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Eleanor & Park

Rainbow Rowell (Goodreads Author)

4.05 · Rating details · 851,791 ratings · 66,194 reviews

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 ev ...more

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Hardcover, 328 pages

Published February 26th 2013 by St. Martin's Press (first published April 12th 2012)

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· 851,791 ratings · 66,194 reviews

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Mar 01, 2013 Steph Sinclair rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: John Green fans

Recommended to Steph by: Everyone

Shelves: fell-for-the-hype, male-pov, audio-books, kill-me-now, 2013-release, interesting-little-creature, serve-me-up-insta-love, tough-issues, what-kind-of-ending-was-that, st-martins-press

Should I break out in song and dance to "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep?" One lonely star. I'm just as surprised as you are, considering I just KNEW going into Eleanor & Park that I would love it, love it, love it. What reason would I have to believe otherwise? Almost all of my friends loved this book and have sworn fealty to the Goddess of Feels and Might, Rainbow Rowell. And I get it because she is a pretty awesome person and I think she is totally lovely. So trust me when I say I REALLY wanted to love ...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Emily May rated it liked it

Shelves: romance, arc, young-adult, 2012

Edit 5/19: It's been 6 years since I read this book and it has not aged well: https://twitter.com/naomigiddings/sta... This just shows how much we really needed not only diverse books but #ownvoices authors, too.

“I don't like you, Park," she said, sounding for a second like she actually meant it. "I..." - her voice nearly disappeared - "think I live for you."
He closed his eyes and pressed his head back into his pillow.
"I don't think I even breathe when we're not together," she whispered.

I'm ...more

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Nov 07, 2017 Miranda Reads rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook

CLICK HERE for a Booktube Video about:

Ten Fabulous Book Reviews and One That Will Make You Go - doesn't that belong to Miranda Reads?

Now that you know this one made the list check the video review to see the rest (and find the stolen surprise)!

The Written Review

I want everyone to meet you. You're my favorite person of all time.

Replace "person" with "book" and you know how I feel. This book just swept me off my feet

We have Eleanor, "Big Red," the new girl in town.

Her home life ...more

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Oct 18, 2013 Katrina Passick Lumsden rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, amazing, allthefeels

If you've experienced that first love - that heart-wringing, soul-squeezing, crush-the-air-out-of-your-lungs-whenever-you're-apart first love - this book will bitch slap your feels all to hell.

I love it. I love its warmth and its vibrancy, its heartache and its pain, its humor, its meanness, the ugliness, the beauty, the crying, the laughter, the sarcasm. I love Eleanor and I love Park, and I love that there's still a tiny chance for them...and for everyone whose first love was torn ...more

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May 30, 2013 Cinda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: diverse, ya

I've often said that nobody should write for teens who doesn't remember what it was like to be one. Rainbow Rowell remembers, and has captured it beautifully in this book.

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Sep 27, 2014 Nick rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contempoary, ya, romance, 2015, favorite-authors, favorites, life

You can find the full review and more about this book on my blog!

description

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“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.”

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description

5 PERFECT STARS!

You can find the full review and more about this book on my blog!

I never read contemporary books. I have read like 4 maybe till now and didn't really like them. Anyway I ...more

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May 25, 2016 Cristina Monica rated it really liked it

Shelves: high-school, coming-of-age, contemporary, true-love, loved-it

I should have read Eleanor & Park during winter, when it’s freezing outside.

Because it completely warmed my heart, and it’s so hot already, I thought my heart would burst into flames inside my chest.

Believe me or not, but I always thought I was immune to the usual young adult romanticism in books. You know: hand holding, shy smiles and flushed cheeks. I didn’t think I would ever feel actual butterflies reading a YA contemporary romance book.

But I did. And it took me by such surprise that at firs ...more

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Nov 17, 2013 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2013, young-adult, favorites

I fully admit that I'm a sucky book reviewer. This book for me was so personal that this review is just for me.
Eleanor is just that girl. The weird one that people pick on. Who knows exactly why? She doesn't stand up for herself, she doesn't fight back. I was that girl. This is me my 10th grade year.

If this book had been around then I would have completely worn the pages out. As it is I feel like highlighting and just re-reading the thing until it falls apart.
Talking about Romeo and Juliet I fully admit that I'm a sucky book reviewer. This book for me was so personal that this review is just for me.
Eleanor is just that girl. The weird one that people pick on. Who knows exactly why? She doesn't stand up for herself, she doesn't fight back. I was that girl. This is me my 10th grade year.

