Book Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor was the new girl in school and Park was just the boy sitting alone on the bus.

Set in 1986 this is the story of two, I don't want to say outcasts, that unexpectedly fall in love.  Eleanor returns home after being thrown out of the house by her stepfather.  She's a bit overweight with red hair and freckles--a combination that doesn't help her make friends at her school.  Park is half Asian with a few friends but he's not a majorly popular boy or anything.

Eleanor has her own troubles aside from Park to get through, not that Park is a trouble.  She had been thrown out of the house by her stepfather and now returns home to a life where her siblings like or pretend to like him.  She can't stand him and he can't stand her.  She feels creepy due to situations in the house.  Park is her escape.

The book is not a clean read.  There is cussing.  In the beginning it was a lot and I was afraid every page would be littered with dirty words, but fortunately they died down quite a bit.  I'm against cussing, but I'm not going to turn a book away because it has in it.  I read for the story and the story here was really good.

I read this book for pure pleasure.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.