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lena1508's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Sexual harassment
angelofthetardis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is a simple story of teen love, but is so effectively told. It completely draws you in, portraying beautifully that dream-like version of budding romance where you two are the only characters of consequence in the story. The people that surround you; friends, family, classmates and colleagues are there and interact with you, affect your life and continue in their roles, but your focus is continually drawn to that person you have feelings for. In this case, I found that it didn't matter that the secondary characters weren't necessarily drawn with that much depth; they just didn't need it as they weren't as important as this growing relationship.
That being said, Eleanor's background is horrifying and, as the story progresses, it's hard to understand why her mother remains loyal to her utterly disgusting step-father. He is the only character that perhaps could have been more starkly drawn. He is a nasty piece of work, but he doesn't quite come to life enough for me to inspire that burning hatred that other literary villains of a similar ilk do.
The writing style bounces back and forth between Eleanor and Park's POVs in fairly rapid succession, but in this case it works perfectly for the story being told. You get to see the development of their relationship and their wider lives from both perspectives simultaneously, which means the shifting balance of feelings is always evident.
I understand from the author's notes why the ending is the way that it is, but if I do have one criticism it's that the end does feel a bit rushed. The resolution of the slight 'mystery' element should have a greater impact than it does, and the emotional fallout for both Eleanor and Park deserves more page space... I'm not 100% sure how it could work myself, but it seemed to me that there was an entire potential third act within those last few pages. But I'm not going to complain about the last few lines. Perfectly pitched.
This book is more about the feelings it inspires in the reader rather than its literary merits. And I definitely have all the feels after that!
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Blood
whenmalanereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
"And where there was a walk-man there was the possibility of music."
“I don’t like you, Park. Sometimes I think I live for you”
"Holding Eleanor’s hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive.”
“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.”
I know this book is quite old. This is a book where if I had read it when it first came out I would have LOVED it. LOVED it so much. I still really liked this book for what it is and it's a cute teenage love story. I liked that it took place in the 80s and I liked that it had so many music references. I could see myself absolutely being friends with Eleanor and with Park. I could imagine myself hanging out with them as a teenager.
Eleanor is annoying at some points in the book and that's fine. Not every character is going to be perfection and not every person is going to like every book character. Eleanor's background leads to some of the issues with her personality I don't like and that's also not her fault. The way she grew up.
I liked the characters though. Except Richie. What an ass.
If you're looking for an easy to read book that's also easy to listen to (I listened to the audio book version) then I can recommend this.
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, and Cursing
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cursing, Bullying, and Body shaming
pippamillerxoxo_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Cursing, and Toxic friendship
oyuna152's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
alishbaaa's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
going into this book blindly, i thought that this book would be a cute, light romance. i was soooo wrong. this book was SO addicting like i could NOT put it down. this book taught me a lot…especially to never judge people because u litterally dont know their story. the way that it was written i felt such emotions for each character and became so attached to them. i also felt that this book had a lot of racism in it and i’m not sure if the author did that to show the racism in the past, or because of some other reason..jus confused ab that.
Moderate: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Racism, Addiction, Sexual harassment, and Panic attacks/disorders
bluejeepbaby's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Bullying
Minor: Domestic abuse
rylin_marie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, and Drug abuse
libriinks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, and Sexual harassment
livlovread's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Sexual harassment