If this book had been around then I would have completely worn the pages out. As it is I feel like highlighting and just re-reading the thing until it falls apart.
Talking about Romeo and Juliet Eleanor's comments were "It was 'Oh my God, he's so cute' at first site. It's Shakespeare making fun of love."
Exactly.

I hated PE class. That was the worst time of my school life. Not because I didn't want to participate..that's just when the mean girls/boys were the worst. "I'm going to tell Mrs. Burt that my mom doesn't want me to do anything that might rupture my hymen. For religious reasons." I can't tell you how many notes I forged in my mom's name and how creative I was in those reasons.

Park's thoughts on Eleanor at one time. "He couldn't figure out why it upset her so much. Sometimes, it seemed like she was trying to hide everything that was pretty about her. Like she wanted to look ugly."
Believe me..you do get to that point. You don't really understand why. Your mind just completely gets to the point where if everyone else thinks badly about you, so do you.

I never had my Park. I did have friends. But I can remember when the teasing started that I could see the embarrassment on their faces too. You hate to see that but it happens. I don't think worse of them now. It just happened.

I ended up leaving home at age 15. I went out on my own and met new people and guess what? I wasn't judged like I had been in middle and high school. I realized it was just that group of people. I can be included in groups of people and liked for who I am.
My daughter faced some bullying last year at school. Not because of what she looked like or wore. (she is beautiful) She was picked on because she stood up to the bullies that were picking on a friend of hers. So I did learn something from my teen years. I raised someone who just won't stand for it.

And now me? I'm the queen bitch of you piss me off and I'll tear your arm off and beat you with it. (well in words anyways).
Remember guys and girls. What doesn't kill you makes you strong as hell.
...more

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Jul 02, 2013 Duchess Nicole rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites-of-all-time, highly-rated, library, stand-alone, hyped, epic, 5-star-read, favorite-heroine, genre-contemp-romance, romantic-elements

READ THIS QUOTE, MY ROMANTIC HEARTED FOOLS...READ IT AND LET YOUR HEART GO PITTER PAT...
`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~`*~

““I don't like you, Park," she said, sounding for a second like she actually meant it. "I..." - her voice nearly disappeared - "think I live for you."
He closed his eyes and pressed his head back into his pillow.
"I don't think I even breathe when we're not together," she whispered. "Which means, when I see you on Monday morning, it's been like sixty hours sinc
...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Laura rated it did not like it

Shelves: authors-behaving-badly, faux-liberal-faux-problems

This review originally appeared on Clear Eyes, Full Shelves.

*Reviewer's Note (added 2/5/2016)*
Please be aware that I have turned off all notifications for this review and do not check or respond to comments. It's not that I don't like y'all; it's just that I'd rather spend my time talking about books that I actually, ya know, like.

I have thought about Eleanor & Park everyday since I read it two months ago.

That’s not a compliment.

In some respects, my attitude is perhaps not terribly fair because ...more

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Jul 24, 2016 Nat rated it really liked it

Shelves: reread, diverse-reads

Update 2020: Reading the translated version of this book was like experiencing this story anew. Eleanor has a piece of me with her wherever she goes. Always.

It's also interesting rereading this after many years to see just how much of a saving grace Park and his family were to Eleanor. They offered her so much support that she was lacking at that time. I only noticed that acutely within this reread.

“She never felt like she belonged anywhere, except for when she was lying on her bed, pretend ...more

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Feb 16, 2018 Maria rated it really liked it

3.8/5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

“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.”

Wait a fucking minute. There are no more pages? It just ended... like that? Rainbow Rowell, why do me like this? Do you not love your readers? Why would you leave it hanging there? I NEED CLOSURE. OR MAYBE A SECOND BOOK. Or a movie. Who the fuck knows? I know I'm dying right now.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits-smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you'll remember your own first love-and just how hard it pulled you under.

This book had flaws. Flaws I couldn't not see. But let's look first at everything. The writing. Rainbow Rowell is an exceptional writer. The way she writes is engaging to the point you can't leave the book down. She creates realistic situations and characters that you can relate to and want to punch and love and hate and loathe and adore. I have read one other of her books, Fangirl and her writing in this one was different than that. Her writing in Eleanor & Park was poetic, unique and pretentious. More than John Green pretentious. But this was an aspect I adored, it added something to the book, to the characters, to the time and the depth of the situations. For some reason I will never understand, she made me think of the characters as too young or too old. Never their actual age. This is probably only me, but at certain situations they seemed too childish and at other too mature. Their real age didn't show for me. But that's probably just me.

