have read by Rainbow Rowell but I know it will not be the last! ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

May 29, 2013 Anina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: teen

Cutest book, or cutest book ever? It's impossible to know. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 07, 2013 martha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, year-2013

Does RR seed the pages of her books with crack or what? Like Fangirl, this completely enveloped me. It was bleak and intense and just like for the main characters the highs felt so high and the lows felt so low.

Without giving too much away, (view spoiler) ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 17, 2013 Jeanine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, romance, ya, soul-crushing, love, social-issues, self-discovery, abuse, music, dark

Second review in 2019
Um how have I not read this every year since the first time??? On my to do list from now on...
Still. My. Absolute. Favorite. Story. On so many levels. Park and Eleanor still make my heart melt the most! And the eyeliner...omg, still the eyeliner!!!!

First review back in 2013:
How do I even begin!!! This is such an amazing book for many reasons. One is I can so relate to both of these characters in some way and love both of them!!! I was 13 years old in 1986 and this story tr ...more

Like · see review

Mar 28, 2013 Christina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: stayed-up-too-late, ya, 2013

Loved it. 4.5 stars. Story of two outsiders at an Omaha high school in 1986 who find friendship and love in one another, which sounds fairly common as far as plots go, but there's something about this book that makes it stand out. For one thing, all the characters from the leads to their families and friends (and enemies) felt very authentic. Rowell's writing style is also very precise -- she includes just the right details in a scene and keeps the plot moving quickly. She also has an ear for di ...more

Like · see review