Eleanor & Park
Ratings635
Average rating3.7
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. I loved this story, but after hearing so much about this book for almost two years I think I was expecting more
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!
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
I'll be quite honest — I didn't expect to like Eleanor and Park very much when I started it. I read it on the advice/orders of my girlfriend, and expected it to be a teen romance novel much in the same way I expected the Maze Runner trilogy to be a teenage dystopian novel — very much of its genre, tweaking only small details, with stories interchangeable to an almost shocking degree. But it surprised me. It didn't invert, contravene and confound the trappings of the teen novel the way some of my favorite genre books subvert theirs, but it really worked for me. I cared about the characters, and I cared about what happened to them.
Read the full review here.
To me, their story felt real.
Their story was real. And just like in real life, the first love isn't always the last.
More like 4.5 but yeah
That ending tho.. this book was supposed to be cute and funny and sweet and whatever.. Park is a sweetheart anyway and I kind of liked Eleanor. I understood her insecurities even though they were annoying sometimes. She didn't deserve the family she had to live with, and I never really liked her mother. Not to mention Richie. But people like him do exist and that's the sad part.. I don't feel attached to her siblings whatsoever, but again, can't really blame them when their mother was a coward.
I was ok with Park's family, the fact that they, specifically his father, understood that he is a little bit different made me like them even more. But yeah, all in all, I like the book and I definitely wasn't expecting it to end the way it did, after I read Fangirl and the ending was so cute. But a change is always good and I feel like Rainbow Rowell just got a place on the list of my favorite YA authors.
She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.
I reject this book's ending. So much so that I threw it on the floor when I was finished with it. Too bad. I had been enjoying it well enough until then.
A good YA read. I liked that the male character Park was Asian-American – refreshing and nuanced (not stereotypical or flat). Eleanor had such a hard life. I really felt bad for her, and I admired her strength, even if she didn't feel like she had any. Ending was a little too pat, though. The last “three words” thing did feel cliche to me.
3 stars
A tad underwhelming. I very much enjoyed the book, but with all the incredible acclamation, I expected a lot more from it. I like that it tackles a lot of important social issues (such as domestic violence, racism, fatphobia, homophobia, bullying, sexism, etc.), but the way some of them are brought up and handled doesn't quite sit well with me. I don't know if that was the author's goal. The narrative was a bit lazy, but I really liked that there were both Eleanor and Park's points of view, and I couldn't help but melt and blush whenever they mentioned each other lovingly. I liked the ending, but I feel it could be better. Felt a bit rushed. But the last part left me hopeful, so I can't really complain.
A charming, pitch-perfect tale of first love, this novel sucked me right in. Even the ending was enjoyable.
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.
This book was so sweet but also sad. My heart broke for Eleanor and her family. There was more language than I usually like in books, but most of the characters using “ugly words” were clearly the “ugly” people. The foulness of their character was not hidden, and it definitely affected me.
SpoilerIt was sweet. Eleanor and Park spent most of the book just reading comic books together, exchanging mix tapes, and excited just to hold hands. It was sad. Eleanor's home life was genuinely heartbreaking. She slept in a room with all four of her younger siblings, most of them sleeping on the floor. She didn't have a toothbrush. The bathroom has no door. Her mother is broken and terrified of her step-father, Richie. Eleanor gets picked on at school too.
I liked that, even though she didn't like Eleanor at first, Park's mom came around to understanding and caring about Eleanor. I really liked the emphasis on how much Park's parents loved each other, that even when he was a kid it was knowing his parents loved each other that made him feel safe at night. I think that's very important, and definitely underemphasized these days.
I was appalled to discover that Richie was the one that had been writing dirty messages on Eleanor's book covers.
I liked that the “mean kids” from the bus really came around when things were serious. They put their differences aside and helped Eleanor without hesitation.
I liked that Park's dad helped him help Eleanor.
I was relieved when it seemed clear that Eleanor's uncle was going to take her in, and it was implied that Eleanor's mother had taken the rest of the children out of Richie's house. I was sad when Eleanor wouldn't write back to Park or open his letters and packages. But I was also a little glad he wasn't actually “moving on”. I liked that it ended with hope and a postcard from Eleanor.
I assumed the three words on the postcard were “I love you.”
This was a re-read for me and this book just did not age well. It was a struggle to get through it this time around.
Romantic in a way that is real and weird and embarrassingly enjoyable. If only it had a happy ending.
Eleanor & Park was a good read. i enjoyed the story. It brought back memories of my HS love. I had to deal with some of the same issues, Eleanor faced. Eventhough, I enjoyed the story, the ending seemed rushed and not complete. It left me unsatisfied.
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.