I really enjoyed Eleanor and Park's romance, even though it was stretched out at points. Their relationship was special, they made each other better, they loved each other deeply. But it was destructive as well. At the point of them ditching their friends to be with each other. Or how jealous Eleanor got over nothing. Or how mad she got at him for saying the most minor shit. Honestly I felt that some situations between them were too dramatic for no reason. Some lines spoken between them, and also lines or thoughts that were completely unnecessary and didn't add anything to the plot. Sometimes I cringed without wanting to, I'm sorry. You all might find these lines extremely romantic but I'm not a romantic person. Mostly.

I quite enjoyed the rawness of the situations. The bullying, the domestic abuse, the fat shaming, the racism, all of these real life situations this book brought to light. Especially, because they were more prominent at that time. Furthermore, I adored how after everything that happened, the jocks and the bullies helped Eleanor. And Steve didn't bully Park for his eyeliner. I loved that this showed how people can change or they can be misunderstood easily. For example, when Eleanor found out Tana wasn't writing this filthy shit on her books.

This book was full of references... fucking full of references. It's to be expected, anything written in the 21st century about the 80s is always full with references. TV and film as well. It's like they want to show how much they know about that time. And that we didn't live then to understand. So they're just throwing references around fucking everywhere without even needing them to be there to show their spectacular knowledge. We get it. You're old af. The jokes will go over out little heads, as it is to be expected. Fuck off. I don't hold this against the author, obviously, it's a nice way to make us get the vibe of the time but the audience this book is targeted at won't understand a thing. But she has no choice. I get it. And older people will read this book, I suppose. And younger people understand these references. I suppose.

In conclusion, I loved this book okay? I finished it in two fucking days, for God's sake. Yes, it was flawed, yes, it was too much at times, yes, the ending left me hanging for more, but I loved it. Books are supposed to be flawed. Like real life and real people are. So, till the next one K BYE!!! ...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Tiffany rated it did not like it

Shelves: just-terrible, 2013-reads

I know I said I wasn't going to do a review, because I feel that my status updates are pretty telling enough, but...

First, I just don't see Park's parents as a good example of a couple that "made it" against all odds, as John Green implies. There is NOTHING in this book about how or why they fell in love. As an Asian woman, I look at it through a more disbelieving lens. It sounds like a white man "saving" an Asian woman from her "poor," "lower-rung," "terrible" life. She is basically forced to a I know I said I wasn't going to do a review, because I feel that my status updates are pretty telling enough, but...

First, I just don't see Park's parents as a good example of a couple that "made it" against all odds, as John Green implies. There is NOTHING in this book about how or why they fell in love. As an Asian woman, I look at it through a more disbelieving lens. It sounds like a white man "saving" an Asian woman from her "poor," "lower-rung," "terrible" life. She is basically forced to assimilate into this new culture (they live in OMAHA, for Chrissakes) and her children don't even know anything about her - not her background, her family, the life she left...! My God! There is, apparently, no attempt on the part of her white husband, either, to understand her culture or to preserve it at all. I get that I'm coming from a really skeptical position, but honestly, from what I (and many other Asian women) know about "interracial" couples, it is entirely with good reason. The whole thing reminds me of "creepy white guys with Asian fetishes." It's really unsettling.

Additionally... abuse is a big part of this novel, but the way Rainbow Rowell addresses it strikes me as so odd. The book is literally a split between violence and emotional abuse, and this gushy overwhelming "love" between two fifteen-year-old kids. At one point, Park is actually HURT that Eleanor has fallen asleep on the car instead of talking to him, which I still find kind of gross and shocking. Like, dude. She's running away from her abusive rapist stepfather. She's got more to worry about than hurting your poor feelings.

Overall, I just felt like there wasn't much going for this book. There was no true plot - the only things that really had an ongoing story line were (a) the emotionally abusive notes on Eleanor's textbooks, which weren't even truly addressed until the very last minute, and (b) Eleanor and Park's relationship, which didn't seem sincere to me. I mean, the two things that united them (comics and music) turned into throwaway items that became kind of irrelevant to their story, not even halfway through.

