Roger's Reads

Author & Book Reviewer

Review of the Bear and The Nightingale by Katherine Arden

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Bear and the nightingale book cover imageI recently finished a book entitled “The Bear and The Nightengale” which I absolutely loved. This is a novel based on Russian Folklore and is a dark fairytale based on a variety of creatures, gods, and household spirits. The story takes place in the 14th century and follows Vasilisa Petronova, a spirited young girl who has the “Second Sight” as did he mother, who passed away when Vasya was born.
 The girl is a bit of a rebel and not one for following rules. She is also able to see a variety of household guardian spirits such as the Domovoi who helps clean the house and assist with the mending, spirits of the forest, and spirits of the stables.

Oh, she can also communicate with horses. People in the story regularly comment on her wildness, some villagers calling her a wood sprite, others a witch.

One day her father returns from Moscow with a new wife, Anna, who is extremely devout and strict. Anna forbids her family from honoring and providing offerings for the household spirits.

Once the people of the village stop making offerings to the spirits, bad things begin to happen: Crops fail, food sources dwindle, children of the village sicken and then die, and evil creatures of the forest begin to draw nearer.

Soon we learn that a beast, known as the bringer of storms, has awoken and is escaping from the control that his brother, Morozko, Lord of Winter has over him. Morozko is also referred to as “The Frost Demon.” Soon a battle will take place between the two brothers and Vasya has to call upon her innate gifts — gifts that she has hidden from everyone — in order to protect her family and her village from the newly awakened threat.

I found it fascinating to read Vasya’s interaction with the spirits and how she integrated herself more and more into their world. Vasya was badass! I loved the strong, bold, rebellious heroine and found myself falling in love with her more and more as the story progressed.

Headstrong, confident and a bit rebellious, I feel that she provides an excellent role model for young women. Though she wants to please her family and tries to do what’s “proper” for a young lady, she is also not big on rules and desires freedom above all else — freedom to be the person she is meant to be, which of course, create some major conflicts in the story. In so doing, this amazing character succeeds in outsmarting both men and demons.
 She did not allow anyone to harness her into a stifling domestic life typically required of a young noblewoman, nor put her behind the walls of a convent which was where those who didn’t “fit in” were sent — especially those who refused a life of subservience to a husband.

Another thing I liked was the world building — it was was amazing! I felt that the world that Ms. Arden created in this story was magical, captivating and compelling and also dark and dangerous. And the detail that went into the storytelling made it real for the reader — or at least it did for me.
 The prose is beautiful, incredibly imaginative with vivid descriptions, a truly magical plot and a huge array of interesting and complex characters. This was a perfect fairytale, complete with spirits, demons, a wicked stepmother, tensions between modern religion and the old gods, Russian History and even the walking dead.

Now I will warn you that the first half of the book is basically heavy world-building and backstory so there is not a whole lot of action that goes on. In fact, I almost bailed about 20% of the way in. I listened to this book on audiobook and I was about 2 hours in and I considered DNFing this book as not a lot was happening. However, I’m so happy that I stuck it out.

This bewitching novel was a pure joy to read. This is a captivating and haunting story, dark at times, humorous in others. This is a combination of a historical fiction, fairy tale, Russian mythology, Russian folklore and a coming of age story, and in my opinion, was exemplary storytelling.
 I really loved the otherworldly, fairytale aspect to it and found it enchanting in every way. I was completely and totally enthralled by this book. I’ve heard people refer to this book as a fairytale for grownups, which really nails it in my opinion. I’m also glad I read this in the middle of winter because this was a perfect winter read.

It was an enticing story with a complete and gratifying conclusion. I understand that there is a second book that continues this story, which I definitely will be reading. Recommended!

You can check out The Bear and The Nightingale here on Amazon or The Book Depository

Review of The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis

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The sidekicks book cover image“How was your afternoon?”

“No one died, so it was a big improvement on my morning.” Will Kostakis, The Sidekicks

The Blurb:

All Ryan, Harley and Miles had in common was Isaac. They lived different lives, had different interests and kept different secrets. But they shared the same best friend. They were sidekicks. And now that Isaac’s gone, what does that make them?

Will Kostakis, award-winning author of The First Third, perfectly depicts the pain and pleasure of this teenage world, piecing together three points of view with intricate splendour.

