Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

'Reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love, but what it's like to be young and in love with a book' John Green, author of The Fault in our Stars 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.

It was like their lives were overlapping lines, like they had their own gravity. Usually, that serendipity thing felt like the nicest thing the universe had ever done for her.

I had avoided this book for so long because everybody was talking about loving it which raised my expectations through the roof, so I was afraid that it wouldn't live up to the hype. I was wrong. It was incredibly heart-warming and heat-breaking at the same time. The writing is beautiful. Both the plot and the character development are very well done.

Eleanor and Park's relationship was so terribly sweet. It reminded me about my first love. Though there was one moment when Park was being a little melodramatic about missing her during weekends when they couldn't see each other and I rolled my eyes thinking “cheesy much?”. Then I remembered this e-mail I got from the boy I was in love with in high-school. His message sounded like it was the end of the world that we couldn't see each other (we lived in different towns and barely saw each other throughout our entire relationship). I was a mess when I read that. I printed it out and carried that paper with me everywhere and read it over and over again. This is really what the first love is like for a lot of people. It's this innocent yet epic emotional experience that you can cherish forever.

Jeez, look at me sounding like a sappy old lady. I am indeed sappy. But not that old. And I was lucky enough to find later an even greater love, the kind of love that you grow old with. Probably that's why the ending didn't ruin the book for me, even though I was bawling my eyes. Because I know that wonderful still await you later in life.

Back to the book, Eleanor and Park's relationship is not the only thing I loved. I appreciated that it tried to tackle bullying and the reality surrounding the two households. I loved the way the author handled their relationships with their family members and the other kids at their school. Though I would have liked to see a clearer resolution for the bullying and also to what happened with her mother and her siblings.

I loved both Eleanor and Park. A lot of people complain about finding Eleanor irritating, but I think they just can't understand her predicament. Even though Eleanor was stubborn and moody I did not find her annoying. Her broken household is totally the reason behind her frequent defensive grouchiness. And honestly, I can't blame her. I can totally see why she acted that way. I feel she handled her entire situation way better than most teenagers would have. Park was kindhearted and so adorable. It felt right when they were together.

Not much else to say other than this has gained a well deserved spot on my all-time favorites.

4.5. I loved this story, but after hearing so much about this book for almost two years I think I was expecting more

I have heard SO much about this book. And it was fine – definitely everything promised: a sweet romance between two non-conventional leads, which brought diversity to the world of YA realistic romance. But the biggest problem I always have with Rowell books is the romance – it's too sappy, too sudden, too forced – and this book is mostly romance. (Also, Eleanor's abusive family, which is very sad and a little over the top.) So, a good book, but not for me.