Eleanor & Park in Pick-a-Shelf

Apr 02, 2013 Joanie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, from-the-library, 2013

Update 6/2015:
I just listened to the audio of this-two years after reading it for the first time-and although my love of the book still stands, I had a much harder time with Eleanor's mother this time around. I think the first time I was just so smitten that I didn't really pay attention (or not real close attention) to her. As a mom, I wanted to shake her, I was so upset that she would allow anyone to treat her children that way, but as a social worker, I get how stuck she really was. Still, i ...more

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Sep 23, 2013 Carrie rated it really liked it

Shelves: teen, young-adult, library, ya, abuse, realistic-fiction, scrabble, bullying

So...hmm...okay....

This book, this book. When I first opened the pages I got so extremely excited for it. And I knew right away I was going to very enjoy it.

As we continued on I had to pause at many many different moments, pausing to reflect on the words I just read, pausing to soak it all in, pausing to smile.

But then something happened, something wasn't the same. My feelings of "oh I so need to pick up my own copy" (as this is a library book) started to subside. Don't get me wrong I still to ...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Lisa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-has, kindle, 2014

I put this book off, hesitated to read it, often "talked-about" and highly praised books "fall flat", or are not "my cup of tea".

On one of my reading groups people were talking, gushing even, about this book. I was told I MUST read it.

So I pulled out my kindle to read "just one chapter" since it was late and I had an early morning.
Six chapters later, and I reluctantly put it down.

The next day I kept sneaking in a chapter here and there.

I still did not want to like the characters.

Yet I read on a ...more

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Feb 11, 2014 Lorna rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-romance, young-adult, realistic-fiction, printz-award, ala-best-book, a-z-challenge-2014

3.6 overall rating. I've led quite a sheltered life and so it made me uncomfortable to read about the situations (as well as the language) described in the book. It was heartbreaking. But the author has a style of writing that made me want to keep reading and I thought the voices were very real. ...more

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May 13, 2013 emily rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, fiction-nongenre, young-adult, 2011-to-2015, right-in-the-feels, fiction-contemporary, owned-physical

I adored this book. Flat out loved it. There was such emotion in the writing, and it wasn't only a love story. It was about family and identity and abuse and socioeconomic class status and race and music and comics... but first and most importantly, it was a story about love. First love, the kind that ruins you in the best way. I loved that Rowell pointed out what she was doing by having the kids study Romeo & Juliet-- adults want to remember what that kind of love feels like. That's why I label ...more

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