Plus... I don't know, there was just so much casual racism in this book, and not in a really self-aware way. It made me really uncomfortable reading this, but I don't know what else to expect, given that the author is a white woman from Nebraska, trying to embed a culture - of which she is not even a part, as far as I know - into a complex story that wasn't even remotely fleshed out. ...more

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Apr 17, 2015 karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: why-yes-i-ya

years after everyone else, i have finally read this book. and now i'm all caught up on the zeitgeist! phew. and damn, now i understand why rainbow rowell is so beloved. i mean, i read Fangirl and thought it was excellent, but this one, while it is not as good as Fangirl, does a couple of things so freaking well that it gave me all the swoons and the swirls.

rainbow rowell has this ability to tap into the teenage experience that is a little spooky. and while john green gets all the credit for bei ...more

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Sep 29, 2016 ✨ jamieson ✨ rated it did not like it

Shelves: young-adult, contemporary, overhyped, 2016-reads, romance

for people who saw my original review, I want to say I still 100% stand by everything I said. the reason I'm deleting it is because, as a white reviewer, I didn't want to talk over East Asians who have reviewed this book and talked about why it was racist. So I will briefly list my issues with it, and then link to #ownvoices reviews instead. They say what I did and much more but are written by Asian reviewers who's experience and knowledge is better then mine

THE ISSUES I HAD

• stereotyping/fetish ...more

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Nov 26, 2013 Ariel rated it it was amazing

I have so many thoughts and ideas and things I want to discuss, and I can't possible put them all here, but here are some of my main thinkings:

1) PARENTS: Parent's are such an integral part of teenage life - they are the reason you can do things, the reason you can't do things, the reason you have money, etc. This book had parents that were just as important, interesting, and developed as the main characters and I so appreciated that. I especially enjoyed Park's parents: they were so complex and ...more

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Jan 09, 2016 elena rated it really liked it

EDIT: July 6, 2020: I decided to delete my review and comments for this book to say this:

In 2014, I read this for the first time and loved every bit of it. I had just gotten back to reading after not reading for YEARS, so anything I was reading at the moment was just pure bliss. I was 14 when I read this, and now that I'm 19, I'm able to reflect back on it and realize why and how it was not what I thought it was. I've decided to add links to why the sudden change of this happened.

I rate based of ...more

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May 25, 2019 emma rated it it was ok

Shelves: owned, gorgeous-covers, 2-stars, eh, contemporary, ya, auto-buy-authors, reread, unpopular-opinion, reviewed

A note on this review: When I reread and re-reviewed this book a year ago, my rating dropped from a 5 star to a 2 star based on enjoyment alone. However, I noted in my bottom line (which you can see unmodified in my review, in spoiler tags below) that "there's nothing really wrong with this book" beyond my not enjoying it. This was an unjustifiable and wrong thing for me to say.

As a white reviewer, I am not and should not be the most trusted source on what is and isn't racist. I am learning (and A note on this review: When I reread and re-reviewed this book a year ago, my rating dropped from a 5 star to a 2 star based on enjoyment alone. However, I noted in my bottom line (which you can see unmodified in my review, in spoiler tags below) that "there's nothing really wrong with this book" beyond my not enjoying it. This was an unjustifiable and wrong thing for me to say.

As a white reviewer, I am not and should not be the most trusted source on what is and isn't racist. I am learning (and I would like to think improving), but clearly my blinders were on with this book.

I urge you to read reviews of this book written by Asian readers. I will link some here.

Laura's review
Tiffany's review
Ambs's review

I am very sorry to anyone who may have been hurt by my lack of recognition, and especially to any young Asian reader who was hurt by the under-discussed problematic Asian "representation" in this book, which draws primarily on stereotypes and fetishization and utilizes racism far too casually. And I promise to commit to being better.

Thank you.
-emma

-----------
(this review does not contain spoilers, but you should read one of the reviews linked above or another review by an Asian reader instead.)
(view spoiler) ...more

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Dec 04, 2015 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, young-adult

UPDATE: $1.99 Kindle US 3/7/19

UPDATE 2017: Look at my new special edition of the book! I love it so much! The inside pages on front and back are awesome. I love the new cover too ♥

http://melissa413readsalot.blogspot.c...

They met on the bus.

Eleanor was the new girl, the girl with the vibrant red hair, the one everyone made fun of, but if they only knew what she had to go through at home.

Park is the quiet boy that just wants to be left a lone to do his own thing. He's the only one that would let ...more

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Aug 21, 2018 Federico DN rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites

Sometimes you don't get to choose who you love, you just do.

In this novel we learn the story of two little odd birds. "Eleanor", fire redhead, awkwardly dressed, wide. "Park", weird, silent, asian. Two little school misfits slowly getting to know each other during the everyday bus ride to school. From an annoyed greeting insult, to an incomprehensible unconditional love.

Beautiful YA novel, bestseller, moderately short. A pretty safe bet for anyone who enjoys the Young Adult genre. A lot of beaut ...more

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Nov 03, 2018 High Lady of The Night Court rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary-read

‘You’re not the Han Solo in this relationship, you know.’
‘I’m totally the Han Solo,’ she whispered.
‘You can be Han Solo,’ he said, ‘And I’ll be Boba Fett. I’ll cross the sky for you.’

