Hey everyone! It’s time for a book review! Before we jump into that, I just wanted to apologize. I want to apologize for not doing the Top Ten Tuesday this week. I will definitely do it next week so stay tuned for that! This week I am reviewing Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. This is a popular YA book so I’m sure you guys will enjoy it 😀 Without further ado, let us jump to it.
“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.”
Eleanor and Park is a YA book by Rainbow Rowell. The book is 329 pages. I rate it a 4.5/5 stars. Goodreads rates this book a 4.1/5 stars and Amazon rates it a 4.5/5 stars. A couple of reasons I rated Eleanor and Park 4.5/5 was:
- Several times, I questioned their love for each other
- Eleanor and Park were pretty harsh with each other at times.
- They are so darn cute!
Amazon Summary:
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.
Real Reviews:
Sarah Parks- “One of my favorite books! For younger readers, there’s a bunch of language and some sexual stuff and abuse. But for teens and above, it is a great book about dealing with self image issues, dealing with abuse, and finding yourself.” 5 star review
Karen Wright- “This is the 3rd Rowell novel I’ve read and I’m starting to fall in love with her writing. I get why she has a huge fan base now.
The story of Eleanor and Park is about two sixteen year old kids who both start off needing to be rescued in different ways. The narrative flips between the two perspectives but each view is so short there is no time lost going back and forth so the novel flows freely in real time.
I loved and hated the characters appropriately, I liked that although a whole host of secondary characters were introduced, they had poignant but minor roles so they added to instead of detracted from the story.
Intriguing, well-written book. Written for YA crowd but enjoyable to older readers too. I give it 4.5 stars.” 4.5 star review
Sandi K- “I am so conflicted about this book. It is very well written. The characters are well drawn and feel real. The story was just so hard to read. By that I mean, the cruelty that is the base of this book was so troubling. I did not want to finish it because I was so afraid of what was going to happen next. I don’t want to read a book where I fall in love with characters but their life sucks so bad that you ache for them. While the language was probably appropriate for the characters and situation, I got tired of the profanity and the crudeness. I know this type of situation is real but it is not want I want to read about for entertainment. So overall, I commend the writing (this is my fourth Rainbow Rowell book) but the story was just too much for me.” 3 star review
My Thoughts:
This was such a good book! It was an emotional roller coaster and definitely kept me reading. There was some sexual content and definitely some language. Abuse and a bit of violence is also included. I don’t recommend it if you can’t handle any of these. What confused me a bit was how throughout the story, Eleanor and Park seemed to hate then dislike each other a bit throughout the story. I loved seeing other minor characters show up. I felt so bad for Eleanor though. She was treated badly by her step dad, bullied by those at school and even Park’s mom doesn’t accept her at first. I go back and forth with this book but loved it overall. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves a good teenage love story.
That’s a wrap! How did you like this slightly different format? Let me know!
Have you read Eleanor and Park? If you have, I’d love to hear what you thought. No spoilers of course!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more book reviews.
~Makayla the Bookworm 😀
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