ELEANOR & PARK

“Ends are not bad things, they just mean that something else is about to begin. And there are many things that don't really end, anyway, they just begin again in a new way. Ends are not bad and many ends aren't really an ending; some things are never-ending.” ----C. JoyBell C. Rainbow Rowell, an American best-selling author, has penned a tear-jerking yet heart-warming tale about young, first love in her book, Eleanor & Park that narrates the story of two teenagers- a red-headed girl and an Asian boy slowly, silently falling for one another everyday on their way to school but this story is so much more than just a teenage love story, it harbors the insecurities and fear of losing one another, especially the limitless option to unconditional first love without any judgement. 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. Well, I hope I'm not the last one to experience the sweet yet heart-breaking torture of Eleanor & Park . Yes I know the climax bothered me a lot and probably it bothered millions of readers before me. I mean why did the author had to play with our emotions? But since I'm a positive person, I would like to think of a new beginning for Eleanor & Park's love story. Not a happy ending perhaps a happy beginning. Eleanor is the imperfect red-hair newbie teenage girl to the town where Park, the half- Korean teenage boy, lives with his adorable family. They are not neighbors but they share the back seat of their school bus, and that is where the seed of their love was first sowed with the help of action comics read by Park, but surprisingly with no words exchanged between them. The next part is easy, as these two imperfect souls fall for one another. Well it seems they are not lucky as their love is threatened by some mean students and not to mention, there is a wicked character, whom you might want to kill with your bare hands, by pulling the character out of the pages of this book, who will finally put a flame to their love story. Rest is for you to find out! I'm already accustomed to the author's writing style as Fangirl made me fall for this author for the very first time. The author's writing style is articulate and easy to comprehend with. The narrative is absolutely enthralling and highly inspired from the real voices of the everyday teenagers. The story is engaging from the very first page itself and I hate to say that my copy of this book is filled with yellow highlighted lines, as the author made the narrative so quotable. No the author does not dwell with the idea of insta-love like it happens these days, as the story is set in the 80s, hence the author stresses on the then culture of mixed tapes, calling on land-phones, wearing band T-shirts, and stuff like that and the author has pulled that really well into the story. The pacing is really fast as the story seizes the minds of the readers and tying their hearts into invisible bonds of connection with these two characters. The story is laced with deep, evocative emotions that it will make you feel like falling in love for the very first time. I hate to admit that when it comes to Rowell, she will use real-life flawed everyday kinda characters to create hers. Both Eleanor and Park are flawed yet honest and authentic and the author strikingly portrays their demeanor through this story and withing an instant into the story, the readers are bound to feel a connection with these two unforgettable characters. Eleanor tries to be brave and she does not let anyone get to her with the constant bullying an nasty remarks as she fights for herself on a daily basis due to her family. And thus Eleanor becomes an epitome for those girls who are subjected to bullying both at home and at their school. Park is the kind of guy for whom, if you had a million bucks, you would trade the money to get him. A very, sweet, adorable and a weird music/comic books lover who will make you fall for him at the very first instant. The love story between them is filled with emotions that are real and that will get through our hearts and will make the readers yearn for it. The compassion between them is spot on yet the author kept the love between them quite innocent and sweet. This book is bound to soften the stone-hearted humans and will make them feel deeply. Yes there is no doubt that I cried buckets over this story and at times I smiled and laughed out loud with their shared joys and jokes. And on this happy note, I must conclude by confessing that from this day on I shall never ever miss out single one of Rowell's novels that she has ever written or she will ever write. And I will urge everyone out there, be it young or old, to read this incredibly poignant yet compelling young adult love story.

"She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something." Two misfits. One extraordinary love. This book. I don't know what to say. Even though I am writing this review days after finishing the book, it still gets me emotional. And only Rainbow Rowell's books can do that. I never expected this simple story of two strangers to affect like this. I mean I don't have any words for this unusual book and its characters. Eleanor & Park doesn't talk to each other, and after reading this book you won't find it odd because their whole relationship starts with them sitting there on the bus and Eleanor trying to read Park's comics and him trying to share it with her and their songs playlists exchange and......well, I can go on forever because this book is just....too adorable, and sad :( Those cute exchange and small gestures still manages to make me smile! *Please don't pay attention to the number of 'and' I have used in this paragraph* lol “Holding Eleanor's hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive.” I love Eleanor's character in this book. And most importantly, I love how this book shows that looks doesn't matter when you actually love someone. Eleanor has red hair and is often bullied by other students for her looks and dressing style. But she doesn't pay attention to them, mostly because she is already dealing with so many issues of her own. She has to share her room with her four siblings, and has already gone through a lot in past because of family issues. Park is a really cool character. When he notices that Eleanor is trying to read his comics on the bus, next day he comes up with some extra comics so that she can read them. And after that they get into this routine of sharing comics and music, which then turns into a very special relationship. He's a very quite person and usually tries to stay away from any argument, but doesn't hesitate to stand up for the people he cares for. This might look like a light read, but it's not. It deals with many important and emotional issues like bullying, poverty, and violence. While I really enjoyed their love story, I really couldn't help but feel sad during those dark and emotional scenes. I was really surprised how despite these tragic moments, the author has portrayed love and friendship so beautifully. Some scenes very horrific and intense, but they were well balanced with the romance part of the book. And when everything was going like it was supposed to, that ending happened. I just can't stop thinking about it! And even though the ending was that bad or anything, but it wasn't what I had expected either! At the end, this book left me with a lot of mixed feelings. It's a must read for all Rainbow Rowell fans, and even for those who are curious about this cute love story of Eleanor & Park.