The Story:

The Sidekicks is set in Northern Sydney and revolves around three friends, Ryan, Harley and Miles whose good friend Isaac just died. The thing with these three is that they are not friends with each other – but they were each close friends with Isaac. In fact, they really don’t like each other at all, and the couldn’t be more different from one another. The only thing they have in common is their grief over Isaac’s death.

So the book is broken down into three sections, each told from a different boy’s perspective. The three sections are named “The Swimmer” which is told from Ryan’s point of view, “The Rebel” which is told from Harley’s point of view, and “The Nerd” which is told from Miles’s point of view.

Each section starts out with the boy being called to the school deputy’s office — Miss Evan’s where they are told the news: Their friend Isaac was killed when he dove into the water at a party and hit his head on the boat.

What follows is an exposition of each boy’s reflections and flashbacks about their relationship to Isaac and their relationship to each other.

Pros:

I enjoyed the fact that each section built upon the previous section, so we saw a progression as we moved from one character’s point of view to the other. Though there was some repetition of events, we were able to revisit it through the unique perspective of the new character.

I also loved how relatable the characters were. They were so human and so real, complete with flaws, self-doubt, personal struggles and personality clashes which lent a strong realism to the story. I also liked how Isaac’s death affected each one of them differently, illustrating how grief affects all of us in different ways. This was apparent in the depiction of the different emotions each of the three experienced in the days following Isaac’s passing. I also was impressed by how distinct and unique each character’s voice and personality was. Each section had a markedly different writing style based on the character’s personality.

While the book does deal with heavy subject matter, there were also plenty of humous moments in the book, many of which made me laugh out loud. It also stressed the importance of family relationships and friendships, and both were wonderfully portrayed. In so many YA book, the parents are either absent or despised by the characters, which was not the case here. The relationships between the boy and their parents are positively portrayed and were present figures in the boys’ lives.

The ending was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes as the three boys discovered the threads that tied them together, finally realizing that with some endings come new beginnings. In this way, it wasn’t only about grief, but it was also about acceptance.

One thing that struck me was how the book moved away from stereotypes often found in gay-themed novels. I liked that fact that it wasn’t the uppity, snitty, overly-particular, sports-hating character who was gay, but rather the Olympic hopeful jock.

Cons:

Initially, I found the story a bit confusing and slow moving. To be truthful, there isn’t a lot of action in the book – it’s definitely a character driven story as we delve deep into each character’s head as they revisit their friendship with Issac.

I also found certain parts of Mile’s section challenging to get through as it consisted of bits of dialog from a film that he was revisiting – a film in which Isaac was starring. Though it was jarring at times, these sections did end up being poignant and relevant to Miles’s growth as a character.

At first, I found it somewhat off-putting that there were no chapters in the book. As I mentioned, it’s divided into three sections. They are several sections breaks which provided stopping points which I eventually got used to.

Verdict:

This is a gem of a book, and I ended up loving it and all three characters. This novel is an excellent exploration of grief, resulting in each character’s growth by the end of the book as they reexamined the boxes into which they placed themselves and each other. I also felt that it was an excellent portrayal of teenage life.

This was a heavy-hitting book, that was both heart-wrenching yet uplifting at the same time and may make you cry throughout the story, especially during the end which in my opinion, was absolutely beautiful. It’s a bittersweet story that I’m guessing will stay with me for a long time. I’m giving it 4.5 stars.  Recommended!

You can check out The Sidekicks here at Amazon or at The Book Depository

This review was transcribed my video review of this book on YouTube.

Review of Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis

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Dangerous art of blending in book coverI had no idea what this book was about going in – it somehow came to my attention, so I picked it up. I thought it might be a light, fluffy, coming out story. Boy, was I wrong! It was actually an intense story not only about a teen coming to terms with his sexuality but it was also about physical survival, so it was a tough book to read at times. This is a book that will definitely throw your heart into a blender.

The blurb is as follows:

Seventeen-year-old Evan Panos doesn’t know where he fits in. His strict immigrant Greek mother refuses to see him as anything but a disappointment. His quiet, workaholic father is a staunch believer in avoiding any kind of conflict. And his best friend, Henry, has somehow become distractingly attractive over the summer.

Tired, isolated, scared—Evan finds that his only escape is to draw in an abandoned monastery that feels as lonely as he is. And yes, he kissed one guy over the summer. But it’s Henry who’s now proving to be irresistible. Henry, who suddenly seems interested in being more than friends. And it’s Henry who makes him believe that he deserves more than his mother’s harsh words and terrifying abuse.

