Reviews
I loved Rainbow Rowell's other books. All three of them, I loved them.But, sadly I have to say this book wasn't for me. I couldn't relate to any of the characters. I didn't even care,maybe a little bit about Eleonor 's siblings. I really want to know what would become of them.But, again sadly they weren't the focus of this book.Honestly, I didn't buy into their romance. They just fell in love, and the book dragged on and on,and it became really boring. I wanted to love this book so bad.But, I didn't . I am so sad. I am also happy that it wasn't my first encounter with Rainbow Rowell, otherwise, I would have never read her other books.
So, I just finished "Eleanor & Park" and honestly, I really enjoyed it. The romance between Eleanor and Park? Beautiful stuff. Yeah, it got a bit cringey sometimes, but hey, it's about teen love, so what can you expect?The main characters really grew on me. I found myself caring about both Eleanor and Park, feeling what they were going through. But the other characters? Not so much. The author kinda left them in the background.Now, the book does touch on bullying, which is important, but here's my issue - it doesn't really show how to deal with it. It's like everyone in the story just... accepts it? That bugged me a bit.Sometimes the story dragged on - I reckon they could've cut like 20 or 30 pages and it wouldn't have hurt. But overall, it was a good read, especially if you're into romance.The ending was... well, good. Not amazing, not terrible, just good. I liked it well enough.So yeah, if you're looking for a romance book, give it a shot. It's got some weak points, sure, but by the time you finish it, you'll probably feel it was worth it. At least I did.
I want to address a few things when it comes to my love for this book and Rainbow Rowell to an extend.Yes I'm aware it's very problematic and that a lot of people don't like this book or like Rainbow Rowell because of how she wrote this book, that's why I knocked a star off. However the reason why it's 4 stars for me is because this was the book that got me into reading. Ever since elementary where I was forced to read books and take quizzes on them to earn points; that's why I wasn't a huge fan of reading. Then in my junior year of high school, my friend asked me to join the book club in our school. I was kind of scared because I wasn't that big into reading. The book we got was Eleanor and Park and that upcoming Thursday was when the meeting was. I didn't think I would finish it before that Thursday but I finished that book in 4 DAYS! That was a HUGE deal for me back then and I had fun reading it! TLDR: Without this book, I probably wouldn't be where I am in reading and the book community today!!
The book was full of raw emotion. Rainbow Rowell did an excellent job of capturing the feelings and emotions of high school students. The ending was a heartbreaking turn of events that left you speechless. Really enjoyed this novel.
I had just finished reading Fangirl and I thought "Wow! That was amazing! I'm going to check out her other books." I saw this one and I immediately thought it would be just as good as Fangirl. Sadly, I was wrong. I was completely disappointed with this book. I found myself skimming over pages so I could be done with it faster. It was an alright book. It definitely caught my attention at first but it just didn't hold my attention. I found that about halfway through the book I was extremely bored with it and wanted to read a different one. Sorry!