Eleanor & Park: Exclusive Special Edition

by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor is the new girl in town, and she's never felt more alone. All mismatched clothes, mad red hair and chaotic home life, she couldn't stick out more if she tried.

Then she takes the seat on the bus next to Park. Quiet, careful and - in Eleanor's eyes - impossibly cool, Park's worked out that flying under the radar is the best way to get by.

Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mixed tapes, Eleanor and Park fall in love. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you're 16, and you have nothing and everything to lose.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, Eleanor and Park is funny, sad, shocking and true - an exquisite nostalgia trip for anyone who has never forgotten their first love.

• ISBN10: 1250127084
• ISBN13: 9781250127082
• Publish Date: 4 October 2016 (first published 12 April 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 21 November 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Ashley]

Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews

1.5 Stars

Did I read the same book that everyone else read? I did not love Eleanor & Park. I didn't even particularly like it.

I thought it started out pretty good and I thought the main characters (Park in particular) were kind of cute. But then it just went down, down, down.

First, the romance. Some might find it cute and sweet, but that's kind of all it was. It didn't feel like real, true, passionate love. It was the kind of romance that you might say "Aww" too for a minute, but it wasn't that heart-wrenching, passionate romance that I was expecting. It was young and naïve. Like in high school romances when people think what they have is ever lasting love, but then they grow up, look back, and realize it was just a cute fling. That's what I thought Eleanor & Park was, and as a result, I thought the book was shallow.

Eleanor & Park barely scratched the surface with love and the romance. Eleanor and Park meet, sit next to each other on the bus, exchange glances, read comics together, barely actually speak to each other, then, on page 109 and 111 respectively:

"I don't like you," he said. "I need you."
—Park

"I..."—her voice nearly disappeared—"I think I live for you."
—Eleanor

"I don't think I even breathe when we're not together."
—Eleanor

It felt so insta-love-y. Sure they shared a few cute moments, where Eleanor would get on the bus, sit next to Park, not even speak to him, but read his comic book over his shoulder... but they went from that to, "I can't live without you" type declarations? It just felt way too fast. And even after that point, I never felt any passion in their relationship. If anything, Park just seemed intrigued by Eleanor, rather than passionately in love with her.

As the book went on and they just kept sharing loads and loads of silent moments (listening to music together, reading comics together), I got bored. I felt like nothing was happening; the plot wasn't progressing. It was just "Eleanor and Park spend time together... then more time together... then more time..." But there was no real plot there.

And the bits of plot that the author did try to tie in didn't go anywhere. Eleanor has a bad family situation. Her father doesn't want her and she live with her mother, her stepfather, and her siblings. Her stepfather is an abusive drunk and her mother refuses to leave him. But despite this site plot, nothing ever happens to it. There's not even a big climax at the end... there's a tiny one, but even then, the problem never actually gets solved. Eleanor just runs away from it.

So overall, I just found Eleanor & Park to be a shallow read. I literally think that word describes this book perfectly. It skims the surface of first love. It skims the surface of family problems. It skims the surface of living in an under-privileged home. Although it does really focus on race, to the point where you'd think Eleanor only likes Park because he has 'cute Korean eyes/skin'. Respiring Thoughts does a great job of highlighting the race problems in this book.

Also, I thought Eleanor was a bit of a bitch at times. She got mad at Park for no reason, she was so annoyingly self-critical, she went on and on about how she was fat, and at the end she totally left Park hanging and I hated her for that. She basically abandoned him.. I was honestly just sick of all her self deprecation and lack of confidence. And even at the end, I don't feel like she ever gained confidence, so there was no character growth there.

One more thing I'll note is the writing style. I didn't love it. Another reviewer put it wonderfully:

But what really made me want to heave this book across the room was the ping-pong writing style. Rowell wrote very short sections, bouncing back and forth and back and forth between Eleanor and Park's point of view.

Although I didn't mind it at first, this style of writing really started to annoy me after a while. We'd get chapters that were basically like:

Eleanor loved the way Park held her hand. It was so nice.

Then:

Park felt like he was touching something real and genuine. Holding Eleanor's hand was like holding a butterfly.

Then:

Eleanor was in heaven. She disintegrated.

Just constant back and forth, back and forth. Obviously I did some major paraphrasing up there, but that's basically how it was. Some chapters were less than a page long and would just go from Park to Eleanor, then back again, in super quick succession. It wasn't for me.

I wanted to love this book because everyone else does and because I did love Rainbow Rowell's Attachments, but this time it looks like I'm a black sheep. I don't mind a cute, fluffy book now and then, but I have to be in the mood for them. With everyone's extreme love for Eleanor & Park, I expected a book with a lot of substance.. but turns out, it is way more of the cute, fluffy type (which takes me back to my "it's shallow" point). So maybe part of the reason for my low rating is that I went in with totally different expectations. This book is cute and shallow—it's not intense, drastically emotional, or heart-wrenching.