But as things with Henry heat up, and his mother’s abuse escalates, Evan has to decide how to find his voice in a world where he has survived so long by being silent.

This is a powerful and revelatory coming-of-age novel based on the author’s own childhood, about a boy who learns to step into his light.

The story follows 17-year-old Evan Panos, the son of two Greek immigrants and the book mainly revolves around Evan’s relationship with his mother. There is something seriously wrong with this woman – she’s a religious zealot who is both verbally and physically abusive to Evan. She whispers in his ear, such things as “you should just die” or “I should have killed you when you first came out of me” (I paraphrase here – I can’t remember the exact verbiage but it was something along those lines). I could almost feel that hatred she had for her son. She refuses to allow him to follow his dreams and in fact, goes out of the way to block him every step of the way.

Additionally, his mother is extremely homophobic, and though Evan has never come out to his parents, she suspects that he’s gay and accuses him of it constantly, all the while spewing constant homophobic vitriol towards her son. Evan goes through his days hiding his cuts and bruises from others, talking about how “clumsy” he is and how he is always falling off his bike.

It’s no surprise that Evan is scared, exhausted, isolated and in pain and his pain and suffering are so vividly evoked, that the reader is easily able to recognize the headspace he’s in and know how vulnerable he is. Thus, Evan decides to take the safest path possible: keep his head down, ignore his feelings for his crush and bide his time until he can finally leave home.

But as the story progresses, his mother’s abuse escalates and becomes even more terrifying, and as a reader, you can’t help but worry about Evan and wonder whether he’ll even make it out of this situation alive. As such, many parts of this book were especially difficult to read.

I found my heart breaking for Evan as he tried to hang in there and figure out who he could trust through all of this. So not only was he suffering from abuse at home, but he was also grappling with his sexuality and his identity while attempting to find his place in a world that was not all that kind to him at the moment.

It’s not very often you see stories of abuse at the hands of a mother, with a meek father sitting by, doing nothing and making excuses for the abuser’s behavior. Usually, we see the drunken, abusive stepfather trope, so it was refreshing to see another take on this, though it was no less horrifying. There were also others in authority positions that could have helped Evan but until the end of the book, choose to ignore what was going on.

But though the story is heart-wrenching, it is also beautiful, and Evan does come out shining at the end, thanks to the love and support of a boy he’s especially fond of and whose loyalty and compassion assist Evan in transcending his horrific experiences. So in this way, it is heartbreaking and heart-mending as he finally steps into his own and finds his voice. He comes to realize that no matter how much he might hope for his mother to change, it is up to him to make the change in his life and escape the madness of his situation.

Though the book does end on a positive, hopeful note, it is a book about a darker subject matter, so it’s probably not recommended for more sensitive readers as there are excessive physical and verbal child abuse triggers as well as homophobia. The descriptions of the abuse are graphic in places. But that being said, the ending was well done and optimistic. So in this way, it’s a story that first rips your heart out and then puts it back together.

This book is a painful yet powerful read that will have you angry during some parts and weeping with joy at others. It provided a multifaceted look at some of the more unsettling aspects of human relationships and a realistic portrayal of abuse at the hands of a fanatical parent. Though I found it emotionally draining at times, I was deeply touched by this story.

All in all, The Dangerous Art of Blending In was beautifully crafted and evocative, and though raw in places, it was a book I’m glad I had the opportunity to read. Recommended!

You can check out The Dangerous Art of Blending In HERE

Review of Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

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Eliza and her monstersI just finished Eliza and her Monsters and I loved it! What a clever, original book.

The blurb is as follows:

Eighteen-year-old Eliza Mirk is the anonymous creator of Monstrous Sea, a wildly popular webcomic, but when a new boy at school tempts her to live a life offline, everything she’s worked for begins to crumble.

Scott Westerfeld’s Afterworlds meets Nimona in this novel about art, fandom, and finding the courage to be yourself. Features illustrations by the author throughout. Perfect for readers of Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, this is the second novel by the acclaimed author of Made You Up.

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, smart, and friendless. Online, Eliza is LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of a popular webcomic called Monstrous Sea. With millions of followers and fans throughout the world, Eliza’s persona is popular. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves her digital community. Then Wallace Warland transfers to her school, and Eliza begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile. But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

With pages from Eliza’s webcomic, as well as screenshots from Eliza’s online forums, this uniquely formatted book will appeal to fans of Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona and Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl.

