Eleanor & Park in Pick-a-Shelf

Jul 16, 2014 Madge rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-books, romance, ya-pov, young-adult, four-and-a-half-stars, contemporary

The feels. That's what everyone said about this book, when I asked for opinions before I read it, so I was fairly warned in advance. However, that was basically all I knew about this book before I read it. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not, because if I had known exactly what this book was about, I might have passed on reading it.

I won't go into what this book is about in any detail because I don't want to possibly ruin it for someone, so I will mostly stick to my own opinions and fee The feels. That's what everyone said about this book, when I asked for opinions before I read it, so I was fairly warned in advance. However, that was basically all I knew about this book before I read it. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not, because if I had known exactly what this book was about, I might have passed on reading it.

I won't go into what this book is about in any detail because I don't want to possibly ruin it for someone, so I will mostly stick to my own opinions and feelings about it for this review.

The story was so heartbreakingly wonderful, and I was hooked pretty quickly. Maybe not on page one, but definitely in the first couple of chapters. The story was just so real to me. I related so much to parts of this book because it reminded me of my own childhood and teenage years, as well as those of some of my friends from school. Some of those memories are good (the butterflies of early love, for example), but many are things I don't really think about anymore because it's better left in the past.

This book was definitely an emotional rollercoaster, spiraling from elation down to rage and heartache so many times I feel like I should have reader whiplash. I laughed, I teared up, I yelled at my Kindle, and more than once I had to set the book aside to pull myself together because of the feels. Seriously, I almost never use that phrase, but it's just so fitting for this story. Everything seemed so real, so plausible, I had to keep reminding myself it was only fiction.

Less than 50 pages in, I was hopelessly attached to Eleanor and Park and I wanted them to have a happy ending. I wanted to wrap Eleanor in safety and love and tell her she's beautiful and wonderful. I wanted to high-five Park's face at the beginning, but I started to love him pretty quickly. They were both so great and so realistic. Rainbow Rowell definitely knows how to bring her characters to life. Park's parents were mostly awesome, but I didn't like his mom at first, then later his dad started to irritate me. But, by the end I was back to loving them both. I have no words for how much I hate Richie, so I won't go there. Eleanor's mom was really pitiable, and my heart kind of broke for her. The other kids at Eleanor and Park's highschool reminded me so much of a lot of people I went to school with. How they could be so cruel, but then in a moment of real need they could become allies is so true to life for me because I saw that happen at my highschool.

I really loved and hated everything about this book, and I can't wait to read more by Rainbow Rowell. She did such an amazing job with the story, the characters, the language, everything. This has made my list of books that I will recommend to everyone, I think. If you haven't read it, but you plan to, be prepared for major feels. ...more

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Feb 27, 2017 Sassafrass rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, borrowed-library, z-2017-uno, z-2017, z-challenge-books-2017

Just a quckie Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

Just a quick review to say that I really enjoyed this one. I was sad to know what kind of life Eleanor put up with, but I'm hopeful enough to think that the end was just a new beginning...sappy I know. But, I think I have to believe that. ...more

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Jan 08, 2021 Jennivie rated it really liked it

Shelves: landon-rec-dude-yes

This is a hard one to rate. I love Park and I like the story so that at least gives it a 3.5 or 4 stars.

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Aug 28, 2020 Rosemary rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A very sweet YA romance that still manages to cover some heavy, gritty issues. Park is too perfect to be believable, but I suppose that's what teenage girls want in their book boyfriends... ...more

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Dec 07, 2013 Nancy marked it as to-read

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Dec 10, 2013 Kristina Simon rated it liked it

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Dec 13, 2013 Angela rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, romance-contemporary, emotional-angst

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Dec 20, 2013 Shobana added it

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Dec 25, 2013 Gretchen marked it as to-read

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Mar 16, 2014 Joanna rated it it was ok

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Apr 17, 2014 Catherine Nipps rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: amazing-reads, favorites-forever, books-i-own, special, romance, read-the-ebook, those-teenage-years, young-adult, yes-it-is-quite-intelligent, abuse

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