REVIEW: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

            Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.

            So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.

            I’m not kidding, he says.

            You should be, she says, we’re 16.

            What about Romeo and Juliet?

            Shallow, confused, then dead.

            I love you, Park says.

            Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.

            I’m not kidding, he says.

            You should be.

            Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.

            Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. This was the only way I could think to start this review other than a slew of disgruntled and unorganized keystrokes of no discernable pattern. Now, first things first, I did like this book. I just did not like the ending. This book was promoted by John Green himself and is often given to readers who really enjoy his works. I, however, do not believe the hype. I know, you’re all like ‘NO’! And I’m like, ‘I know right?’ how could I ever not adore Eleanor and Park wholeheartedly?  It’s not quite that simple, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

            The cover is so cute, I just have to mention that, and the setting is perfect. Hello, ‘80s. I think the meat and bones of this book were great. The love story was beautifully developed and the families were diverse and the character voices were pristinely unique. This book seemingly had it all, except a good ending. The ending was clique and a total shift from what could have been. The ending has been done before, almost exactly, and the characters were incredibly wishy-washy at the end. Like I said, writing and development were great. I really believed the characters, but I did not believe the ending.

            Now, my problem with the ending was not even Eleanor’s split with her family or the final three words business, it was the fact that it was predictable and nothing happened conflict-wise. There was no confrontation, and I was not okay with that. Granted, it was all very realistic and I get that, but I don’t think the ending was what it should have been. It felt very cut-and-paste like she didn’t really have anything better so here’s a placeholder and I’ll figure it out later (and then she didn’t figure it out, but rather just left it). And the character! The bullies just flopped over and turned into entirely different characters altogether. I was all; they’re secretly helping her and will betray her! They didn’t. Gosh, that ending was just so womp! It fell completely flat to me! I just loved that book until then, and because of that ending I can’t give this book a very good rating and that makes me sad. Eleanor and Park were totally relatable and I loved them so much, but when I look at the book I don’t see their love story. I see that horrible ending.

            That ending has been done over and over again in much better ways. The love story was very original, especially the way it wasn’t love at first sight. I was so beautiful, but the ending is what brought it down. I think Park’s family was a little stereotypical (Eleanor’s too actually, but at least hers had additions of originality to it).  I just don’t know what else to say. This book was heart wrenching and beautiful. I loved it and I hated it and then I just overall really loved it. I simply believe that there are some things that could have elevated the book that much more.

XOXO Tia