Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin 
Pub. Date: February 26, 2013
Source: Purchased
You can purchase this book at:

Amazon or Barnes and Noble

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I'm not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we're 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I'm not kidding, he says.
You should be.

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.

Yes, it is late and it's almost midnight which means it's almost Saturday. Still counts! It's still Fangirl Friday. This is the first time that I have actually been able to sit down at my computer today. 

Requested by my "pine-conish" best friend, Rowan (who asked me to write that), I have chosen to dedicate today's Fangirl Friday to Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I loved this book! It was so raw and emotional. The ending was a little.... eh, but I still enjoyed it. 

In this story, we follow an outcast and a loner and their love story. Eleanor is new to the school and Park stays in the back of the in-crowd. When she first arrives, she is teased and invisible to Park. Well, she's not that invisible because she has a very original sense of style and vibrant red hair. Park is just a black belt and loves 80's rock. Park and Eleanor begin to connect over comic books and begin to trade them back and forth.

Besides all the cuteness and romantic stuff, Eleanor and Park really punched my feels. This book is not a gushy love story. It discusses dark subjects that I usually don't see in normal love stories! Eleanor is bullied, basically raises her siblings, and is harassed by her step-father. Her mother is abused and her family lives in fear. I actually really appreciated the story-line because it teaches that people who are outcasts can have a "happily ever after" as well. 

I was really impressed with how this love story is different. Usually, the beautiful blonde with dazzling eyes gets the sexy and picture perfect hunk. Well, Park is a frail kid and Eleanor is an unusually dressed girl on the larger side. I also appreciated how the couple was so diverse. Instead of a tan macho man and a fit brunette, we are introduced to a crazy-red haired girl and a frail young man with Asian heritage. You never see that in a typically YA love story!

Park was my favorite character. He was there to stand up for Eleanor whenever she was bullied by her step-father and the school. He went all freaking Karate Kid on his best friend just to make a point about her. It just warmed my heart because Park was so intimidated by Eleanor then soon realized her true beauty. *applause for Rainbow Rowell* 

The way their love story evolved was so different and I LOVED IT. The ending did frustrate me though. It wasn't a "they lived happily ever after..." sort of book. It really left you hanging. NOT in a cliff-hanger way, but in a way that didn't give closure to a stand-alone. Over-all it was amazing.

What do you think of Eleanor and Park? Do you like Rainbow Rowell as well? Tell me down below! Hope you are all having a lovely fall and Happy Reading!