The Setting

So the story revolves around Eliza, a smart, geeky, socially awkward and shy high school senior who is the anonymous creator a wildly popular webcomic called Monstrous Sea. Her online alter ego is LadyConstellation and only Max and Emmy, a couple of online friends whom she’s never met, know her identity. So in this way, Eliza is basically living two separate lives. In her real life, she’s more or less invisible whereas online, she’s a star! Oh – and her parents are totally clueless as to how famous their daughter is – and how much money she earns from her little “hobby” as they refer to it.

There’s a New Guy In Town

So this new guy, named Wallace moves into town and low and behold, he is a huge — and I do mean HUGE – Monstrous Sea fan. He’s also is introverted and suffers from severe social anxiety.

Now as Eliza and Wallace’s relationship deepens (and there’s no “instalove” — just a nice, gradual slow burn), Eliza becomes more and more conflicted about whether to tell him that she is the web comic’s creator. He is, after all, a major fan. Hell, he even writes Monstrous See fan-fiction. But she decides to keep it a secret and to ride it out because hey, what could go wrong?

The Secret Gets Out

Well, as we learn from the blurb, Eliza get outed and the entire world — well, the Monstrous Sea fandom – now knows the identity of the infamous LadyConstellation and in a flash, her whole world gets turned upside down. Now at first glance, this might not seem like that big of a deal. Okay, you might think, so people on the Internet find out who’s the author of a webcomic. No big deal. But it actually is a really big deal — Eliza is basically the equivalent of a Hollywood celebrity in the fandom world with millions of followers. So the big reveal leads to some major, major fallouts in Eliza’s life such as relationship blow-up, excessive anxiety and the onset of panic attacks.

All About the Monsters

So as the story slowly unfolds, we figure out that the title of the book “Eliza and Her Monsters”, isn’t just only just about the monsters that Eliza creates for her comic but it’s also about her anxiety, doubt, fear, the expectations of others and the way she alienates herself from her family and the outside world. So in this way, the novel does touch on several serious issues as well, such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, betrayal and the courage to be oneself but it treats these difficult topics with grace. And in the end, it was encouraging to see the positive changes that Eliza goes through and how she comes out of her shell by end of the story.

I could really relate to many of the things that Eliza was going through as I was also extremely introverted and anxious through my high school years, and had my share of monsters as well. This is probably the case for many of us as those high school years can be difficult for most people in one way or another.

And though we may not personally identify with all the monsters that plagued Eliza, this story can help us to understand these disorders so that we can be more understanding towards our friends and family who experience these issues firsthand. It can also help us in realizing that we are not alone.

The Characters

The author really has a knack for bringing her characters to life: Eliza, Wallace, Max and Emmy, her brothers Church and Sully and her lovely parents, all of whom where nicely fleshed out, vivid, relatable and most of all likable, making this book accessible to so many people. The characters of Eliza and Wallace were especially complex, and I enjoyed learning more and more about them, leading to an understanding of their motivations as the tale unfolded. I also loved all of the secondary characters and appreciated how no one took on a minor, token kind of role in the book — every character was important to the story.

The Format

The story was told through a variety of different formats in the novel: internal dialog, conversation, conversation via writing, chat windows, text messages, screenshots of forum messages and even artwork which correlates to what Eliza is working on — all of this really added an element of realism — and fun — to the story. I’m so glad that I ended up purchasing the hard copy version of the book because the gorgeous art was a phenomenal touch.

Verdict

From an artistic point of view, Eliza and Her Monsters is an uplifting and encouraging story about fandom, art and going out into the world and creating something meaningful, which renders this emotional story incredibly relatable to anyone who creates or desires to create — or by anyone who enjoys interacting with fandoms, such as ComicCon or DragonCon for instance.

It’s a beautiful journey of a talented young woman who, once paralyzed by her monsters, succeeds in overcoming them and comes out shining at the end of the story.

The book was well-written, the characters meticulously developed with a unique and fresh story. It’s brilliantly plotted and an absolute joy to read. I didn’t want it to end. This is one of those captivating books that you could easily read over and over again, and discover something new with each reading. Recommended!

Trigger Warning: There are mentions of depression, anxiety disorders and talk of suicide.

You can check out Eliza and Her Monsters HERE

Review of Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu

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Batman Marie Lu book cover imageI’ve heard quite a bit of praise for Marie Lu’s books, and while browsing at the library, Batman caught my eye, especially given that I love superheroes and the idea of a teen Batman peaked my interest. What I found was a delightful, fast-paced original story based on the Batman theme and I loved the modernization of an old favorite.

