Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

83 reviews

manudonato's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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katmystery's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book wrecked me. I've enjoyed Rainbow Rowell's other works, but nothing hit me as hard as Eleanor & Park. It was messy, devastating, beautiful, and real, and I want nothing but the best for these characters after the final page.

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relapsedheretic's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I read this again every few years, and every single time it never fails to make me both laugh and cry

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queenofsages's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative inspiring
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0


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currently_introverting's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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andreaandre02's review against another edition

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emotional funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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skybluespines's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Check the TW!

I really enjoyed this book! It was very nostalgic, reminding me of what it feels like to be a teenager with a crush and dealing with big real life things. I loved all the music and comic references, even without being familiar with the specifics of the things referenced, haha. YA romance is a genre I tend to stay away from, but I'm really glad I read this one.

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mmaude2's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5


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lena1508's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75


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savage_book_review's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Eleanor wants to be invisible. But her flaming red hair and thrift store fashion make her stand out like a sore thumb. So when she steps onto the school bus and slides into the empty seat next to Park, she keeps herself to herself. Until he notices her reading over his shoulder. Issues of comics are exchanged before words are, but slowly they get to know each other through Marvel and mix tapes. With a less than harmonious home life and bullies terrorising her at school, she discovers the safety and comfort of friendship and first love... now she just has to keep it hidden.

This is a simple story of teen love, but is so effectively told. It completely draws you in, portraying beautifully that dream-like version of budding romance where you two are the only characters of consequence in the story. The people that surround you; friends, family, classmates and colleagues are there and interact with you, affect your life and continue in their roles, but your focus is continually drawn to that person you have feelings for. In this case, I found that it didn't matter that the secondary characters weren't necessarily drawn with that much depth; they just didn't need it as they weren't as important as this growing relationship. 

That being said, Eleanor's background is horrifying and, as the story progresses, it's hard to understand why her mother remains loyal to her utterly disgusting step-father. He is the only character that perhaps could have been more starkly drawn. He is a nasty piece of work, but he doesn't quite come to life enough for me to inspire that burning hatred that other literary villains of a similar ilk do.

The writing style bounces back and forth between Eleanor and Park's POVs in fairly rapid succession, but in this case it works perfectly for the story being told. You get to see the development of their relationship and their wider lives from both perspectives simultaneously, which means the shifting balance of feelings is always evident. 

I understand from the author's notes why the ending is the way that it is, but if I do have one criticism it's that the end does feel a bit rushed. The resolution of the slight 'mystery' element should have a greater impact than it does, and the emotional fallout for both Eleanor and Park deserves more page space... I'm not 100% sure how it could work myself, but it seemed to me that there was an entire potential third act within those last few pages. But I'm not going to complain about the last few lines. Perfectly pitched. 

This book is more about the feelings it inspires in the reader rather than its literary merits. And I definitely have all the feels after that!

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