Eleanor & Park

A surprising story after all...

I'm not the biggest fan when it comes to strictly romance novels. I'm more into stories that incorporate romance but don't make it the biggest focus of the novel. However, picking up Eleanor & Park was a shock to me, even though I did it willingly. I'd heard about Fangirl and Rainbow Rowell and was somewhat interested in her work, so I decided to get a library copy of the novel. Now I wish I had my own copy.

For starters, I loved the fact that the novel took place in 1986. Call me a sucker for eighties teen films, but that aspect of the novel definitely hooked me. It also reminded me of The Perks of Being A Wallflower, which is one of my favorite YA novels (and book-to-film adaptations). I also loved the characterizations of Eleanor and Park. They weren't your typical couple that you find in most romance stories. They were complicated and got in the way of their happiness, but then found ways to work around their problems for the sake of love.

I was definitely shocked by the ending (which I won't spoil if you're reading this as someone who's trying to decide whether to read the book or not). It's something that I didn't expect, and when it happened, I was just hoping that Rowell would do a complete 180. It was a really great ending, I just have feels about it. Now for some pros and cons...

Pros:
1. Eleanor and Park as characters. They kept the story interesting. This is definitely a character-driven novel.
2. How Eleanor and Park bond. Reminds me of Perks, but the way Rowell writes it is just perfect.
3. Their relationship isn't rushed. I'll just leave it there. It feels organic.
4. The friendships and familial relationships in the novel were great. I definitely loved the relationship between Park and his mom.

Cons:
1. I only had one con, being that I didn't know exactly when Eleanor and Park got together. I mean, their relationship was great in the story, I just didn't feel that transition from acquaintances to friends to love interests. I even went back through to see when that exact moment was. I guess you could just use the context clues and connect the pieces. That was really my only con. If someone can pinpoint the exact moment, they could let me know! I know it's all subjective, but if you have an idea, feel free to fill me in.

At the end of it all, I'd give Eleanor & Park a 4/5. Not entirely perfect, due to some slow moments and how the main issue was resolved, but still a great read!

This book reminds me so much of my childhood in that it's set in the 80's. It's painful to hear about what Elanor and Park endure... much like watching “Never been kissed”. The characters are well written and I feel like I know them in real life.
There is a lot of bad language in the story, and that's why I couldn't give it 5 stars.

Rainbow Rowell — Eleanor & Park (Reseña) El Extraño Gato del Cuento
 
Como bien saben soy malísima hablando de libros que me gustan (pero no puedo llenar el blog solo con libros que me desagraden ¿verdad?), así que haré mi mejor esfuerzo por contarles el libro.
 
Me demoré considerablemente para acabarlo, pero no porque no me gustara, al contrario, el libro me encantó, solo que a veces el tiempo es escaso...
 
Eleanor & Park está narrado por sus dos protagonistas, de una manera ágil y llena de diálogos, exactamente cómo a mí me gusta.
 
Dejando aparte lo técnico, Eleanor & Park es una historia maravillosa, salimos completamente de todos los clichés de libros juveniles, no tenemos la popular estrella de fútbol o a la pobre chica que hace un mundo de sus problemas no tan profundos. Park es lindo, lindo en verdad, es un poco raro, esa rareza dulce de la que te enamoras. Eleanor tiene problemas reales, problemas crudos que ella intenta sobrevivir día a día, esos problemas la hacen un poco fría, lo vemos un poco más claro cerca del final del libro.
 
La historia que Rainblow nos cuenta es...
 
Reseña completa : El Extraño Gato del Cuento

This was wonderful and great and despite the ending so incredibly cute at times that it was hard to handle.
I just thought it was fucking great.

SpoilerBut can we just talk about the three words Eleanor wrote on the postcard??? I'm thinking maybe it's I miss you but it could also be I love you because she never tells him that throughout the book, but I just don't know and I just ?????

4.5 - spoiler on the cover ?! Wtf.

I had heard a lot of good things about this novel on BookTube, and I was curious to see what the story was about. I can say that I was not disappointed, the novel is well deserving of all the hype.

I keep trying of what to say about this book, how to summarize it, but for some reason it's hard. It's set in the 80's. Eleanor is the new (and weird) girl in school, and kids bully her. She sits next to Park on the bus; the only Asian kid. He shares his comic books and music with her. The only thing they have in common is that they are different.

Rainbow Rowell certainly knows how to write, and how to pace her stories.

Full review over @ the hungry bookster

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Okay, so yesterday I talked about a book that was hurt by the audio narration – this is one that's helped by it (but not much, because it really doesn't need much). I read this back when it came out, and gave it 4 Stars – which boggles my mind, was I a harsher grader back then? I remembered liking it more than that, though. Anyway, this audiobook is the perfect example of what the medium can be.

It perfectly captured the flavor, the emotion and the detail of the original. Now, it didn't become all about the performance, the narrators brought the words to life, but not at the expense of the text.

Lowman and Malhotra were spectacular – they were Eleanore and Park. You fall for them while the characters were falling for each other, and when they expressed emotion, you certainly felt it. Well, I don't know about “you,” but definitely me.

I'm really not sure what else I can say. This is a perfect story about first love, how it defines who you are in a way you didn't expect – how it reveals the best of you and improves the worst of you. Using these two social misfits to tell this story grounds it in a way that the Prom King and Queen couldn't – I just loved it. It's probably the best thing Rowell's done, and it's one of the best audiobooks I've ever heard.

I really enjoyed this book when I read it 5 years ago, because the relationship between the two main characters was so sweet. However, I recently learned that there is a lot of racism throughout the book, particularly in terms of Park's character. I failed to adequately see it when I read it, and need to do better about that. I wanted to acknowledge it now that I have learned about it, and recommend that anyone reading this book look at this thread for an overview of the racist issues: https://twitter.com/naomigiddings/status/1128704083106377729?s=21

Eleanor and Park is an extremely captivating book, I wish there was more but unfortunately it's over. I enjoyed every single thing about this book, and again couldn't help but feel like something tragic was going to happen. Thankfully, it worked out in the end. The writing style is clear, but doesn't always flow. There are a lot of music references that music lovers can enjoy. The two main characters are well written and lovable. It'll make you laugh and it'll make you cry, it'll also make you want to hug Eleanor and Park. At first, Eleanor's actions towards the end of the book seemed irrational and I didn't like it what was happening. After some more thought, I finally saw it from her point of view, and understood why she did what she did. It could've been a happy ending, but is it what it is.

The best books transport us. This book is a time machine. It will catapult back through time to time to when you fell in love for the first time. You will remember the thrill of holding hands on the bus and first kisses and so many other things that you had perhaps forgotten you lived. I haven't smiled so much reading a book in a very long time.

All I have to say is this book broke my heart into a million pieces. A good read, definitely recommend. Slow at the start, but when things start to happen it just flows and you never want it to end. It's a perfect mix of a sappy love story with a hint of reality sprinkled into it. A must read, definitely.

Actual Rating: 4.0

OMG guys I cannot describe how I love this novel. I cannot find the right words to describe this one. It was really moving because I can actually relate to some of the themes in this book. I instantly felt a connection with it. I always find it the hardest to review a novel which I really love, so here goes nothing....

Eleanor & Park took place during the late 80's, which is a really awesome decade in my opinion. The story is told from two perspectives but in a third-person kind of way, who're Eleanor and Park. They started having a mutual connection on their school bus, having to talk about ‘nerdy' stuffs such as comics, bands, music, and exchanging mix tapes (which are very common in the 80's). Because the story is told in two perspectives, we get enough glimpse and insights on both of their personal lives. Eleanor, who is half-Danish and half-Scottish, is a red-hair with tacky clothing who lives with her mum, her very abusive step dad, and step brothers/sisters. Park, on the other hand, is half-American and half-Korean. He has a slight complicated relationship with his dad, and his mum is quite racist towards people with different races/skin colour. They are just both rounded and multi-layered teenagers who you can't help to fall in love with and feel attached to. Their conversations and topics are very relatable, at least for me who is such a morbid fan of geeky stuff and music and such shits.

Another thing I noticed about this novel is that Rowell never actually cared about censorship and has to use a lot of curse words, for us to really feel the dialogues. FUCK CENSORSHIP!!! HELL YEAH MOTHERFUCKING RIGHT!!! HATERS CAN EAT SHIT!!!

The romance isn't your typical “boy-meets-girl girl-meets-boy and they live happily ever after” kind of love story. There wasn't even a happy ending in this novel. It is more on love against all odds. Some people are better off being friends than being lovers.

In general, Eleanor & Park is very entertaining, smart, realistic, emotional and is about finding some self-assurance towards yourself.

i dont care what anyone else says about this book, i love it. I love Eleanor and i love Park. i started this book after school and I finished the book in tears the same night. its cringe at times and very disturbing at other, especially near the end/the climax. I was smiling and giggling while reading the parts where they were saying/thinking the same things but in their own chapters yk. i also felt more connected to the book because i could relate in some ways and maybe thats why i enjoyed it more than others but idk. there were also a few things about this book that seemed unbelievable but then i just think this was 1986 in Omaha Nebraska. I do feel like park could have been fleshed out w/ his relationship w/ his mom. There are also two black girls that become Eleanors friends and with park being half asian and agin this being 1986 in Omaha Nebraska, i figured there would be more discussion about racism. Really its kinda weird cuz this entire book is like how neither eleanor nor park fit in but they focussed more on how eleanor didnt fit in and not park or her black friends. I still thoroughly enjoyed this book.

In the beginning, the book was really great! I loved the perspective switched and the writing style was amazing. I loved the way that the author hinted at things and slowly revealed more and more about the characters. I also thought the humor was really well-written. I thought for sure it was going to be a five star read.

At about 15-20% I realized that the story and characters had a couple flaws, but it was still overall a pretty good story and the writing style was really saving it. I thought maybe it would be a four star.

Then, about half way through, the novelty of the writing style wore off and I was really starting to see through and flaws of the characters, especially Eleanor. Not to mention the fact that there were some side characters who were almost nothing but caricatures of stereotypes. So, maybe just a three star book.

When I got to about 60-70% of the way through the book, I just simply found Eleanor annoying. She was picking fights with Park and getting mad at him over pretty much nothing!! He would try to compliment her and she would twist his words around just to be mad at him. Also, some of the things she would say were just plain odd and borderline creepy. She would talk about how she wanted to bite Park's cheeks and “eat his face whole”. Weird. Two star.

Then, the ending. The ending actually wasn't that horrible. It was really sweet and gave the both of them sort of happy endings?? But when you really think about it, Eleanor is still being a bit of a jerk to a guy who did nothing but love her. He wrote her letters every single day and she read none of them. Nearly a year went by before she sent anything to him. It took a year of her not reading his letters and him not hearing anything in response (so, basically, no communication at all) for her to finally say “I love you.”

However, I actually really liked Park. He was one of my more favorite characters I've read about in a while. When he loved, he loved with his whole heart and he put others before himself in every situation he could. While a couple of the things he did were odd, I think that he was still a pretty great character. The fact that he was happy at the end sort of almost made up for everything Eleanor had done throughout pretty much the entire book. So. Three stars.

I think I went into this book with high hopes because I had previously read “Fangirl” by the same author and that is probably one of my all-time favorite books. Not to mention, I just finished reading “Red Queen” right before I read this one and not many books deserved to be compared to that one.

Overall... meh.

Ps. I really don't understand the whole subplot about Park needing to learn to drive shift. It just seems unnecessary and doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I'm sure it's symbolic of something, but I genuinely cannot tell what.

This storyline is not your typical fluffy YA contemporary novel. Themes within this book span from bullying, forbidden love, interracial love and abuse. The developing romance between the two main characters Elenor and Park is also effectively drawn and nurtured throughout the book. Parts of this story I enjoyed. However the overall effect of the book; structure, character development, plot line and overall ending just didn't do enough to captivate me. Maybe it's because YA remains a genre I cannot connect emotionally with. I enjoyed Elenor and Park as characters but not enough to invest in their story or to be concerned about them throughout the story. For YA lovers I would highly recommend this book as a unique take on YA contemporary fiction that takes on underrepresented people and storylines in YA fiction. However unfortunately for me this was a cutesy but overall underwhelming read for me.

I forgot to write the review to this after I had finished reading this... I won this in a giveaway, so it was pretty much an ARC (from the cover it would be ARE, but I like ARC better)

Eleanor & Park is a story about two star-crossed misfits who don't fall in love at first starts. The story is told in dual 3rd person (you'll read more of Eleanor than Park), but you won't mind reading from Eleanor more than the latter–or that's just me.

The characters are fleshed out and different. Different. I love different. Eleanor is this big girl with way too curly red hair, and who doesn't match at all. Park is a Korean. Korean. KOREAN, which was a nice add to the story, because I've never came across a book with an Asian MC, and I rarely come across a book with someone who has color to them.

Now, what I enjoyed about this book was the romance. Like I said earlier, this isn't a story about love at first sight–that's just impossible, and I'm glad that Rainbow decided against that. Instead, they aren't even friends in the beginning. Eleanor and Park's relationship blossoms like a flower instead of pre-blooming. They get to know each other–embrace each other with their cuteness ^.^

I also enjoyed (really enjoyed) what was happening with Eleanor's life. It was miserable–both home and at school. Though I'm glad that she toughened up through it all. Eleanor is probably one of my favorite girl characters now. She isn't into makeup; she's into comics. She doesn't dress like a girl, she dresses like Eleanor. And just the simple fact that Park didn't even care about these things made a smile curl across my lips.

Overall what I'm trying to say is, is that this book is now one of my favorites. It isn't your sappy, lovey-dovey love story, it's almost it's own thing. And the ending...oh, my gosh, the ending.



Just, please read this book...

It's been a long time since I first fell in love as a teen. This book brought it all back. The first time you hold hands. Those amazing phone calls where every word feels important. The time apart when you can't think of anything but the Loved One. It's all here.

But it's more than that. Eleanor & Park is the story of two don't-fit-in teens find each other and fall hard for each other. Eleanor has a miserable home life and a miserable school life, and Park is there to save her. Park has a great family and good friends, but is nevertheless not-very-happy, and Eleanor is there to save him, too.

I would've given it a 4 but the ending really put me off. I liked the characters, the writing style and felt it was too rushed when it gets to the end. I like how realistic the characters were and in some ways relatable. Somehow though, I didn't feel the book
I initially had high expectations cuz of the hype around it and maybe that's one of the reasons why I'm a little disappointed.

All in all, it's a quick read ( at least for me) so I'd say, better read it and judge it yourself ;)

Very disappointed with this. I was expecting a beautiful, feel good emotional story but got an awkward teenage story which is fine. Main issue with this book was how the romance was written and the way Park's character was written. He felt quite crazy with his over the top feelings towards Eleanor. I think it would have been much better if the two would have gotten together much later on with more build up and with more awkward conversations between them. Also the whole stepdad thing was really terribly done it shouldn't have been a vital part of the story.