This book is one of the best things I have ever read, and I don’t care who you are, if you have feelings, you need to give this book a shot. Eleanor and Park is most definitely on my favorites list and I don’t think I will ever get over this amazing book or the flood of emotions sweeping me away right now.

The ‘You’re not the Han Solo in this relationship, you know.’
‘I’m totally the Han Solo,’ she whispered.
‘You can be Han Solo,’ he said, ‘And I’ll be Boba Fett. I’ll cross the sky for you.’

This book is one of the best things I have ever read, and I don’t care who you are, if you have feelings, you need to give this book a shot. Eleanor and Park is most definitely on my favorites list and I don’t think I will ever get over this amazing book or the flood of emotions sweeping me away right now.

The story was written expertly and every chapter was equally marvelous. Every word was magical and the story was beautiful beyond comprehension. The characters… the characters are nearly everything good about this world crammed into two human beings who fit together like puzzle pieces. This book is essentially a love story so I didn’t expect to see so much beyond it terms of family drama, high school drama, and just so many more feelings that were not romantic in nature.

I love that the blurb is so vague about the characters and what is going to happen, but after you finish reading the book you look at the blurb and think ‘that’s where it all started’. I started reading the book without reading the blurb, but this book’s blurb unlike a lot others reveals just how much it needs to, so if you’re not among the six hundred thousand people who have read it on goodreads so far, don’t hesitate to read the blurb or the masterpiece that this book is.

Eleanor and Park have fundamentally very different lives and watching their individual stories collide in this stunning explosion was nothing but eventful. At first glance their personalities are so different and their upbringing so varied, but then you keep reading and you start seeing these minute similarities in the way they think and that their different personalities just serve to emphasize how well matched they are.

And when Eleanor smiled, something broke inside of him.
Something always did.

I love that Rainbow Rowell did not try to write a love story that was either too smooth or too complicated. She found the perfect combination of the two and landed somewhere in the middle. She did not cover up the bumps, the misunderstandings, and the awkwardness. The doubts, the repercussions, and the embarrassment. But she did not linger on them for too long either. She created two of the best characters in the world and let them sing in a world of hardship and disappointment, but one that still allowed them to find love. It is story of friendship, bullies, pain, fright, love, need, and comfort tinged with just a bit of hysteria.

The world rebuilt itself into a better place around him.

You know, after you finish reading the book you look back at a story so straightforward yet so complex in all the ways in which it mattered. You look back a t the cutest love story taking place in the lives of two amazing souls in a world that might might never truly support them. I personally look back at everything and wonder how I survived something so marvelous. ...more

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Aug 21, 2017 jessica rated it liked it

so i actually read this awhile ago, but i held off on writing a review because i had a difficult time expressing how i felt about it. i found myself rationalising my rating based on how i wanted the story to be, and not on how i actually felt about it. i still think 3 stars mights be too generous, but im going to leave it for now.

my problem with this was i just didnt believe in the romance between eleanor and park, which is fundamentally the entire purpose of this story. i know rainbow rowell h ...more

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Apr 02, 2019 Charlotte May rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-recent, romance, sisters, ya

Yuck. I’m thinking maybe Rainbow Rowell’s books aren’t for me.

So, about two days after I started this book, it blew up all over twitter for being racist. As a white reviewer, I'm not in the right place to comment on this. However if you want to read a POC's commentary here is the link https://twitter.com/naomigiddings/sta...

As well as this - I have many other reasons why this book was not my cup of tea whatsoever.
At the very least, anyone who knows me will know that romance is NOT my genre. Why Yuck. I’m thinking maybe Rainbow Rowell’s books aren’t for me.

So, about two days after I started this book, it blew up all over twitter for being racist. As a white reviewer, I'm not in the right place to comment on this. However if you want to read a POC's commentary here is the link https://twitter.com/naomigiddings/sta...

As well as this - I have many other reasons why this book was not my cup of tea whatsoever.
At the very least, anyone who knows me will know that romance is NOT my genre. Why then, I hear you ask did I pick this up? Well I like to think that there are always exceptions to the rule, and I sometimes like to expand my horizons from fantasy and thrillers. Unfortunately, this was a flop.

The romance is both insta-love and gross. Like, I cringed throughout. It wasn't cute. It was, for want of a better word, weird. Eleanor frequently talks about wanting to eat Park's face (honestly what?) They go from being absolute strangers to complete infatuation in 0-6o seconds. It's unrealistic and unbelievable imo.

