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A review by whenmalanereads
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- 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
“Don't get so hung up on gender roles,” Eleanor said. … “You can be Han Solo,” he said, kissing her throat. “And I'll be Boba Fett. I'll cross the sky for you.”
"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.
"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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, and Cursing
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cursing, Bullying, and Body shaming