eleanor & park

April 4, 2013 Uncategorized 0

eleanor & park

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication Date: Feb. 26, 2013
Pages: 320
Source: e-galley for review

About the Book: Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.”—John Green, The New York Times Book Review

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.

I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this 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.

My Thoughts: This was a book I was certain could never be as good as I wanted it to be. It was just so very hyped up in my mind. The more I heard my bookish friends raving about it the more leery I became. And then the kicker… John Green loved it. John Green. Only my all time favorite author ever. That was just so much pressure for one book! I was so afraid of being let down I put off reading it. But then I found out the author would be in Milwaukee. I knew I had to read the book. If I really did love it as much as I hoped, I would I would hate myself for not meeting her and getting a signed copy. So, the night before the signing I curled up on my couch and dove in. And you guys, I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. I loved it even more. Like, I don’t even have words. Seriously.

I was so caught up in the story. Whether it was Eleanor’s perspective or Park’s. I was equally enamored. It was all so very authentic… the conversations, the insecurities, the vulnerabilities of really getting to know someone. And the passion. This book contains some of the most intimate scenes I have ever read… and the characters are just holding hands! It’s beautiful and lyrical and achingly familiar. Words cannot express. I simply loved everything about it. 

Immediately after finishing eleanor & park I wished I could read it for the first time all over again.  Eleanor and Park are two characters who will stay with me for years to come. I feel so grateful to have met them. 

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