I`m gonna dive straight to the way I felt about this book. I finished it the day I wrote this review, so the story is fresh in my mind. I simply couldn't get myself to cry even though I was sad. I like the whole idea about true love and all but why was I so hard heart-ed? The guy, Park, was crying now and then and I just kept reading on. The story felt so real. Not once I felt like it was a work of fiction. I bet I could relate with Eleanor, except for the parental issues and problems she had to face. But I could understand why she thought she wasn't good enough for Park and that he was too Perfect and cute. I couldn't put the book down, at all. I am not a sucker for love stories but the book wasn't just a love story, it was a piece of art. The story so well written. The dialogues, situations, everything. There will be a moment where the reader might hate Eleanor. But, you might be angry with the author for not letting out a huge detail. Yeah, I`m still a bit mad, but I also agree with her. Piece of advice? Don't read the last page. Not even by mistake, that would be a huge mistake. The book isn't suitable for young readers, so be careful who reads it and who are reading it in front of. The F word is used many times, so try to keep kids away. Teens will relate with this book. I`m sure. I haven't come across a review which said. Crap or Not good or Waste of time not even Cliche. So I think it's safe to say, you can buy this book and enjoy it. It is also the most read book of the week and month.

I started reading it with high expectations after watching a YouTube video. I liked its simple language but the storyline wasn't amazing. The book could have ended differently.

الرواية حلوة لكن ما حبيت كيف انها ghosted him لكن ما عدا ذلك عجبني

Beautiful book!!! Love it!

Eleanor & Park is one of the sweetest stories I’ve read in a long time. It’s a love story that’s largely set on a school bus in the 1980s, managing to be romantic and schmaltzy while steadfastly rejecting romance and schmaltz. Park is the sole Asian kid at his school, and seems to just get on with things. He’s not one of the cool crowd, but he’s left alone by them. He’s not the son his ex-military, martial arts fan dad would like him to be (his younger, taller, brother fills that role), but he knows he’s lucky to have two parents around who are still ridiculously, in-your-face in love. When new girl Eleanor boards the school bus, Park assesses her – clumsy, attention-grabbing and quirky – and curses his luck at having an empty seat beside him. Eleanor, meanwhile, knows that she stands out and not necessarily for the right reasons, but she’s more or less okay with that. She’s less concerned with how her fellow students see her than with her complicated home life: a mother who’s become unrecognisable since marrying Eleanor’s stepfather, who makes no secret of his dislike for Eleanor, and a clutch of younger siblings whose allegiances are easily switched and who don’t give Eleanor the privacy she craves. When she boards the bus on her first day at Park’s school, she doesn’t give too much thought to the slightly odd, silent, but somehow cool boy who offers her a seat when nobody else will. Over the comings days and weeks, though, Park and Eleanor move from ignoring one another to learning about one another to leaning on one another. The two protagonists are great characters: both self-deprecating and analytical, but vastly different in other ways. Their friendship isn’t exactly based on common ground, but on comic books – read over Park’s shoulder by Eleanor, then read discretely together on twice-daily bus journeys, then offered to Eleanor by Park to take home and discussed in detail on the bus. Alongside this emerging relationship, we get insights into each of their home lives, which is perhaps where they – albeit unbeknownst to them – share more common ground. Neither of them court sympathy or dwell on the difficulties they face, but both are nonetheless (or perhaps consequently) very sympathetic characters you can’t help but root for. The narrative really appealed to me, written from dual perspectives but always in the third person. This is really well done, I think: the third person narrative means there is no differentiation between voices, but Rainbow Rowell crafts the narrative beautifully so that the two different perspectives are distinct and believable. Often we see the same scene twice, from one point of view then the other, and this technique really helps to bring the characters to life – their differences and the reasons why they seem to work together. I said that this is a sweet story, and it is, but it’s also bittersweet. Eleanor and Park face ups and downs, separately and together, and the end is satisfying but not a Disney-esque happy-ever-after. I really rate young adult books like this, that manage to appeal to the teenage market without over-simplifying things and tying everything up neatly and happily. Like The Fault in our Stars, Eleanor & Park covers difficult and sensitive issues in a way that’s accessible to a younger audience and (I think) encourages thoughtful reflection and (hopefully) discussion. Both also manage to do so with a touch of humour and plenty of happy moments; this, along with Rainbow Rowell’s excellent writing, means that Eleanor & Park really is a pleasure to read. It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking, perfect in its imperfection (much like their first-love relationship), delightfully innocent and tragically mature, and completely believable.

a good, fresh take on young adult novels... i love how i was not able to predict the story and the ending. it was so great that i was encouraged to read (and finished!) the author's other two best-seller's (attachments & fangirl)