[Jo]

Disclaimer: Since reading and reviewing Eleanor and Park, I have discovered it is highly problematic in regards to racism and racist stereotypes, that I missed in my reading of the book due to my privilege. With this in mind I can't recommend this book in good conscience, but I am leaving my review here for the purposes of transparency.

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

So many people were raving about this book, I had to give it a go myself. And I am so glad I did. I fell in love with the story and the characters as Eleanor and Park fell in love with each other.

Eleanor and Park is completely beautiful. Set in 1986 and full of retro pop culture references, it's a book I want to share with everyone. It's a story full of the sweet tenderness of first love, full of innocence, when simply holding hands was such a big deal. Is a big reminder to appreciate the small things, but also helps you remember the tiny moments of your own romances, the ones full of sweetness. I am completely aware of what a sap I sound, but I don't think a single person could read this book and not have their heart melted.

Eleanor and Park also tackles several serious issues. Both characters have problems with their body image; Eleanor is a bigger girl, and doesn't think she's attractive, and Park is half Korean, and is aware that his Asian looks cause him to stand out. The story also covers issues of bullying, poverty and domestic abuse. Sometimes it can be a little hard hitting, especially when it comes to the domestic abuse, but none of it overshadows the beauty of the romance.

Because it's the 80s, for our young couple, entertainment comes in the form of comics and music, specifically mix tapes. The two strike up a friendship by sharing the two with the other. They bond between the pages and the riffs. I love their geekiness, and how their love grows is just so cute and adorable.

Eleanor and Park is such a beautiful, beautiful story, and I now want to read everything else Rowell writes. With just this one book, I am such a fan! Cannot recommend this novel enough, it's right up their with my favourites! I will leave you with what might be the most beautiful quote I've ever read:

'The me that's me right now is yours. Always.' (p312)

ETA on 6th March 2018: I read and reviewed this book before I was as aware of problematic books. Being more educated on such things now, were I to read it again, I would find it hugely problematic. Eleanor, and the book itself, are racist. The way Eleanor thinks of Asian people, and how Park compares himself to his white-passing brother, and how he thinks there are no hot Asian boys, is really problematic. It's been several years now since I last read this book, and I've not re-read it. Was made aware of the problems with this book by Haxine's thread on Twitter, and I really appreciate her tweeting about it.

Thank you to Orion for the review copy.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

3.5 stars

[ellieroth]

Rainbow Rowell — Eleanor & Park (Reseña) El Extraño Gato del Cuento
 
Como bien saben soy malísima hablando de libros que me gustan (pero no puedo llenar el blog solo con libros que me desagraden ¿verdad?), así que haré mi mejor esfuerzo por contarles el libro.
 
Me demoré considerablemente para acabarlo, pero no porque no me gustara, al contrario, el libro me encantó, solo que a veces el tiempo es escaso…
 
Eleanor & Park está narrado por sus dos protagonistas, de una manera ágil y llena de diálogos, exactamente cómo a mí me gusta.
 
Dejando aparte lo técnico, Eleanor & Park es una historia maravillosa, salimos completamente de todos los clichés de libros juveniles, no tenemos la popular estrella de fútbol o a la pobre chica que hace un mundo de sus problemas no tan profundos. Park es lindo, lindo en verdad, es un poco raro, esa rareza dulce de la que te enamoras. Eleanor tiene problemas reales, problemas crudos que ella intenta sobrevivir día a día, esos problemas la hacen un poco fría, lo vemos un poco más claro cerca del final del libro.
 
La historia que Rainblow nos cuenta es...
 
Reseña completa : El Extraño Gato del Cuento

[Stephanie]

There are praises for this book flying everywhere. As soon as I saw them, I immediately put a hold on it at the library to see for myself. And it was very cute read, but I also had some reservations with it.

Eleanor & Park takes place in the 1980's. I have to say, I'm not a big fan of the 1980's (or really, the 20's, 70's, 60's, 50's, I don't know, I just don't enjoy reading about those era's.) but that didn't keep me from reading the book. There's a lot of music and comic book references, which is what Eleanor and Park bond over, and what ultimately get's them talking to each other. And I won't lie, a lot of the references went over my head.

So, for the first 100 pages or so, I was really enjoying the book, I totally got all the praise that people have been singing. But then, I kind of got bored. Yes, their relationship was cute and all, but I didn't feel like much was happening, besides Eleanor being self conscious about her weight, and Park trying to figure out why he was attractive to her. Which is why I couldn't be 100% into the relationship. Eleanor was always calling herself ugly and talking about how fat she was, which is understandable, everyone does this sometimes. But then Park would also mention those things and call her weird (even his parents didn't understand why their son was with her). All this talk about how weird and ugly Eleanor was completely took me away from the story. If Park thought Eleanor was so ugly and weird, then why is he with her? That issue kind of gets better as the story goes, but it kept me from believing anything Park said about Eleanor afterwards. I couldn't believe their relationship, thanks to some of the things Park thought about Eleanor.

I did really enjoy Eleanor's story line with her messed up home life and I wish it was more than just a sub plot. That is ultimately what kept the story going for me, because that seemed to be the only thing really happening, but even that fell by the wayside so Eleanor and Park's relationship could be the main story.