The Setting

This book shouldn’t really be called “Batman” as the story takes place before Bruce Wayne (who is eighteen in the book) has become Batman. The story begins on young Bruce Wayne’s high school graduation day, and Bruce has just come into his inheritance.

We already see Bruce’s desire to stop the crime and violence in his city early on as he intervenes in a police chase which lands him in hot water with Gotham City’s finest. But it’s only because of Bruce’s intervention that police were able to apprehend a suspected murderer who’s part of the gang called The Nightwalkers suspected of several murders and thefts in Gotham City.

Welcome to Arkham

As a result of his meddling, Bruce is sentenced to community service at one of the worst places possible: the Arkham Asylum, home for the criminally insane which houses the most dangerous criminals in Gotham. There, he encounters Madeleine, the Nightwalker suspect who was apprehended as a result of Bruce’s interference. The enigmatic Madeleine refuses to speak to the authorities, but she begins to strike up a conversation with Bruce during his daily chores.

Through this new friendship, Bruce learns more of her background and history, and she really seems to understand him. The more they talk, the more Bruce begins to feel a connection between the two of them. She then starts feeding him little nuggets of information about the Nightwalkers, which Bruce ends up personally verifying.

Helping the Police

Given that Bruce is the only person that Madeline will talk to, he begins working closely with the police in order to gain additional information from Madeleine about the Nightwalkers. But Madeleine is not only very intelligent and possibly deadly, she is also extremely cunning, and she ends up reading Bruce like a book. Madeleine is well aware of Bruce Wayne’s history, and she uses this to get him to trust her. She reinforces this trust even further by giving him those much-needed clues to the whereabouts of the Nightwalkers.

But is it a trap?

Though it appears as though she may be helping him, is she actually leading him into a trap? It’s difficult to tell as the story progresses. Madeleine is creepy at times but at other times incredibly charming and seemingly authentic.

In spite of Bruce’s better judgment, he finds himself falling for her, but as he becomes more deeply involved with the situation, he begins to suspect that she may not be as sincere as he thought when he learns that some of what she’s told him are lies.

It’s also worth mentioning at this point that the Nightwalkers’ modus operandi is to steal every bit of money from millionaires and billionaires and then murder them afterward. As a reader, we can’t help but wonder: is Bruce Wayne next on their list?

The Characterization

The characters in this story were excellent. It’s fun that the story takes place from the Bruce Wayne’s point of view so we get a peek inside the head of the extremely intelligent kid with complex emotions who is destined to be the infamous Batman. I really liked his personality — compassionate, honorable, and caring on hand and a bit of a dangerous, daring bad-boy on the other.

Madeleine is an awesome antagonist — a clever master manipulator who ends up playing everybody around her. She’s also quite a complicated character, which doesn’t make it easy for the reader (or the other characters in the book) to figure her out. She definitely has many layers to her, and she keeps everyone guessing.

Verdict

The story is fast-paced, gripping and action-packed, and a true treat for the superhero fan (the Wayne Tech drones were a nice extra touch). I was drawn in almost immediately, and the riveting plot kept me turning the page. This story has it all: an intriguing tech-savvy villain, a noble hero, murder, justice, bloodthirsty thieves, a brilliant mastermind and even a touch of romance. I felt that the pacing was perfect and the dialog snappy, with an excellent build-up to the climax.

Though I felt the title of the story (Batman) was a tad misleading, it did do an excellent job of planting the seed for Bruce Wayne’s future evolution into Batman. Batman:Nightwalker was a fun mystery that kept me guessing throughout the entire novel. It was a fast read with plenty of surprises as the story unfolded.

For me, this was an excellent introduction to Marie Lu’s work (I love her writing style), and I look forward to reading more by her. And even though I’m more of a Marvel guy than a DC guy, I’ve been wanting to dive into the DC Icons series and coming across this book provided me an excellent opportunity to do so. Recommended!

You can check out Batman HERE

Review of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

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Eleanor and park cover image“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice.She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.” ~ Park

I saw this book at my local library while I was browsing and it caught my attention, as I’ve liked other books by Rainbow Rowell that I’ve read. This one was no exception.

The blurb is as follows:

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits-smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love-and just how hard it pulled you under.

