Info: St. Martin's Press, copyright 2013, 328 pages
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 description
The Rundown
How do I even begin to tell you how amazing this book is? You'll laugh. You'll cry (a lot). And you'll end it believing that love can be drug through the mess of life and maybe, just maybe, come out stronger on the other side.
First off, this novel is set in 1986 and the soundtrack I cooked up in my head based on the music mentioned is fantastic: The Smiths, Joy Division, Dead Kennedys, Elvis Costello, Henry Rollins...yes!!
I love a good romance always, but Eleanor & Park struck a very different chord with me than a lot of what I've read lately. There are so many great YA authors who tackle tough social issues weaved into a romance, and they do it justice. But there's just something about Eleanor & Park that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.
You see Park comes from this close, loving family. A mom and dad who are head over heels in love and doting grandparents who live right next door. His biggest thing that makes him different in the neighborhood is being half Korean, wearing eyeliner occasionally, and disappearing into punk rock and comic books.
Eleanor, on the other hand, has divorced parents, a blended family, and a stepdad from hell on top of living in poverty. She's been labeled the "Fat Girl" (though reading how Park sees her and even a few comments she makes about herself, I'd bet money she's just a little bit taller and bigger built than average, but by no means fat...kids can be cruel), has wild curly red hair, and doesn't have the means to dress on trend (but she probably wouldn't even if she did).
These two never wanted to like each other, but life had other plans for them. I can't think of a better author than Rainbow Rowell to tell their story. She has this way with words that makes you feel everything in deep in your soul. That's what makes this book such a good, but difficult read. You can't help but feel everything, the good and the bad. First love with all of its intensity and ups and downs will hit you like a work tornado (it's a thing I promise).
This book often had me spinning back to my own teen years. Eleanor's story is in part, my story. I once had a Park of my own with a family much like his who saved me in so many ways. I never knew before them that a house could actually feel like a home, or that a mother could truly love her children. To find a piece of heaven amid hell is a blessing to an abused child. Maybe that's why I never thought I'd finish this book. Not because it wasn't beautifully written and practically dripping with poetry, but because it tore open wounds that had been healing for years. I'm glad I finished it. And I'll probably read it again and again and again to remind myself that love can vanquish even the darkest parts of life.
Grab a box of tissues, play The Smiths softly, and get a copy of Eleanor & Park in your hands like yesterday.
Rating: 5/5 Stars
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