Publication: February 26th 2013 by St. Martin's Press
Source: Library Book
Goodreads Summary: 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.
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My Thoughts:
I've heard many great things about Rainbow Rowell's books. Basically to the point of saying that she is the female John Green. Well. She is a far, far, FAR better writer than John Green in my opinion. This is my first Rainbow Rowell book and I'm definitely interested in reading more of them.
I loved how relatable this book was. Although Eleanor was a little too weird for my taste, I think she's a very relatable character for many people, including me, whether it's her personality traits or even just her living environment and things she's been through in her short life. She's just like how everybody else feels in high school: awkward, weird, like you don't really fit in anywhere. Trying to just survive while also trying to find yourself. I saw my high school self a lot in Eleanor.
A lot of things that happen in this book are relatable too. Not knowing where to sit on a school bus; being the person that offers someone else a seat. Starting an awkward friendship through reading comics on the bus together; finding things you have in common like liking the same music and introducing new bands to each other. I've definitely been through experiences like this in my past and it made the book very real to me, nostalgic even. The entire plot unfolded organically and the romance between Eleanor and Park was very fitting for their respective personalities, although I never really became invested in their relationship like I hoped I would.
I didn't exactly dislike the ending but I didn't love it either. I didn't necessarily need to know exactly what happened and where everyone ended up; but I also would've liked to have had some more details, especially about her mother and siblings. The ending was very bittersweet. I liked the last line of the book.
Likes: Relatable. That Rowell used minorities as the protagonists. You don't see many books written with redheads as the main character (for which I am a redhead so it was nice to see one) or many books with an Asian as the main character (they're normally just written in as a side friend/character). Park's mother amused me immensely (I loved the way she spoke). Punk rock element to it. Flowed very organically.
Dislikes: Eleanor was a little too weird for my taste. Her decision in the end didn't make much sense to me. Some grammar errors. Foul language that really didn't need to be in there.
Overall:
Recommend? Yes.
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