• About Us
    • Disclaimer and Policies
  • Giveaways
  • Features
    • Pre-Order Deal Incentives!
    • Author Talk Podcasts
    • Flashback Friday
    • Whadda YA Know Wednesday

Fiction Fare

  • Banners
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us

Review: Eleanor & Park

February 22, 2013 by Jaime 9 Comments

Eleanor & ParkEleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars I’m sitting here staring at this little box wondering what I’m going to say that will do this book justice. I type a sentence and then delete it and then type again and delete again. So please, bear with me as I attempt to gather my thoughts into something that looks like a review instead of me flailing about.

If you were watching my updates last night, you know that I was commenting on my progress left and right. I feel like every once in a while you read a book at exactly the right time and it’s just everything you were looking for… and this book was that for me last night.

I couldn’t put it down.

 photo e6fbe3c3.gif


It all starts with a muttered “Jesus fuck sit down”

Eleanor is the new girl – she’s been away from home for the last year but she’s back living with her mom, her siblings and Richie… the husband. Her life is a mess and the farthest thing from perfect.

Park is a middle of the pack kind of kid. He’s not the coolest but he’s also not the kid that gets picked on. Like he says at one point. If it weren’t for kids like Eleanor, he would be in her place.

When Eleanor sits down next to him, he never imagined the awkward silence and weirdness between them would grow into what it does. It starts with comic books of all things and goes from there.

With mentions of swatches, U2, The Smiths, and Short Circuit, Rowell takes you back to 1986 where kids weren’t attached to their cell phones and big hair was all the rage. Rowell does an incredible job of keeping true to the time frame.

And never ever did I think that holding hands could be so amazing but the way that Rainbow Rowell writes it in this book makes me want to go around grabbing the hands of all the single guys in the universe to find my match and see if I can feel what these two did.

Then he slid the silk and his fingers into her open palm.

And Eleanor disintegrated.

The characters were amazingly well done – they aren’t the perfect people you’re used to reading about though so don’t expect it. Eleanor is chubby and has frizzy red hair and never wears appropriate clothing and Park is short and a teenage boy who sometimes says stupid teenage boy things… but when he says the right thing… *sigh*

“No, I love your name. I don’t want to cheat myself out of a single syllable.”

or

“I want everyone to meet you. You’re my favorite person of all time.”

or

He set his forehead against hers. She didn’t know what to do with her eyes or her hands.

“Nothing before you counts,” he said. “And I can’t even imagine an after.”

 photo tumblr_mbifhobAbQ1ry1a4mo1_500.gif


While all that is swoony and lovely, ultimately this is the story of falling in love for the first time and the outside forces that can have an impact. While reading I swear I ran the gamut of emotions. Rowell had me laughing out loud on one page and feeling the butterflies in my belly the next and then wiping tears on the page after that.

The build of the relationship between these two was just so wonderfully done. It absolutely wasn’t insta-love and while there was this slow build, I never once felt the story drag or slow down.

Then the end happened…

 photo tumblr_m5p38jxuVj1rn95k2o1_250.gif


THE END … my heart … SPOILER – (go see my goodreads review if you want to know what happens) [ I wanted her to open the damn envelopes or call him or write him or SOMETHING!!! (hide spoiler)]

 photo tumblr_mato8vN4FB1r8f661o1_500.gif


There is a bit of an open end to Eleanor and Park’s story, which allows you to use your imagination a bit and imagine where they might be down the road. I want to peek inside the author’s mind and see where she thinks they might be. Sometimes it’s nice to just be told… LOL

This was my first foray into the words of Rainbow Rowell and I can say absolutely that it will not be the last. If you’re looking for a book that will have you turning pages well into the night because you’re so caught up in the story, this would be a perfect pick. While it’s not an action packed story, it’s a wonderfully told story of first loves and life and it will have you thinking back to your first kiss, the first hand you held, the first flutters of that unknown something deep in the pit of your stomach.

Make sure you read this one when it arrives in next week!

View all my reviews

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
Fiction Fare
Review: Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2)
Thumbnail
Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer
Fiction Fare
Review: Taste The Heat (ADULT)
Fiction Fare
Review: Winter Omens (The Last Year #2)
Fiction Fare
Review: The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2)

Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: Absolute Favorite, ebook challenge, Reading Challenges, Reviewed By Jaime, SARC 2013, Young Adult

About Jaime

Avid reader and book blogger, lover of music, writing, my kid & my cats. Master of sarcasm and snark and doing what makes me happy.

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • pinterest
  • bloglovin
  • custom1
  • goodreads
  • rss
  • custom2

Get Our Updates!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

E-Book Deals!

E-Book Deals!


Author Talk

 photo author-talk_zpscsw6iy8a.png

Archives

What We’re Currently Reading

Jaime's bookshelf: currently-reading

The Trouble with Destiny
0 of 5 stars
The Trouble with Destiny
by Lauren Morrill
The Beginning of Everything
0 of 5 stars
The Beginning of Everything
by Robyn Schneider
Forget Tomorrow
0 of 5 stars
Forget Tomorrow
by Pintip Dunn

goodreads.com

Erin's bookshelf: currently-reading

Endure
0 of 5 stars
Endure
by Sara B. Larson
The Unquiet
0 of 5 stars
The Unquiet
by Mikaela Everett
Twist
0 of 5 stars
Twist
by Karen Akins

goodreads.com

Upcoming Reviews

None yet!

Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

Challenge Participant

Recent Comments

  • Lisa Loves Lit on Waiting on Wednesday: The Queens of Innis Lear By Tessa Gratton
  • bookbunny68 on Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read
  • Kristy Petree on Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read
  • MischaS_ on Cover Reveal: Beyond Pain by Kit Rocha
  • Maggie @ ReadingDiva's Blog on Blog Tour: Tempests & Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

Recent Posts

  • People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
  • Flashback Friday: Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk
  • Our Top Ten Most Anticipated Books to Screen Podcast Episode
  • Flashback Friday: The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels #1) by Kerrigan Byrne
  • Podcast Episode 81: #FicNews–March 2021

Recent Reviews

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George
Crown of Bones (Amassia #1) by A.K. Wilder
Courting Trouble (Goode Girls Romance #2) by Kerrigan Byrne
Eventide by Sarah Goodman
All Scot and Bothered (Devil You Know #2) by Kerrigan Byrne
Deadly Curious by Cindy Anstey
Review: Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi
The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
A Dark and Stormy Knight (Victorian Rebels #7) by Kerrigan Byrne

Copyright ©2010-2015 Fiction Fare All Rights Reserved Site Design by The CreativeB Login