I couldn't relate to Eleanor, like at all. I did also find this with Cath from Fangirl so maybe this is just my issue with Rowell's characters. But she irked me. I understood at times she felt deeply uncomfortable, but she frequently pushed that discomfort onto others around her. Like when she first met Park's parents.

I couldn't stand her family (which to be fair I think was the point) but they all pissed me off. That the entire neighbourhood (more or less) knew about her stepfather's behaviour but did nothing?! Awful. Absolutely terrible.

The ending. In a word, rushed. All of a sudden Eleanor's made this snap decision (view spoiler) Was that supposed to make me feel something? Because I didn't. It may be my cold, dead heart but I felt nothing for these characters or their story. Only reason it's 2 stars instead of 1 is that I liked Park's character, and there were times (granted, not many of them) where I found I didn't completely hate everyone and everything.

Oh well, onto the next!

...more

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Jan 09, 2017 Lily C added it

Watch my full review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoMwH... ...more

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Dec 22, 2016 Chloe rated it did not like it

Shelves: 5-stars

i read this years ago and loved it but i need to change my rating because i would hate this if i read it now

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Apr 05, 2014 Ambs rated it did not like it

LESSON OF THE DAY, YOU GUYS:

IT IS NOT DIVERSITY TO PUT ONE ASIAN PERSON AS A MAIN CHARACTER. AND IF YOU ARE GOING TO PUT A PERSON OF COLOR, IN THIS CASE, A KOREAN-AMERICAN CHARACTER, AS THE MAIN CHARACTER, WRITE THEM WELL, DO YOUR RESEARCH, AND YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY TALK TO SOME FUCKING ASIAN PEOPLE INSTEAD OF MAKING SHIT UP.

This book is gross and racist as fuck. It is so blatantly and unbelievably racist in its narrative, the characters, and story that I find it hard to believe that anyone could e LESSON OF THE DAY, YOU GUYS:

IT IS NOT DIVERSITY TO PUT ONE ASIAN PERSON AS A MAIN CHARACTER. AND IF YOU ARE GOING TO PUT A PERSON OF COLOR, IN THIS CASE, A KOREAN-AMERICAN CHARACTER, AS THE MAIN CHARACTER, WRITE THEM WELL, DO YOUR RESEARCH, AND YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY TALK TO SOME FUCKING ASIAN PEOPLE INSTEAD OF MAKING SHIT UP.

This book is gross and racist as fuck. It is so blatantly and unbelievably racist in its narrative, the characters, and story that I find it hard to believe that anyone could even remotely give this more than two stars unless you're some ignorant white fool who reinforces racial stereotypes and fetishizes Asians. This book contains every single element I've ever hated vomited onto 300 pages - HIPSTER ROMANCES, THE JOHN GREEN NARRATIVE DRAMA, and INACCURATELY, OFFENSIVELY, STEREOTYPICALLY WRITTEN CHARACTERS OF COLOR. There's just too many problematic things about this book so I'm going to limit it to the first three that I noticed straight off the bat in no particular order:

#1. Park is a fucking Korean surname. No actual Asian person would ever name any of their children after a family surname. This is obviously a reflection of Rowell's ignorance of culture and lack of effort to put in RESEARCH into her own damn characters because she assumed that Asian names are interchangeable like white names. Rename Park to Minho. There's a shit ton of Minhos out there. ALSO: Park's mother is given the name Min-Dae, which is weird as shit because it sounds very similar to 빈대 Bin-Dae, the Korean word for bedbug and NO KOREAN (OR ANY ASIAN) PARENT IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS WOULD GIVE THEIR KID SUCH A SHITTY ASS NAME. Also WTF, the fact that Park is so insecure about his Korean "heritage" (and I use quotation marks because let's be real, his Korean heritage was never really explored unless you count all the racial stereotypes and white assumptions Rowell included because obviously the ONLY THINGS ALL Asian people care about is that they are exotic, know taekwondo, and are ugly as fuck).

#2. That really gross scene where Eleanor and Park are having sex and Eleanor is getting turned on being banged by Park while she's thinking about Bruce Lee and hot Asian guys because Bruce Lee is a "super-hot Asian guy".

#3. The 80358035803803853 different ways Eleanor degrades Park's masculinity and fetishizes his ethnicity.

"You're so pretty, and you're so good. You have magic eyes. You make me feel like a cannibal"

She hadn't told him that he was prettier than any girl, and that his skin was like sunshine with a suntan.

