Book Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Ebook. Book cover.

This review also appears on my Goodreads profile.

Rating: 4.3 stars!

An advance copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

“Think you're escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home.” -James Joyce

I don't know why, but as soon as I thought about this novel and everything that I experienced during the read for the purpose of writing this review, this quote kept zinging 'round and 'round in my mind, going wheeeee.. so I just had to mention it cause it also explains the feel of this book and it's theme and is not just something that kept blocking me from thinking anything else. Much.

So.

This was a wonderful book and I had to take a few moments to myself, patting down emotions and gathering my wits, before I could calmly sit down and write this review. The story completely fell in with 1986 background and for most parts, I just thought that it was really, really cool.

The best part about this novel was that it(the book) was so comfortable and familiar reciting Eleanor and Park's story.. So completely settled in that soft, revealing place between reality and fantasy, that each new scene, every other dialogue that connected even slightly, felt as if it would reach out and lure you deeper into the couple's whispers and quiet sighs.

Another thing that I fancied was that their conversations felt true. They seemed to fit each other so well, their actions and thoughts so perfectly hesitant and bold all at the same time, it kind of seemed to leave a reminder of all the feelings and the memories that seemed old and intimate but in reality, when you blink your eyes and notice that it's morning already, you realize that it's just part of the story and nothing like you experienced first-hand. At least, it was like that, for me.

For most parts, I liked Park. Knowing that that's the understatement of a millennium, I'll continue by saying that though I loved him and thought him adorable and totes dreamy, I wasn't blind to his shortcomings. Like that instance when he admitted that he coveted being the first (first love/boyfriend) of the most popular girl in school just so he wasn't labelled a total nobody. But since we are talking about teenagers here and self-preservation is something we all hold on to, and also because I acknowledge the truth in the fact that it's very easy to judge others- almost natural actually- I'll let it pass because it's just one of a zillion facets of human nature.
I was already going "Aww.." and "Darn it, this guy is AMAZING," when (gasp) I found out that he was of half Irish and half Korean descent. 

Instant crazy fangirl moment. 

For those of you who don't know- which includes most of you, heh- I've been in love with the idea of Ireland(I say idea, because I've never actually been there) for as long as I remember and I totally got a thing for Koreans (the Korean thing started with this TV Show that I watched for a history assignment Dae Jang Geum- man, I've been a little weird like that ever since).
For a teenager with conflicting emotions and a hesitant want of acceptance, he was a person who was his own and who had a really kick-ass taste in music and comic books.  
As conclusion, I'll just say three words: I. Love. Him.



Now.. Eleanor.

Eleanor's was a character which we got to see from different angels and aspects- sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes a little blurred and sometimes so vibrant that it almost felt real. I really really liked her. Having to live in a small house, with a disreputable and abusive step-father and a submissive, doormat mother, sharing a single room with all her siblings and no privacy to even think about, Eleanor had lots of struggles of her own- both, inside and outside of her high-school social circle. Big Red, some kids from school teased her and we were confronted with the reality of how alone a person might feel when faced with such bullies. Eleanor had an unwavering strength in her personality, that little quirk in her aura, that never backed down, and so I came to love her tenacity and backbone. As rough as life had weathered her to be, all the times she spent with Park, all the times that we got to read more about her, we learned that she was, in her own way, awesome. I adored her. 

This was a great story that started out amazingly and got even better as it progressed. The only thing that holds me back from giving it a 5-stars rating is that as it moved towards it's ending, the writing lost a little of it's charm, as if slowly running out of battery, the torch dimming steadily. I'm not saying that it got bad, no, never that. What I mean to say is that when some revelations we made, it could have been more dramatic, written with a little more flair so that we could utterly connect and feel that shock and anger on Eleanor's, and even Park's, behalf. What we did ended up feeling was a sympathetic understanding and a trifling acknowledgement indicated by the slight rise of eyebrows- a disappointment when you know that that "revelation" could've had that feel of devastation and despair worming in sneakily in the hearts of this novel's readers(making them love this even more)- the effect that it deserved to have caused- and inadvertently pushing the rating to a complete 5. 
I just felt that last shocking, sad part on Eleanor's support could've been more.. melancholy I guess.

Also, the ending felt just a teeny-tiny bit abrupt. Very teeny-tiny bit.

Except that, I LOVED this book, and I especially loved Park and Eleanor. Those two, they were adorable and totally awesome. 

I have to say that I am undoubtedly going to re-read this book. Soon. 

It just made me feel so good, you know? This novel definitely belongs in my favorites shelf.

As it so happens, I'll be looking forward to reading more by this author and I recommend this book to all YA realistic romance lovers, looking for a cute, really good read. 

Book Review: Shadowfever (Fever #5) by Karen Marie Moning

Book Cover. Hardcover copy.

