Eleanor & Park

#1 New York Times Best Seller!

"Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book."-John Green, The New York Times Book Review

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.

A New York Times Best Seller!
A 2014 Michael L. Printz Honor Book for Excellence in Young Adult Literature
Eleanor & Park is the winner of the 2013 Boston Globe Horn Book Award for Best Fiction Book.
A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of 2013
A New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of 2013
A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of 2013
An NPR Best Book of 2013

BUY THE BOOK

336 pages

Average rating: 7.82

262 RATINGS

|

21 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

uneven_shvm
Jul 24, 2024
6/10 stars
The Book was great. I really enjoyed it. Romance between the main character. Eleanor and Park was really beautiful. Sometimes it feel cringe, but I mean is a teen love story so at least we can expect that much. The romance overall was very good. Very interesting and you feel for the character as well, both Eleanor and Park. The overall theme of the book, I would say focus around bullying, but this is what the negative comes in, the book doesn’t tell you how how to deal with bullying. That’s the issue. I mean, you can understand more when you read it, but feels like every character in this book didn’t want to do anything about this bullying situation. Anyways, apart from Eleanor and Park you don’t feel attached to other characters as much as you do with the main character. The author didn’t focus on the other characters that much. The Book mainly focus on and Park and Eleanor and their relationship, and how they develop feelings for each others. Also, sometimes it feels like the story is dragging a little bit, I mean the Book can easily be cut shot 20 or 30 page. Overall the book was good. It was a good romance book. If you like romance, you can definitely try. There is some negative of this Book, but you can overcome that negative when you finished the book and the ending was, I would say good, not perfect, not bad, good, I like the ending.
Anonymous
Jul 17, 2024
4/10 stars
There were good parts of this book but I felt as though every chapter was the same monotonous plot of awkward teenage romance and characters who do not develop throughout the story.
Anonymous
Jul 05, 2024
8/10 stars
Cute, sweet, heartbreaking story. It has its flaws, but I zoomed through it like I haven't with any book in a very long time.
Reanae99
Apr 26, 2024
6/10 stars
It wasn't actually discussed, but within the story, but while reading this book I kept thinking about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Eleanor was stuck on the bottom of the pyramid. She was worried about her home life, she was worried about shelter, food, and her safety. She was also worried about her little brother's and sister's safety. Park had those things. Eleanor was safe when she was with him and in his home, but she was still not able to relax completely. Emotionally and psychologically they weren't in the same place. I think that was one of the biggest problems in their relationship. Their romance felt one sided. She just wasn't able to give as much as he was. I don't mean just tactile possessions. I mean she wasn't able to reciprocate when he would talk about his feelings or wants.

I am glad we saw things from both their view points. I am pretty sure I would have liked Eleanor a lot less if I didn't know what was in her head. As it is I am not entirely sure what Park saw in her.
Anonymous
Apr 20, 2024
6/10 stars
horrible adults are being horrible to kids. not exactly my cup of tea.
the romantic scenes are very dull and too long.

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.