Eleanor & Park (Book Review)

*Synopsis*

Eleanor has just moved back in with her mother and stepfather after being kicked out a year ago. The move brings with it a new school and the need for readjustment. Her family doesn’t seem so accepting and neither do the kids at school.

Park is half Korean and half white. He’s lived his life dodging racist comments from Steve, his next door neighbor and trying to fit into the mold of the “All-American Teen.” He’s not trying to fall in love with an outcast.

No one was rooting for these two to be together, not even them. So, how does this become a love story in the first place? Guess you’ll just have to read it to find out.

*Review*

Eleanor and Park is the 80’s love story that you didn’t know you were missing in your life. It is cute and quirky but also offers some deep revelations about how upbringings shape us. The cast is diverse in race and body types. I’m happy I finally got around to reading a Rainbow Rowell novel.

I feel like this book has been so hyped for so long that I did a disservice to myself by not reading it earlier. It’s really good, but I feel like I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it when I was a little younger, around the time I read books like The Fault in Our Stars.

All in all, I enjoyed this. I liked the way Eleanor and Park took their time to fall in love, it was definitely not love at first sight. They’re really cute together and the differences in their family dynamic really worked for the story. The way they both struggled with being confidant in their own skin was beautiful. Eleanor and Park is a great coming of age story.

4/5 Stars

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