I wasn't as enchanted by Eleanor & Park as much as everyone else, but it had its cute, cheesy moments. There were moments when I was actually enjoying the story, but then the more I read, the more I started to dislike the relationship, which made the ending not heartbreaking for me at all. The only heartbreaking thing for me was that we never get to know what happened to Eleanor's family.

[nightingalereads]

I'm so glad I bought this book! I loved Eleanor and Park; they were so unique and life-like and captivating that I found myself wishing I could be like them. I finally decided to read this book when I saw that John Green had recommended it and it definitely lived up to my expectations. There wasn't a whole lot of strong supporting character roles but, honestly, with Eleanor and Park for protagonists, you didn't really feel the need for many. Both narrators suck you into their shared world while still letting you see their individual perspectives. Each of their personalities are distinct and clearly defined, unlike some books I've read where the narration of multiple characters seems to blend together into one indistinguishable person. The writing was beautiful and the plot never left me bored or impatient. My only complaint would have to be the ending, which I thought was abrupt and totally unsatisfying. Not sure if this book is going to have a sequel (it didn't really seem like it), but I was completely unprepared to say goodbye to the characters. Overall, though, it was an great book! I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good read.

[Kelly]

http://divainpyjamas.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/eleanor-park.html

I was completely engrossed with the story of Eleanor and Park. A beautiful coming of age read about two teens from completely different worlds, finding a tender love with one another.

Eleanor's life is heartbreaking and terribly realistic. A self conscious girl who holds her head high and marches to the beat of her own drum. Park is the quiet achiever, who doesn't know where he fits in. But I only wish it ended with an epilogue to complete their beautiful story, they deserved that much.

[Leah]

Last year, I read and loved Rainbow Rowell’s debut novel Attachments. It was unique, it was sweet, it was funny, and what I loved most was that it was set in the nineties. Strange, but true. So I was very excited to read her new novel Eleanor and Park, although, boy, was it mighty tough to get it. I was hoping to get a hardcover copy of the novel so it could sit right alongside attachments. But no. The publishers only released it in large paperback, so I was then going to wait for the smaller paperback out next year, to sit alongside Attachments (I have two copies of Attachments), so I was quite pleased to see an e-copy up for review on Netgalley and got to read it that little bit earlier (I will still be buying a paperback copy, mind you, because, like I said, I want it to sit next to Attachments).

I will admit that I didn’t know that Eleanor & Park was a young adult novel. Don’t get me wrong, it has cross-over potential and there’s more swearing than you’d normally get in a young adult novel (I presume), but it seems to have been double-billed. In the UK it’s an adult novel (strange), but the US are marketing it as young adult (which makes more sense, as it’s about two sixteen-year-olds). So I was a bit surprised, and told myself off for not having paid more attention to the synopsis. But that’s by the by. It is what it is. Whatever genre you want to put it into, Eleanor & Park is a brilliant novel. Brilliant. It took me a little while to get into it (the same as it did with Attachments, funnily enough) but once Eleanor and Park started falling in love with each other, and started talking more and opening up, man was I hooked. What it boils down to is that Eleanor & Park is, quite simply, a love story and I loved it.

The best thing about the novel is its simplicity. It knows what it is, and that is it is a love story. From day one, when Park lets Eleanor sit next to him on the school bus (no mean feat, these schoolbuses are more tightly controlled than the army when it comes to where you sit) to them sharing comics (one of the best bits, ever), to them sharing more than comics, to them chatting and learning more about each other, to Eleanor braving Park’s house and letting him learn about her life, bit by bit, it’s all just so beautiful. It isn’t always happiness and beauty. Eleanor’s home life is awful, really awful, and I wanted to get Eleanor away from her awful step-dad Richie. In comparison, Park’s life is awesome and it was sadly sweet home much Eleanor craved not just Park, but the life he had as well. I couldn’t get enough of the book, I’m not even joking. I spent nights when I really should have been sleeping reading it, and time before work reading it, desperate to just cram in everything Eleanor & Park had to offer.

The only criticism I have is that I felt the ending was rushed. It was building, and building, and building, and there was so much angst and heart-break and moping, and then it just ended. I had tears in my eyes, sad at what had occurred, and then it just ended. I still had questions left. I wanted an Epilogue! I felt like it all just came in such a rush and I wanted a bit more closure. Where did the red-headed kids disappear to? What happened with Eleanor & Park? What were those three words? I just had loads of questions left, and I hate that. I really do dislike open endings. They’re a waste of time unless a sequel is forthcoming. It’s like a cop-out, really, as if the author didn’t want to write a proper ending. And I just wonder why? After writing pages and pages of beautiful words, and crafting a beautiful love story, why end it like that? Apart from that, I adored the book. Rainbow Rowell is a writing genius. I very much recommend Eleanor & Park, it is a masterpiece on young love, and it’s a story that will have you believe in love all over again. I can’t wait to see what comes next from Rowell’s pen, she cannot do no wrong.