This review can also be read on my Goodreads profile.

Rating: Full 5 huge-shining-stars!


Whoa.

I..
I don't know what to say.
I don't have any words.
I don't know any words.

Not for how well-written it was, not for what it made me feel.

I rocked your world, it says! The book. Shadowfever.
"You did," I say, stop and stare.



Beauty is an opinion, and opinion- like it says in this book, like I've always believed- is subjective. So if I say it's beautiful, would I come closer to defining what I think? Or do I open more doors, more options to consider while I hunt for the right word? 

You guessed it: I LOVE THIS SERIES.

This is what, the 3rd time I've re-read it? 4th? 5th? I don't remember and neither do I give a damn. I'm writing a review, after all these re-reads- not because I didn't care for it, but because I didn't think anything I'd write would come close to the awe and love I felt for it. No matter, I feel like I just HAVE to give it a try once at least.

Karen Marie Moning not only gave me one of the best series I've ever read, but she, through her words, made me feel kindred.

Sounds crazy? 

Weird?

Stupid?

Lemme repeat: I DON'T CARE. 

The spiritual transcendence of the world she created and the philosophy she endorsed, I could do nothing but connect and agree.

"He looked at me and I shivered. I never get enough of him. Never will.
He lives.
I breathe.
I want. Him. Always.
Fire to my ice. Ice to my fever." 

Let's talk about the characters, specifically Mac, Barrons and Dani . 

MacKayla Lane: When she started the journey she didn't even know she was boarding a passage for, she was portrayed to be a knockout blonde with feathers and fluff, smart -if quite ignorant- and not much substance. She was self-centered and slightly annoying, but you couldn't hate her, not even if you tried. You felt her pain, you felt her desires, you felt her embarrassment, you felt her loss and you felt her joys.  
Later she learned, she fought, she grew nails and became powerful. She loved, she lost, she loved again and kept fighting for her beliefs. She blew away any chance you had of hating her. Not then, not now, never ever. She made herself worthy of respect, she made herself into a dear friend you loved, even with her many flaws.   

Jericho Barrons: Ahh. I've admired this man, lusted for him and have loved him ever since the beginning, ever since he was first introduced. 

The constant jackass, I love this man. 

There are heroes who start out as jerks and assholes- degrade and demean- and yet you love them. They humiliate the heroine every once in a while and their insolence is blamed on the torture they underwent, the battle scars they now wear. After all, hasn't he suffered enough? The love of a good woman is just what he needs. 

Make no mistake. 

This is NOT what it is, this is NOT who he is.

This man, he never showed anything he wasn't. He's been through hell and has kept going, never once bragging about it. He's battle hardened and has loved and ultimately lost. But he doesn't wear those facts as a badge, nor do they define him. He has learned. He has learned and lived, because that's what he does. He's rude and dangerous and impossibly powerful. But he has never pretended to be otherwise. He's always been there for Mac- though admittedly demonstrating indefinite courage along with a ruthless slyness time and time again- always ready to save her from all harm, save her from her own shadow if need be. If you don't like him, you don't like him. But if you love him, even slightly like him, you know what I mean.

Dani O'Malley: Or like she's says it, Dani Mega O'Malley.
This character is impossible not to love or hold in high esteem and is BADASS to the very super energized core of her. Man, she was awesome! A 13-year old warrior, she was courageous and she was fierce. Her tragedies are not small, but she has evolved and stood strong through the worst of the storms. After I found out that there's going to be a spin-off series with her as the leading character in it, I have been going crazy with the need to read it. When I say fantastic? I mean--



The writing, as always has been the case with KMM, is flawlessly beautiful. The plot was brilliant and I jumped every few minutes just with excitement of it all. She made me feel a part of this incredible world she created, she made me a part of it. I loved the scraps of conversations with the Sinsar Dubh, the Unseelie King's book of knowledge and power. I don't know how to translate all I feel, all I think, but it's to say the least that in the end, Fever World wasn't just a fantasy world of mythical creatures and monstrous books and prophecies but a real mystical three-dimensional world playing it all out before your eyes while maybe, you went out to fight battles along side the characters, or learn lessons along side them or maybe just stared, slack-jawed, drinking it all in, thirsting for more. 

I have lots to say, lot of people to talk about namely V'lane, the Dreamy Eyed Guy, Christian (--->I really really like this man!), Ryodan and let's not forget the queen bitch here, the Grand Mistress of the abbey- Rowena. 

There were characters I never liked, characters who I really liked but this review is already so long as it is, I think you'll be glad I'm putting a full stop right here, right now (in another couple of words, a few sentences, a paragraph.. or two perhaps?).

As you already know, this here, is one of my top favorites book series, and if you haven't read it, I suggest you, encourage you, I dare you, to give it a try. READ IT. I already know how you are going to feel.