Review: "Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell

Book 7/50 for 2015
☕☕☕☕☕



Genre: Contemporary
Series or standalone? Standalone
Pages: 324
I read the: UK paperback
Began: March 24th, 2015 // Finished: March 26th, 2015
Where can I buy this? Here! (via thebookdepository)
Goodreads: Right here!
First Sentence: "He'd stopped trying to bring her back"
Favourite quote: "She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice, it was supposed to make you feel something."  

Synopsis:

Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

So, this book took me by surprise. I was expecting a cute lil lovey-dovey novel, but now I honestly don't know how I managed to live without having read it. Both Eleanor and Park struck me with waves of emotion throughout the whole book. It's not just a cute story about two sixteen year olds finding young love. It's a story about two people, whose age doesn't matter, who wouldn't even seem likely to be friends, who fall in love, slowly but deeply and experience emotions so strong that they feel invincible. 
I can confidently say that 'Eleanor & Park' has become one of my favourite books. I found myself crying, laughing and smiling inconsistently throughout the whole story (I /do tend/ to get too emotional over books), which definitely is a plus towards my rating of the book. 
I loved every minute of it.

To Mrs. Rainbow Rowell:
1. Thank you for your amazing writing, story and characters (I really wish I could've spent more time with them:
2. WHERE IS THE FREAKING SEQUEL??! (<3)

I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a good read :)