This is a very entertaining and engaging book, and I think it's great for both teens and adults, and a wonderful title for a parent and teen to read together. I love this book, and certainly Rainbow Rowell fans are an enthusiastic group. I lent this book to a neighbor, and she agreed that it was good. (So nice of her to approve my enthusiasm.)
It's a love story about how Eleanor and Park meet, on a school bus, junior year, and confront a situation that's really scary and overwhelming. And they struggle with some of the same issues you would find in an adult romance novel.
It's a fast and easy read - I read it in five hours. I was just sharing my enthusiasm for this book with a friend, and as she said, I didn't want it to end. It was so sweet, but not maudlin. It's a real feel-good read, with lots of funny dialogue and well-rounded characters.
I was surprised to see that domestic violence is part of the story. It's presented in a psychologically realistic way. I think I was surprised because it seems to me to come up so often in my reading: it was a theme in the Debbie Macomber novel I read, and also in a Diane Mott Davidson novel (where I really didn't expect it). Dealing with tough real-life issues seems to be a hallmark of the best YA fiction.
Like all romances, there are obstacles to be overcome. I think that one of the things that's charming about Pride and Prejudice is that the characters grow and change; that's true of Eleanor & Park. In fact, Park struggles with wanting social acceptance, and he worries about how the other kids will view him if they perceive that Eleanor is his girlfriend. Eleanor has a different set of issues to struggle with, including a desire to be invisible and to avoid notice (and therefore, trouble); for her own different reasons she hesitates to admit her feelings for Park, and to resist acknowledging the relationship.
Park learns that, after all, his friends don't care that much, and more importantly, Eleanor is far more important to him than their opinion. Eleanor begins to be able trust that Park's feelings for her are enduring. Classic romance!
After I read the book, I went to Google Images and found a collection of fan art depicting Eleanor & Park and scenes in the book. I was so delighted. Check it out. Knowing that the fans know how to depict scenes in the book makes me wonder why it is proving hard to get the film of the book produced.
It's a love story about how Eleanor and Park meet, on a school bus, junior year, and confront a situation that's really scary and overwhelming. And they struggle with some of the same issues you would find in an adult romance novel.
It's a fast and easy read - I read it in five hours. I was just sharing my enthusiasm for this book with a friend, and as she said, I didn't want it to end. It was so sweet, but not maudlin. It's a real feel-good read, with lots of funny dialogue and well-rounded characters.
I was surprised to see that domestic violence is part of the story. It's presented in a psychologically realistic way. I think I was surprised because it seems to me to come up so often in my reading: it was a theme in the Debbie Macomber novel I read, and also in a Diane Mott Davidson novel (where I really didn't expect it). Dealing with tough real-life issues seems to be a hallmark of the best YA fiction.
Like all romances, there are obstacles to be overcome. I think that one of the things that's charming about Pride and Prejudice is that the characters grow and change; that's true of Eleanor & Park. In fact, Park struggles with wanting social acceptance, and he worries about how the other kids will view him if they perceive that Eleanor is his girlfriend. Eleanor has a different set of issues to struggle with, including a desire to be invisible and to avoid notice (and therefore, trouble); for her own different reasons she hesitates to admit her feelings for Park, and to resist acknowledging the relationship.
Park learns that, after all, his friends don't care that much, and more importantly, Eleanor is far more important to him than their opinion. Eleanor begins to be able trust that Park's feelings for her are enduring. Classic romance!
After I read the book, I went to Google Images and found a collection of fan art depicting Eleanor & Park and scenes in the book. I was so delighted. Check it out. Knowing that the fans know how to depict scenes in the book makes me wonder why it is proving hard to get the film of the book produced.
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