When I read it: 14/10 to 19/10. (Sorry I’m posting this later than I planned my excuse is exams. No judgement.) Where I read it: Mostly on a bus to a softball championship tournament. And because I know you’re interested I was terrible and my team came last. Other than that, outside on a towel because the weather was reasonably bearable. Why I read it: Recommendation from a work college. What I loved most: Park. He’s rad. Oh and also he drives an Impala and that car gets my juices flowing. What I despised most: THE BLURB!! (see below for my extended rant) Why you should read it: Because I told you to. My review: 7.8/10 |
At first I found this book a little slow to get into but believe me, when I got into it, I got into it! Now let me take a minute to explain to you a thing: this book is not just a sappy teenage romance novel. It explores the social dynamics within classes beautifully and the unpublicised struggles of living in an insecure home filled with fear and uncertainties. I loved how it delved deep into the minds of kids who often don’t get a second glance. Take Eleanor for example; She’s always wearing some crazy outfit as her mum can’t afford to buy her clothes so she makes do with what she has, her hair is an aggressive shade of red, she’s covered in freckles and she has body image issues as she struggles with her weight. Yet she has a beautiful, unique mind and this is what sets her apart from everybody and anybody else for Park.
You can’t help but fall in love with the way that Park and Eleanor fall in love. Sweet simple phrases such as “No, I love your name. I don’t want to cheat myself out of a single syllable” got me all warm inside like a gooey, freshly baked cookie. Even the way that they look at each other made me do that weird half-dance-half-jiggle in bed all the while making a strange, high pitched noise. The way Rowell writes makes it seem like she is sitting right next to you and casually having a discussion about what Park and Eleanor got up to that day is fantastic!
On a more critical note (because it all can’t be fun and games can it?) I felt a tad deceived when comparing the blurb to the actual story line. I feel as though the blurb was crafted to appeal to a certain audience that you would find sporting a “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob” t-shirt and only really look for a confusing love triangle in a story rather than the beautiful intricacies of factual life. I feel a little robbed when looking at the blurb as it conveys neither Eleanor’s heart-breaking daily struggles living with an abusing step-father and constantly fearing for the well-being of her younger siblings nor Parks venture of discovering his identity in regards to his parents expectations. Rather it depicts a washed-out love of the classic “girl-meets-boy.” So please, I beg you, if you ever chance upon this book: DO NOT WORRY THE STORY ISN’T AS CRAP AS THE BLURB MAKES OUT. Okay I’m good now.
Overall, I really did enjoy this read. The language was simple and the concepts not overly hard to grasp so it was an easy read and thus accessible to all levels of teenaged reading abilities. However the deep seated themes of acceptance, learning and growing in who you are, learning that sometimes adults and parents aren’t always right and that they can hurt and disappoint you and the overpowering joys and pains of first love are all extremely well explored and mean that everyone can find something to connect with in this story. So do yourself a favour and get reading; you won’t regret it.
Sophie xx