This was a post by Hanna, who is comforted by poetry and dark chocolate cheesecake.
This was a post by Hanna, who has finally gone back home.
This was a post by Hanna, whose Sunday was spent eating ice cream in a garden, looking for dresses, and talking about important things with her secret agent lover man. She is currently reading this book.
This spectacular book surprised me in many ways.
First of all, that first line (“XTC was no good for drowning out the morons at the back of the bus.”) grabbed me by the collar and pulled me in. I knew that the story was set in 1986 and that a friendship would be formed through music and comic books. I expected bouts of nostalgia and plenty of geeky references but I didn’t know how affected I would be and how much crying had to be done. I devoured this book like cake but there were moments when I had to pause and come up for air. It was pretty intense and as Kubi would say, it caused many an uglycryface.
There is nothing extraordinary about these two characters. They are two teenagers who have often felt like they are on the outside looking in and they are just trying to find their place in the world. Nothing extraordinary happens either. They are just going about their daily lives, doing everyday things. But what is extraordinary about this book is how genuine these characters are and how much the book captured the awkwardness and the ache of falling and being in love. There were no profound mumbles or impeccable blahs. It was a genius move to write it in the third person and to use alternating perspectives between Eleanor and Park because it allowed the reader to really know what they were thinking and feeling at that exact moment. There is no restraint in terms of expressing their thoughts or emotions and it makes them genuine and relatable. It was so intense and intimate that reading it made me feel like a thief because it felt like I was robbing them of their privacy.
The book is masterfully crafted and beautifully written. Rainbow Rowell’s sentences and descriptions are delectable. For Eleanor, Park’s trench coat “smelled like Irish Spring and a little bit like potpourri and like something she couldn’t describe anyway other than boy.” For Park, Eleanor “looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.”
I loved John Green’s review of the book wherein he said that “the obstacle in ‘Eleanor & Park’ is simply the world. The world cannot stomach a relationship between a good-looking Korean kid and Big Red. The world cannot allow Eleanor a boyfriend of any kind, because she’s poor and fat and dresses funny. The world cannot allow Park a girlfriend because he likes wearing eyeliner, and everyone knows that’s gay. The world is the obstacle, as it always is when you’re 16 and truly in love.”
This book made me grateful to be young and in love and to be living in a world where beautiful stories such as this one exists.
READ THIS BOOK.
Then come back here and let’s talk about it.
This was a post by Hanna, who is thinking about ice cream, as always.
Photo by: Harriet Russell
This was a post by Hanna, who is excited about a multitude of things.
I read all four books in the Caster Chronicles in about two nights during the week that I was supposed to be studying for exams. Now I’m working my way through The Thief series. I am currently reading the third book in between glances at a documentary on birds that the father is enthusiastically watching.
This was a post by Hanna, who is happy to be home.
So I still have a hangover from reading the first two books in the Mara Dyer trilogy last night. These books are unbefrigginlievably spectacular and I cannot wait to read the last book in the series. I have said it before that I get extremely attached to books and their characters and holy mackerel on a stick, my heart literally hurt when I realized that I would not get to read the last book until October. I cannot get over how ridiculously good this series is. Michelle Hodkin is fantastic and she is quickly becoming one of my favorite YA authors.
October seems too far away especially since most of the books I’m dying to read will be released on the same month. Do yourselves a favor and read this series. You’ll thank me later.
(Dear Kubi, please read this series and let us freak out about Noah Shaw and these books.)
This was a post by Hanna, who is waiting for October.
This was a post by Hanna, who is about to devour this remarkably seductive book with jam. (Thanks, Kubi, for the mulberry jam.)
I read this immediately after the first book in the series. It’s darker and far more serious than The Name of the Star.
I was annoyed at how Rory handled everything especially with regards to her schoolwork. I did like the fact that there was more focus on The Shades and while I did enjoy reading about Rory and her friends in school, it was clear that she belongs with Stephen, Boo, and Callum. The subplot was also creepy and unsettling and the ending was completely unexpected. I wonder why Maureen Johnson decided to go in this direction.
Having said that, I still enjoyed reading The Madness Underneath and I am really interested to know where this story is headed. I did miss Alistair, though.
This was a post by Hanna, who is about to have a love affair with mulberry jam.
This was a post by Hanna, who just had breakfast. She is happy.
