Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Let's begin the story at the start. This was not supposed to be my kind of book. It was not even supposed to be read. It is Young Adult fiction - a genre I normally steer clear of. But, I was shopping for books at this year's Big Bad Wolf Sale and saw this book. Then, an earlier memory flooded back in. 'It is a good one', someone had mentioned. 'Perhaps you should check it out.' The face that said it was now hazy in my memory, but the message had lingered on. Next, I did what I often do. I logged onto Goodreads and checked the book out - lots of ratings and reviews, average rating of 4+. Not bad. I am not saying that Goodreads ratings are definitive. But in many instances the ratings have reflected my personal thoughts after reading the book. So, I took the plunge.

The novel is composed of alternating chapters loosely tied to the perspectives of Eleanor and Park. I say chapters but sometimes they are mere sections with a few lines. It creates a vibe. Perhaps that is what the author was going for.

Eleanor

She is the new girl in town - the new girl in high school. She is not 'pretty', has blazing red hair and is not size zero. She is awkward and a misfit. She is different.

Park

He is the slightly detached half-asian kid who keeps to himself, listens to punk rock music and likes to wear black.

And Then They Meet...

As readers, we know from the moment we get the book that this will be Eleanor and Park's love story. What makes it interesting is the contrast in their personalities. They are from two different worlds and the only thing they have in common is falling for each other. This is an ode to the undying theme of 'love knows no bounds' and 'you cannot choose who you fall in love with'. Love happens.

In terms of expectations from the book, I was not anticipating anything extraordinary, and that is how it turned out for me. Except for one little detail that I will talk about shortly. It is a sweet love story with a lot of conflict. The families of both the central characters have important parts to play in the story. This is especially true for Eleanor who comes from a family I can only describe as bleak. An interesting offshoot from this YA love story is the inadvertent internal commentary the reader has on how much a child's personality and in some ways life is shaped by the family environment. You can see this play out in the vast differences in the personalities of Eleanor and Park. Eleanor is always on edge, hesitant, angry, irritable and untrusting. Park, who has a textbook nice family, is calm, confident and tending towards happy. He becomes the pillar in Eleanor's life. Let's not forget we are talking about fifteen year old kids here. Even at that age, having someone to lean on beyond your family can be pivotal.

As expected, there are lots of ups and downs and conflicts as their story progresses alongside the school year. This trajectory is predictable. The story to its credit continues to engage. It stays sweet and emotional. I am never blown away, but I am also not bored. Some of the lines are actually funny. The language is simple. It is an easy read.

As we make our way through the final major conflict, we know we are reaching the end. And this brings me to the little interesting bit I mentioned earlier - a potentially masterful move by the author. She has kept the ending slightly open-ended. The beauty is that it is not completely open-ended. There are enough hints for the readers to make out what happened, but we cannot be a hundred percent sure. That ensures that the story ends with the highest level of engagement and also keeps the reader involved after they have finished reading the novel. This ending ensured that Rowell will keep getting asked about the novel long after it has been published. In fact, there is a separate section after the novel ends where she talks about this 'controversial' ending and her take on it.

Overall, I think this is a nice novel. It is not my favorite in the YA fiction genre. That distinction is still held by The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

Read it if you are in the mood for a sweet love story.

My rating - 3/5

:)