26 Mar Book Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

There are love stories that feel too perfect to be real, and then there are love stories like Eleanor & Park—raw, awkward, messy, and completely unforgettable. This isn’t a grand, sweeping romance filled with dramatic declarations and perfect moments. It’s a story about two misfit teenagers who find something real in each other, even when the world around them is trying to pull them apart. If you’ve ever felt like an outsider or fallen in love in a way that felt both terrifying and exhilarating, this book will hit you right in the heart.

What’s it about?

Set in the mid-1980s, Eleanor & Park follows two sixteen-year-olds who couldn’t seem more different at first glance. Eleanor Douglas is the new girl in school, and she sticks out like a sore thumb. She has bright red hair, thrift-store clothes, and a home life that’s far from stable. She’s immediately labeled as weird, and on her first day of school, no one will even let her sit next to them on the bus.

That is, until Park Sheridan, a quiet, music-obsessed half-Korean boy, reluctantly slides over in his seat and lets her sit down. It’s not an act of kindness so much as one of mild irritation—he doesn’t want to deal with the social fallout of ignoring her. But that small moment sets everything into motion.

At first, they don’t speak. Park listens to his Walkman, flipping through comic books, and Eleanor just sits there, silently absorbing everything. But then, slowly, something shifts. Eleanor starts secretly reading Park’s comics over his shoulder, and instead of being annoyed, Park starts turning the pages slower so she can keep up. Then, one day, he leaves a stack of comics on her seat—no words, just an offering. Soon after, he notices that Eleanor has no music of her own, so he hands her one of his mix tapes.

It’s the beginning of something wordless and powerful, a connection that builds in tiny, stolen moments.

Eleanor’s home life is a nightmare. She lives with her mother, her younger siblings, and her abusive stepfather, Richie, in a small, rundown house where she doesn’t even have her own toothbrush. Richie is violent and controlling, and Eleanor spends most of her time trying to stay out of his way, terrified that one wrong move will make things worse. She doesn’t have much—no money, no privacy, no sense of safety—but she clings to the small joys she can find, and soon, Park becomes one of them.

Park, meanwhile, struggles with his own identity and place in the world. He doesn’t quite fit in with the other kids at school, but he’s not an outcast like Eleanor, either. He has a loving family, but his relationship with his father is complicated—his father expects him to be tougher, more traditionally masculine, and Park feels like he’s always falling short.

As Eleanor and Park spend more time together, their connection deepens into something neither of them expected. They bond over music—The Smiths, Joy Division, The Cure—and late-night phone calls where they talk about everything and nothing. Their relationship is tentative and fragile, but also intense in the way that only first love can be.

But falling in love doesn’t make the rest of the world disappear. Eleanor’s home life continues to deteriorate, and the bullying at school escalates. She becomes the target of cruel jokes and harassment, and when Park stands up for her, it only makes things worse. Their relationship is beautiful, but it exists in a world that isn’t ready for them, and they both start to realize that love alone might not be enough.

When Eleanor discovers something that puts her in immediate danger, she has no choice but to run. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, Park becomes the only person she can trust. Their love has always been a lifeline, but now it’s also a ticking clock—because the closer they get, the more impossible it seems that they’ll be able to hold onto each other.

The ending is heart-wrenching and bittersweet, the kind that leaves you staring at the last page, wishing for just a little more. It’s not a perfect happy ending, but it’s a real one, and it lingers in a way that feels achingly true.

What This Chick Thinks

A love story that feels honest

What makes Eleanor & Park so special is how real it feels. There’s no love at first sight, no instant attraction, no grand romantic gestures—just two people slowly, awkwardly, beautifully falling for each other in the only way they know how. It’s messy, complicated, and sometimes painful, but that’s exactly what makes it feel so true to life.

A heartbreaking look at abuse and survival

While the romance is at the heart of the novel, Eleanor’s home life is just as important to the story. Rainbow Rowell doesn’t sugarcoat the reality of living with an abusive parent, and Eleanor’s situation is depicted with unflinching honesty. She’s trapped in a world that doesn’t love her, but she refuses to let it define her. The way she fights to hold onto herself—even when everything around her is trying to break her—is what makes her such a powerful protagonist.

A beautifully developed relationship

Eleanor and Park’s love story is built on shared moments, on music, books, stolen glances, and whispered conversations. It’s a slow burn, but that’s what makes it so rewarding. Their relationship is equal parts joyful and terrifying, because for both of them, this is the first time they’ve ever felt truly seen by someone else.

A reminder of how first love stays with you

Even if you haven’t been in Eleanor and Park’s exact situation, the intensity of their emotions is so universal. That feeling of falling in love for the first time, of being consumed by it, of feeling like you’ve finally found your person—it’s all there. But so is the fear, the doubt, the knowledge that life doesn’t always make things easy.

Final Thoughts

Eleanor & Park is one of the most beautifully written and emotionally resonant love stories I’ve ever read. It’s a book about connection, about survival, about the kind of love that changes you—even if it doesn’t last forever. It’s bittersweet, sometimes heartbreaking, but also filled with so much tenderness and hope.

If you’ve ever been an outsider, if you’ve ever found solace in music and books, if you’ve ever fallen in love in a way that felt too big for the world to hold, this book will stay with you.

Rating: 9.5/10

Try it if you like

• Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – Another deeply emotional coming-of-age story about first love and finding your place in the world.
• Looking for Alaska by John Green – A novel that explores love, loss, and the intense emotions of being a teenager.
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – A heartbreaking yet beautiful love story about two teenagers who connect in unexpected ways.