New Girl at School

The year is 1986. Eleanor is the new girl at school with flaming red hair and clothes that, shall we say, are out of the norm. She’s the school outcast and is bullied at school because she’s a big girl who wears very odd, patchwork outfits. The first part of the novel takes place on the bus, where she sits next to Park, a somewhat geeky boy who ’s half-Caucasian and half Korean.

Days pass and they never talk to each other nor look at each other until one day Park notices that Eleanor is discretely reading his comics over his shoulder. He begins slipping her comics without saying a word, with her always returning them the next day.

A Relationship Develops

From this point, their relationship begins to develop slowly, with Park creating mixed tapes for Eleanor (remember mixed tapes?) and them slowing starting to talk to each other about comics and music. Eleanor is convinced that a boy like Park couldn’t possibly be interested in her but is surprised when they move to the hand-holding stage.

They both begin to look forward to the bus ride to and from school – the only time they get to spend together. I really loved watching the slow and tender relationship develop between them as they learned more and more about each other. Eleanor wavers between joy at having Park in her life and disbelief that he could actually be interested in her. It’s no surprise that, because of her home life, her self-confidence is lacking.

Eleanor’s Home Life

Sitting and talking with Park is the one bright spot in Eleanor’s life because she’s having kind of a tough time of it. Not only is she bullied at school (someone continues to write obscene messages on her school notebooks) but she lives at home with an abusive, controlling stepfather who barely provides for the kids’ needs, hence the patchwork and men’s clothes she has to wear to school. She and her siblings pretty much live in fear and poverty.

While at home, all her time is spent in her room, trying desperately to stay out of her stepfather’s way, who for some reason, seems to have it out for her. Park is unaware of her situation as it’s something that Eleanor never speaks of.

Park’s Home Life

Park’s world couldn’t be more different than Eleanor’s. His family is loving and supportive, though his father is somewhat challenged by Park’s individuality, especially the day he shows up at the breakfast table wearing eyeliner (his father didn’t speak to him for days afterward).

But it was apparent that both of his parents loved him. They also ended up welcoming Eleanor into their home, though his mother (a beautician) didn’t much care for her initially. It was nice to see how Park’s family warmed to Eleanor especially when they began to understand that she had a difficult home life.

The Characters

I really fell in love with these two characters who were both shy, awkward outcasts and it was fun to observe their initial hostility to each other turned first into friendship then into something deeper as they became more and more comfortable with each other.

I felt the author did an excellent job of capturing that specialness and newness that we go through when experiencing love for the first time. I enjoyed the format of the book in which the author switches back and forth, via extremely short chapters, between Park’s and Eleanor’s point of view, so we really go to know each of the characters and observe what it is that makes them tick.

I can’t believe how much I adored both Eleanor and Park, how much I’ve cheered for them to get together, and how much I just… couldn’t put the book down, really.

My Verdict

Though this was a touching coming of age story of a sweet first love, it was also heartbreaking in places as we experience first-hand the horrendous home life that Eleanor had to endure. In this way, it’s the kind of story that’ll make you laugh and cry, and I did find myself tearing up on a few occasions while reading. This is a story that flows well with believable and likable characters.

I thought this book was beautifully written with authentic situations and dialog. For instance, the description of the first time they held hands was amazing — the intensity that both of them experienced from just this simple act. This scene brought me back to my teen years, as I recalled these exact same feelings the first time I held hands with someone I truly cared about.

I think that many people will be able to relate to the experiences that these two teens go through (I also remember making mix tapes for my first crush!). I felt that the relationship between Eleanor and Park built slowly, realistically and naturally. This is a story that flowed well with believable characters.

Eleanor & Park is a love story but with many other real-life issues thrown in. While the romance between them was sweet and I loved watching them fall more and more in love with each other, the story also dealt with several not-so-sweet themes such as bullying, child abuse, child neglect, social pressures and negative self-image. So while it’s a tender story of two teens falling in love, there’s also plenty of conflict from the outside world which made the book heart-wrenching in parts.

But I ended up loving every part of the story and am so glad I came across it. This book was fantastic… I loved how the point of view changed between the two main characters, I loved the drama, the slowly blossoming romance, the secrets they had, and the exciting indescribable feelings they experienced as their love blossomed. This story had just enough soft and hard to make it perfect — it was neither too mushy nor too gritty.

The writing was entertaining and sweet, with both humor and heartbreak. There’s something to be said about how an author manages to get me to read a 322-page novel in nearly one sitting. Recommended!

You can check out Eleanor & Park here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.