Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell - BOOK REVIEW

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 - goodreads


I'm a bit late coming to the party on this book, but I'm glad I finally decided to read it. I also feel the need to read everything else by Rainbow Rowell. ( I also hope that that is her real name.)

This book is about first loves. First chances. First attempts at trying to articulate how you feel. And this book is filled with a shit ton of feels.

When I started reading it, I had it set in my mind that it would end a certain way. Thankfully it didn't end that way. Un-thankfully it ended another way, like a punch in the stomach.

Eleanor and Park. Two seemingly different people, who somehow get together. Park at first wanted to ignore his feelings, but sometimes feelings matter more than popularity. I mean, why would anyone even give someone like Eleanor a second look.  Park is half-Korean in an extremely white school, with a pretty normal and happy home life. He isn't the most popular by any means, but he gets by. And then there is Eleanor. Poor, bright red hair, a little chubby, dresses weird, an overprotective douche of a stepdad...really doesn't have anything going for her with being the new girl. But then she sits next to Park on the bus....

Their relationship, and love, started out slow. Just like most first relationships starts. They start talking. They start sharing comic books. They start sharing music. They start innocently holding each other hands.They are filled with nerves, judgement, the slow build-up of trust and eventually love.

I enjoyed that this book wasn't a typical YA read. Yes, it is meant for those audiences, but without giving away any spoilers, it isn't the typical happy ending, all is well book. It was a breath of fresh air.

5 stars

“What are the chances you’d ever meet someone like that? he wondered. Someone you could love forever, someone who would forever love you back? And what did you do when that person was born half a world away? The math seemed impossible.”