Sunday, December 27, 2015

Review+Discussion: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell





Author: Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: Orion Books (July 7th, 2014)

Genre: Contemporary, Romance

Pages: 336

Synopsis: 

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 mix 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 & Park is funny, sad, shocking and true - an exquisite nostalgia trip for anyone who has never forgotten their first love.

Spoiler Free Review:

It's been a while since I wanted to to read a Rainbow Rowell's book. I currently have Fangirl, E&P and Landline. As I felt I was going to get into a reading slump, I thought about picking up one of her popular and short book. I felt like E&P was the most adequate to this situation, and the story line was interesting, even though I don't really like Romance, that's why I picked it up. And to be honest, I was a little bit disappointed. I expected more from the book. It was good at the beginning, that part when you get to know more about the characters, etc. But then, when I got to the middle, the story was getting boring, and I felt like nothing really happened. I felt like the characters lived... a routine? I don't really know how to feel about this book. The love between E&P was pure, I loved it, you feel like there's true love happening between them, but still, I think that the book could have been shorter (although about 330 pages is short), or that the author could have added more action to the story.
I don't regret reading the book though. It made me learn a lot of beautiful things about love, true love and teenage love. And the quote that I absolutely loved from the book was:

Eleanor was right. She didn't look nice, she looked like art. And art wasn't supposed to look nice, it was supposed to make you feel something.

You probably already read that quote somewhere else, but I needed to write it too, because it's absolutely brilliant and genius.
I know a lot of people didn't like the ending. I personally loved it. I don't deny that it wasn't sad, it was, but I felt that this is the most adequate ending to the story. I think that what happens in the end should have happened, it was meant to be.
I hope you don't get angry about my opinion. Even though I didn't love the book, I'm definitely looking forward to read her other books; Fangirl, Landline, and why not Carry On? I hope these books will be as I expect them to be.

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