Author: Rainbow Rowell
Published By: Orion
Acquired: Bought from Amazon to read
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.
Eleanor & Park blew me away. Having wanted to read this since I saw John Green’s review a while back, I finally decided to cave in and buy it. I’m so, so glad I did because this is now one of my favourite books of all time.
Set in 1986 Omaha, Eleanor & Park will take you back to the past and make you aware of how different life was then. I really loved the mentioning of books, video games and music because it gave the reader a connection to the characters and their lives.
Eleanor was a character that I really felt for. Her life was so hard and she really didn’t deserve the treatment that she got. Her way of life was something that we’re not used to nowadays. She was neither living without food or water, nor living in luxury. She didn’t have commodities like a toothbrush or a telephone and so her life wassomething that we couldn’t even fathom in today’s society.
Park was incredibly cute and quirky. I thought he was a welcome change to the normal male characters that we’re used to seeing in YA fiction because he wasn’t a bad boy, nor was he sad or lost. He was simply discovering himself and I thought it was nice to see such a difference.
This book lacks huge drama (there’s no quest to overthrow a tyrannical leader, no weird and mystical creatures to kill) but this makes it even better. It was easy to fit into Eleanor and Park’s lifestyle and even easier to just lose yourself in the words. The romance was slowly built up and very subtle. It was very true to real life.
This book tackles body image and how people view themselves. It’s something that I’d like to see more of in YA fiction because it’s such an important topic.
This was a sweet and compelling read. I’m definitely going to be reading the other books by this author because this one has captured my heart.
Lucy Powrie is a blogger, YouTuber and author from the UK. When she's not reading, she enjoys cuddling guinea pigs and eating Oreo chocolate, but let's be real: she's mostly always reading.
9 Comments
Anya
13 May, 2013 at 9:44 amOooh, sounds really good!
Pink Lady 631
13 May, 2013 at 11:18 amGah I need to read this book! I’ve seen nothing but good reviews and from the summary it looks like something that would be suited to my likes. I’m excited to meet Park because a quirky cute male lead sounds great. This book must be particularly awesome for John Green to have loved it. Awesome Review 🙂
PS. Sorry for my lack of commenting on your posts for some reasons my notifications aren’t working properly.
Ruby :)
13 May, 2013 at 4:15 pmI can’t wait to read this! I’ve had my eye on it ever since I read John Green’s review, and now you’ve persuaded me even more to buy it. There’s another book by the author on Netgallery that you might want to check out… I think it’s called Fangirl! 🙂
aliceinreaderland.com
13 May, 2013 at 4:53 pmI think it’s cool that the book is set in the 80s, and the characters sound really good! 🙂 Great review, I’ll have to read this one soon!
Alice @ Alice in Readerland
maya
13 May, 2013 at 5:28 pmI hadn’t heard of this before but it sounds really good! *Mentally jots down author’s name in order to raid library*. Great review!
Cait
14 May, 2013 at 6:50 pmI’m really glad that you loved this, it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year! It was so richly written and so bittersweet! If you read more by her I hope you like them (I’ve read Attachments which is awesome and just got Fangirl for review!)
Cait x
Rebekah Campbell
14 May, 2013 at 8:58 pmEEEEEEEEEEK! You have no idea how much I love you for tweeting me to buddy read Eleanor & Park. SERIOUSLY!
Great review, Lucy 🙂 So glad you loved it too!
Zoe Crook
15 May, 2013 at 6:33 pmEven since John Green reviewed this, I wanted to read it soon! It sounds like such a sweet read, I love books like this 🙂 I didn’t know that it was set in 1986 – even better!
I’m glad you enjoyed this, Lucy. It is awesome that you read this along with Rebekah, it makes reading even more fun. We should do that someday! Maybe in the holidays when I have more time? 🙂
So Many Books, So Little Time
16 May, 2013 at 8:00 pmMan, I need a copy of this book…