To break through the endless blur of young adult novels these days it would seem that it is not good marketing that’s key, but Tumblr. John Greens’ hurricane quotation, Suzanne Collins’ “real or not real?”, or any line from Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower masterpiece can be seen circulating our dashboards, and now it seems Rowell’s Eleanor & Park has joined the clan.
“He made her feel like more than the sum of her parts.” This quote. The quote that made me pay the ridiculous overnight delivery charge from Amazon. The quote that may, perhaps, have brought me to a new favourite book. Cheers Tumblr! And why do I love this book so much? Eleanor is wild, both in appearance and temperament; Park couldn’t be less under the radar if he tried – which incidentally, he does. I hear your exasperated sighs – “What makes this book so different??” Well, Eleanor & Park is glued together by love, but things aren’t so black and white. Rowell makes you work, beyond the last chapter. Every ‘Smiths’ mix tape that tips the two further in love creates another question. Both characters are frustrating, and – rather often than not – you’ll feel like slamming the book down at the hopelessness of the thing. But really, what piece of text (other than a dominoes menu) has left you smiling on every page? And, much like a dominoes menu, what you receive at the end is more than enough to make you beg for second helping…
Eleanor & Park is a must read for anyone and everyone that believes in love, and anyone wishing to add someone other than Hazel Grace to their book shelf this Valentine’s Day.
Words by Rachael Griffiths