#4. The historical inaccuracy and unrealistic portrayal of Park and his interracial family living in a predominantly white community in Omaha or wherever they are. All the racial contexts and intersectional struggles that most Asian people are faced with when they live in predominately white settings, hell, if you live ANYWHERE with a small demography of Asian people, is completely missing from the book. The fact that Park spends more time bitching, not even about himself directly, but about how "hot Asian guys don't exist" instead of social issues that plague normal Asian people or I don't know, HOW FUCKING DIFFICULT IT MUST BE FOR HIS MOTHER, WHO WAS DRAGGED OUT OF HER HOMELAND TO AMERICA BY HIS WHITE-ASS AMERICAN SOLDIER FATHER TO ASSIMILATE TO AMERICAN LIFE, or just Asian people who don't conventionally fit the mold of looking stereotypically Asian is so problematic and frustrating to read through that THERE WERE TIMES WHEN I JUST WANTED TO FLING MY TABLET ACROSS THE ROOM.

Okay, i got really emotionally exhausted writing this because this book is just disgusting and this is not specifying the parts where Rowell talks about how surprising it was for Eleanor to find out that in Park's family, everyone is super fabulous and white-looking except for that one brother with the "ALMONDY" eyes and Park and his "mixed up Korean genes" and Eleanor's black friends who are like racial caricatures and so obsessively dependent on their men and Eleanor fat-shaming herself and talking about how all Asian girls are "skinny and petite" to the point where she can be worn as a ribcage vest for Park's mom or some creepy-ass Hannibal metaphor shit that Rowell keeps coming up with.

SO AGAIN. IT IS NOT DIVERSITY TO PUT ONE ASIAN PERSON AS A MAIN CHARACTER. AND IF YOU ARE GOING TO PUT A PERSON OF COLOR, IN THIS CASE, A KOREAN-AMERICAN CHARACTER, AS THE MAIN CHARACTER, WRITE THEM WELL, DO YOUR RESEARCH, AND YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY TALK TO SOME FUCKING ASIAN PEOPLE INSTEAD OF MAKING SHIT UP.

ONE OUT OF FIVE STARS FOREVER. IN FACT, BURN THE BOOK. ...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Christy rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Christy by: Jennifer Kyle

5 stars!

photo 20824a81-2911-4d85-b4f2-28c544caf86c_zps7rxmlkxt.jpg

“You’re my favorite person of all time.”

 Eleanor & Park… this has been sitting on my kindle for a year. HOW has this been just sitting on my kindle for a year??? First off, I’m going to say if you have this book, don’t let it just sit on your kindle. Read it, listen to it, whatever. Just make sure you don’t overlook this one. It’s a book that deserves to be read. These are some of the most special characters and Rainbow Rowell writes some of the best YA ever. So read the ...more

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May 01, 2017 Candace rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sweet-heart-warming-stories, listened-to-audio-version, childhood-loves, tearjerkers

Wow! There was so much about this book that I really loved. 'Eleanor & Park' was touching and beautiful in it's simplicity. This book captured the essence of first love and the perils of high school, while also tackling some serious issues, like abuse.

I listened to the Audible version and I have to give kudos to the narrator(s). The narration was extremely well done. The voices of the characters really drew you in and made you feel like you were right there in the moment with the characters. It Wow! There was so much about this book that I really loved. 'Eleanor & Park' was touching and beautiful in it's simplicity. This book captured the essence of first love and the perils of high school, while also tackling some serious issues, like abuse.

I listened to the Audible version and I have to give kudos to the narrator(s). The narration was extremely well done. The voices of the characters really drew you in and made you feel like you were right there in the moment with the characters. It says a lot about the narration when it can pull you into a story so completely.

As I was listening to this story, my heart broke for Eleanor. She had such a horrible home life and her school life wasn't any better. The poor girl couldn't escape bullying wherever she went. I felt so bad for her as she tried to navigate her difficult teenage years while trying to stand proud in the face of such cruelty. She was so smart, but trapped by the life she was dealt.

Park's life stood out in stark contrast to Eleanor's. He was raised in a home that was pretty much "ideal". Of course, he had the typical teenage concerns and conflict with his parents. However, his petty problems only served to highlight how fortunate he was to have loving parents when contrasted with Eleanor's reality.

Although Park initially avoided any association with Eleanor, succumbing to peer pressure, he eventually opened up to the girl that sat beside him on the school bus. That took a great deal of bravery on his part. Let's face it, teenagers can be very cruel. Park risked joining Eleanor at the bottom of the social hierarchy when he decided to go against the grain and be kind to her. Little by little, they formed a friendship. Eventually, that friendship grew into more.

