Synopsis: Eleanor is the new girl in town, and with her chaotic family life, her mismatched clothes and unruly red hair, she couldn't stick out more if she tried.
Park is the boy at the back of the bus. Black t-shirts, headphones, head in a book - he thinks he's made himself invisible. But not to Eleanor.. never to Eleanor.
Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you're young, and you feel as if you have nothing and everything to lose.
Eleanor & Park follows the heartwarming and heartbreaking story of two teenagers, Eleanor and Park, as they deal with the every day obstacles of teenage life in the 1980s. All is not how it seems however as whilst dealing with those obstacles the unexpected happens; they take you on an a journey of being young and falling in crazy, stupid love for the very first time.
For me, it was a relief to finally pick up a YA romance that isn't about unrelatable characters with perfect lives and an instant connection or attraction, in fact Eleanor & Park is the complete opposite of that. As the book shifts between 3rd person past tense of both Park and Eleanor, you're given a real understanding of the story and how they're both feeling - both are honest about their perceptions of each other, even if much of it is kept deep in their thoughts. Rowell successfully derives from the idea of 'perfect' character traits as a result, which are too often part of the YA genre.
On the whole, this novel is such a real and relatable story and everything fits and flows together so nicely and is achieved through Rowell's charming and delicate writing style, which is so wonderful to read. Everybody has experienced that first messy love, or at least dreamed of it, and Eleanor and Park's relationship captures that so beautifully and in the truest way. They fall in love slowly and simply by bonding over music and comics but despite all that they are also a perfect example of how love is far from perfect.
All of Rowell's characters are so well thought out and easy to connect with in this novel, particularly Eleanor who you can do nothing but sympathise with. She's experienced such a horrible home life because of her stepfather and it's so heartbreaking to read. I love how often Rowell ventures into Eleanor's past because she has such a massive and interesting backstory - you're constantly reminded of how 'flawed' Eleanor is as a result of her past and thus grow a greater understanding of her character.
Saying that however I did occasionally find myself irked by Eleanor. Although her anger, frustration, snappy nature and ability to take the simplest of things the wrong way are totally justified of her character, I felt as if she was sometimes she just created a scene with Park in order to distract herself from her home life, which is quite tragic. Nonetheless, I did find a positive in loving and being annoyed by Eleanor and that was a particular appreciation for Rowell as an author as she has the ability to create a range of opinions on a character for you, rather than just feeling love or hatred.
In all honesty I wasn't expecting to get so caught up in this contemporary novel but there is just something about Rowell, her writing style and her amazing ability to tell a story in its truest form that keeps you hooked from start to finish. You're left asking yourself whether there is such a thing as falling and being in love, or whether this was simply an infatuation or the first of many loves and thankfully you're not given a definitive answer.
I give Rainbowell Rowell and Eleanor & Park ★★★★★
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