Today
I am back with another review :-) I'm sorry I have not been posting but
honestly I didn't have time. I also don't want to spew up any random post in a
hurry. I will try my best to post regularly but, no promises.
Anyways back to the review, I went to Kinokuniya a couple of weeks back in Dubai and obviously I nearly lost it. I don't have that many pictures there, but I will put what I have and other thoughts in the upcoming posts (hopefully.) I bought Eleanor and Park alongside other books and I was very excited because it had been on my list for a long time now. Let me first add the synopsis and then I'll briefly talk to you about the plot.
Anyways back to the review, I went to Kinokuniya a couple of weeks back in Dubai and obviously I nearly lost it. I don't have that many pictures there, but I will put what I have and other thoughts in the upcoming posts (hopefully.) I bought Eleanor and Park alongside other books and I was very excited because it had been on my list for a long time now. Let me first add the synopsis and then I'll briefly talk to you about the plot.
[sorry for the terrible pictures. I tried to make it artistic and all, but in my defense I don't have my sisters pro cam that makes an idiots photo's look good. Hopefully in the next post.]
Rating:★★★★
Synopsis: 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 ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you're young, and you feel as if you have nothing and everything to lose.
First of all, the story is set in 1986 which is always a bonus. Eleanor is a girl with big, curly and almost fiery red hair. She arrives one day to a new school where Park is in. The way they meet each other is unpredictable (at least by me, I expected something more cheesy.) Then the whole story line starts off.
If I am going to be honest, I am not much of a fan of romance novels. I do have my exceptions, but they are a very few. However, what I really enjoyed about this book is how realistic it is. Let me clarify, first of all we got the story both from Park and Eleanor's point of view. Also, the way both the characters acted, thought is pretty much what any tenth grader might act like/ feel. Therefore, this is what makes the story relatable, whether you are about their age or you're older you remember how very-young-love was.
I know a lot of people complain how annoyingly they acted, how stupid were their thoughts, but that is the whole point! If you remember yourself a couple of years back you would feel this way. You would cringe on every single thing you said, wore and did. (at least that is the case with me)
Synopsis: 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 ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you're young, and you feel as if you have nothing and everything to lose.
First of all, the story is set in 1986 which is always a bonus. Eleanor is a girl with big, curly and almost fiery red hair. She arrives one day to a new school where Park is in. The way they meet each other is unpredictable (at least by me, I expected something more cheesy.) Then the whole story line starts off.
If I am going to be honest, I am not much of a fan of romance novels. I do have my exceptions, but they are a very few. However, what I really enjoyed about this book is how realistic it is. Let me clarify, first of all we got the story both from Park and Eleanor's point of view. Also, the way both the characters acted, thought is pretty much what any tenth grader might act like/ feel. Therefore, this is what makes the story relatable, whether you are about their age or you're older you remember how very-young-love was.
I know a lot of people complain how annoyingly they acted, how stupid were their thoughts, but that is the whole point! If you remember yourself a couple of years back you would feel this way. You would cringe on every single thing you said, wore and did. (at least that is the case with me)
“Damn, damn, damn," she said. "I never said why I like you, and now I
have to go."
"That's okay," he said.
"It's because you're kind," she said. "And because you get all
my jokes..."
"Okay." He laughed.
"And you're smarter than I am."
"I am not."
"And you look like a protagonist." She was talking as fast as she
could think. "You look like the person who wins in the end. You're so
pretty, and so good. You have magic eyes," she whispered. "And you
make me feel like a cannibal."
"You're crazy."
"I have to go." She leaned over so the receiver was close to the
base.
"Eleanor - wait," Park said. She could hear her dad in the kitchen
and her heartbeat everywhere.
"Eleanor - wait - I love you.”
― Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor & Park
Sometimes I roll my eyes while reading but, I still think it’s cute. Another thing I loved about this book, is that Rowell did not fail to make me laugh. I laughed multiple times out loud, I was baffled. Sometimes it’s ridiculous but I'd still laugh. I think that is because its relatable.
I think as well, that Rowell did not shed light and describe the theme of domestic violence in great detail because, the story is not mainly about that. From the title Eleanor and Park, we could deduce that the novel would be about them. When you are a teenager, living a hard life, you would want to seek escape. Which I believe is the reason why the author did elaborate much and focus around that theme. It is more of how Eleanor acted because of that, how it affected her and not her mother(or her stepfather). I also wish that the part leading to the end was not very rushed out, that bit annoyed me because I expected more to happen not suddenly rushing towards the end.
In the end, I think this book would be different to everyone. The reason I love it so much because it’s realistic, Rowell did not make it cute, cliché and smooth just to entertain the reader, no she just recreated a segment from high-school some would love to forget at times. Therefore, when you'll read it keep that in mind.
P.S.
I typed my review on my phone in the bus this morning.
I
don’t why I thought you should guys know.
Happy
reading,
Alya
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