Park became the single most positive part of Eleanor's daily life. He was the only person that showed her concern and treated her kindly. As the two grew closer, his family also served as a safe haven for Eleanor. For these reasons, I grew to love Park also.

This is a coming of age story and a story of first love. Rainbow Rowell managed to transport me right back to high school. Everyone who has been a teenager can relate to the experiences and emotions of these characters. This is the type of story that serves to remind us of the consequences of our actions and the effect of our words.

From start to finish, I was enthralled with 'Eleanor & Park'. I was sure that this would be a 5-star read for me right up until about the 90% mark. Then, the story ended rather abruptly and I was left wanting. I couldn't believe that the author that wrote such a beautiful story would end it in that way. It just didn't seem fair or right. After everything, I was furious to see it close in the manner it did.

Overall, it was still a fabulous story. I won't lie. I hated the way that the story ended. I just don't need my fiction to be that true to life.

In fairness, the ending doesn't seem to be an issue for most of my friends that have read this book. For me, it was upsetting enough to knock a star off the rating. The ending wrecked me and I went in search of a second book or an extra something that would provide closure. It didn't happen and I'm still reeling. So, I loved it....right up until the ending.

Check out more of my reviews at www.bookaddicthaven.com ...more

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Feb 18, 2013 caren rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: galley-arc, netgalley, husband-material, favorites, book-boyfriend, all-my-feels, swooning-for-days, rec-to-all-the-people-i-know, cliffhangers-suck, that-ending-though

This book was everything I've been searching for since Anna and the French Kiss. It gave me that melty, clenchy feeling in my chest, the warm fuzzies in my stomach. I was basically a mess throughout the entire thing. These two characters had my emotions going up and down like someone was beating on them with one of those sledgehammers at a carnival, trying to get them to climb to the top of that lit up pole again and again. And every time I thought they couldn't go any higher, Park would do or s
This book was everything I've been searching for since Anna and the French Kiss. It gave me that melty, clenchy feeling in my chest, the warm fuzzies in my stomach. I was basically a mess throughout the entire thing. These two characters had my emotions going up and down like someone was beating on them with one of those sledgehammers at a carnival, trying to get them to climb to the top of that lit up pole again and again. And every time I thought they couldn't go any higher, Park would do or say something else that sent me flying up, up, up...

In this book, it's 1986 and Eleanor's life isn't easy. She's one of five children to a mother who's married to a grade-A jerkface, and a father who just doesn't seem to care at all. After being kicked out of her mom's house once, she's back home now, crammed into a tiny bedroom with her four siblings, and stuck using a bathroom that doesn't even have a door. Her family doesn't have a lot of money. She doesn't even have shampoo. But she's tough, because she's learned how to be. She doesn't really have any other choice.

On her first day of school, it's Park who--somewhat grudgingly--shares his seat on the bus with her. Which is just the beginning of what becomes an incredible story of first love. After sitting on the bus together day after day, they bond over comic books and mix tapes and kicks to the face and even makeup. He says things like this to her:

He set his forehead against hers. She didn’t know what to do with her eyes or her hands. “Nothing before you counts,” he said. “And I can’t even imagine an after.”

AND THIS:

“You can be Han Solo,” he said, kissing her throat. “And I’ll be Boba Fett. I’ll cross the sky for you.”

GAH. I cannot with him. Can. Not. He's definitely top-five-book-boy material. I don't think I've ever flailed so hard over a simple hand holding scene, but damnit, I did. Again with the sledgehammers.

Sadly, as Park and Eleanor learn the hard way, sometimes not all first loves are meant to be forever loves... or are they? ;)

(view spoiler) ...more

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Jul 09, 2016 Ryan rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-2016, 2-star, library, not-my-cup-of-tea, dnf, how-about-no, july-tbr, finished-series

1.5/5 stars

DNF at page 195

Apologies in advance to anyone who liked this book. This is simply my opinion.

Looks like it's time for another unnecessarily long gif-filled ~~rant~~ review, folks.

My friends, after this book:

description

Me, after this book:

description

Never have I ever been happier to check a book out from the library.

Did I even read the same book as everyone else? I was expecting a swoon-worthy misfit love story. Did I get that? Nope. I got whiny characters and angst. A lot of angst.

description

Seriously, a more ...more

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About Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell

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Rainbow Rowell writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS and LANDLINE). Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK, FANGIRL and THE SIMON SNOW BOOKS.). But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they're screwing up. And people who fall in love.

When she's not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguin ...more

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Quotes from Eleanor & Park

“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.” — 8651 likes

“Holding Eleanor's hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive.” — 2802 likes

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