Book Review: Eleanor and Park

Title: Eleanor and Park

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Genre: YA fiction

Review:

Wow....I was not expecting the ending of Eleanor and Park.  In a lot of ways, this novel reminded me of The Fault in Our Stars (another book I highly recommend--they're making a movie for it! Yipee!) The characters were so carefully crafted and argh....why does the book have to end on a bitter note??

First of all, let me say this right off the bat: Eleanor and Park were definitely some of the most unique characters I have ever read about.  Eleanor's life isn't easy. Her mother married an abusive stepfather who also seems to hate Eleanor with a burning passion.  Park's family seems like the "perfect" American family, but he can't help but feel that his father is somehow disappointed in him. Nevertheless, Park gets by pretty well in school.  He's usually left on his own; he doesn't bother other kids and other kids don't bother him.

Eleanor, on the other hand, is constantly picked on by other kids.  She often feels self conscious of her weight and second hand clothes.  However, she keeps her head high and tries to remain strong for her younger siblings.  

Anyways, an unlikely friendship blooms up between these two misfits when Eleanor can't find a seat on the bus and Park ends up sharing his seat. At the beginning they don't speak to each other. Then Park starts sharing his comics with Eleanor. Then they start listening to music together. And then Park punches Steve when he made fun of Eleanor and (un)officially declared Eleanor to be his girlfriend.  And from there their relationship blossoms.

Rainbow Rowell did an excellent job pacing the relationship between Eleanor and Park--it was totally believable and sweet. I really loved how Park saw the beauty inside of Eleanor.  Eleanor is really a special character since most female protagonists in YA books (or most books in general) are usually thin and pretty.  Eleanor isn't thin and she probably isn't considered what society deems to be "pretty."  But Park doesn't care because he sees the light within her...here's a quote from the novel describing Eleanor:

"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."

Isn't that such a beautiful and raw quote?

It was really interesting to see the contrast between Eleanor and Park's life.  Eleanor has to hide her relationship from her family (or more specifically, her stepdad.)  It also takes some time for Park to convince his mom that Eleanor was a "nice" girl (his mom liked "nice.")  The way they react to different situations at school also really gives readers insight to their personalities.

***spoiler alert***

Wahh!  That ending killed me...it was so damn bitter sweet. Why couldn't they get back together? Why oh why oh why? And that postcard Eleanor sent Park at the very end...I literally reread that sentence over and over again. Then I closed the book and just kind of sat still, feeling numb and staring off into space.  Yep...Rowell really played around with my emotions.

Personally, I think the plot itself was good, but not something that would particularly keep my attention hooked for long.  Luckily, the characters were so addicting to read about I couldn't put down the book. Kudos to Rowell for creating such enthralling characters!

I strongly recommend this book for any John Green fans out there.  This book has the perfect blend of life's darker side and hope.

Rating: