Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Eleanor & Park; Rainbow Rowell


"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."





Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Publish Date: February 26th, 2013

Rating




Hello Fellow Readers!

This book perfectly captures teen romance and angst. Is that a good thing? Yes. Does that mean I liked it? Eh. This had nothing to do with Rowell's writing, in fact she did a really good job capturing the feel of teenage emotions and insecurity. I loved that she incorporated music and comic books as a way for Eleanor & Park to bond and start their whirlwind romance. The feelings and love may have been quick after that however their teenagers, teenagers are delicate and emotional. Their hormones make them insecure about their appearance, which make them emotionally insecure which translates to romantically insecure, so when they find someone to bond with they immediately latch on, and I saw that in Rowell writing.

It wasn't instalove, more like a quick love that rollercoastered.  Honestly, I am just too old for the book to have any emotional effect. My favorite parts were when she incorporated music and comic books because I remember them from when I was young and knew exactly what she was talking about. Good ol' nostalgia. Another thing I like was that the ending was not predictable. On the first page it lead me to believe one thing, and I kept reading with the intention of the book turning out a certain way, but it didn't and I like that. 

While it did mention some racial issues, which Park being Asian American during the 80s and all, it seems like she sugar coated what could have been a really been something big. I am a product of a Bi-racial relationship so I know the tensions that can come with a relationship like that, add on bullying and the other issues presented in this book and wow this could have turned into something supremely meaningful. I can fault Rowell however, since can authors really completely understand and writing about things they have not encountered in their life?

Overall this is a YA book, and I think any young adult would love it which why this book is so popular. So if you’re a Young Adult go ahead and read this. Tell me what you think

1 comment:

  1. This book seems so highly rated everywhere! I need to find it someday and try it out for myself. Great review :)

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