First loves… The eighties… How could I not just want to read this book straight away? (No, it had nothing to do with a certain boy named Robert who broke my heart in 1987. I’m over it, really. Barely remember his name. Truly.)

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell is the story of two misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but willing to try.

Eleanor is a red-haired, slightly plump girl who wears ‘alternative’ clothing out of necessity – safety pins and men’s shirts may have been de rigueur for some but Eleanor’s family has little money and are at the mercy of their drunk, abusive step-father. In contrast, Park comes from a hunky-dory-apple-pie-good family. He’s half Korean, half Anglo-American and living in a town where Asian is unusual.

Rowell captures the intensity of first love perfectly – the anticipation, the awkwardness and that particular way that time speeds up and then slows down when your day revolves around moments with another person. Snatched encounters in the corridor, notes in text books and the dissection and analysis of every thing the person says. Continue reading →