Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Genre: YA, romance, contemporary, coming of age

Release Date: Febraury 26, 2013

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Format: ebook                     Pages: 325

Sources: Kristen @ My Bookish Fairytale

Goodreads Synopsis

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.

My Thoughts: 

The Cover: The cover for this one was very simple, yet cute. It suggested a light read, something fun and sweet. I really liked the simplicity and the light colors of the drawing.

The Plot:  The plot of Eleanor & Park was not as lighthearted and fun as the cover suggested. That's not to say it was bad. I very much enjoyed the story to Eleanor & Park. The pacing was good and I found it interesting to hear from both of the main characters' point of view. Oh, the simplicities of a teen romance. I will state however that the ending shattered it for me. This is a great story, but, in my humble opinion, the ending sucked. Sorry, Rainbow.

Characters: I loved our main characters. Eleanor was just so broken that you wanted to try to superglue all her pieces back to make a beautiful butterfly that cannot be touched by the darkness of the human psyche. Sorry, I will stop now. Park was so amazingly shy and he kept his sweetness so hidden. He was perfect for Eleanor, showing her that she deserved love and affection. It is so disheartening because you know that this is a reality for some children.

Is it Worth Reading?:  Yes. Aside from not liking the ending, it was a very good book. But the spell was broken for me and it took me a couple days to write this review. An amazing book, but I just can't get past the way it ended.

I give this one 4/5 crossbows!