Review:Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Genre: Young adult literature

Publication date: February 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Read: December 2013

Pages: 328

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Summary:

Park Sheridan, a biracial boy (half Korean, half white), and Eleanor Douglas, a red-haired girl, are two misfit teenagers living in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1986. The book is a love story — Eleanor and Park fall in love over comic books and mixed tapes on their school bus — but deals with issues such as domestic abuse, child abuse, racism, bullying and body image.

Thoughts on the main characters:

I didn't really relate to Eleanor besides the fact that she reads. I liked her though, no doubts about that. She's quiet but she can be fun sometimes. There were moments where she disappointed me.

Park, I think he was mean at the beginning. I thought he was going to stay mean. I didn't like him at first but as the story progresses, I learned to like his character. 

Thoughts on the author:

This is the first book I read by Rainbow Rowell. I liked how the chapters are short. Her writing is impeccable, though there were some scenes where I got bored. 

Overall thoughts:

It was a nice read. I liked it but I didn't love it like everyone else. I like the fact that the two main characters aren't perfect. Unlike most of the contemporary books where the characters are described like they're perfect; guys with abs, handsome blue eyes, attractive beautiful girls, etc. In this book, the girl is not skinny, she has freckles and she falls in love with a skinny half korean guy. How cute is that? It shows us that love isn't just about the appearance of the person. Sometimes, love is blind. When you fall for someone for the way he/she is, that is true love and I think it's perfect. However, I was expecting a different ending but it didn't happen and I was a little disappointed.  I recommend this to all the readers who wants to read a different contemporary story. 

|| Goodreads || Amazon || !ndigo || Barnes & Nobles || Book Depository ||