2014 Printz Honor Winner
When Eleanor gets on the bus that first morning, Park finds he can't stop looking at her. And not in a love-at-first-sight kind of way, but in a grab-the-popcorn-let's-watch-this-train-wreck-about-to-happen kind of way. From her bright red curly hair, to her men's wear wardrobe, to her fatness, Park knows she's destined to be a target for all the mean girls and boys in school. So he's surprised when he finds himself telling her to sit down next to him on the bus after she's been rejected by everyone else. And Eleanor is surprised too. What starts as simply sharing a bus seat becomes something more as Park realizes that Eleanor is surreptitiously reading his comics along with him. Soon, he's sharing his comics, making her mixtapes (it is 1986, after all), looking at her because he can't stop. And Eleanor begins to feel the exact same way - savoring his comics at night while her other siblings in their one tiny bedroom sleep, wearing out whatever batteries she can find listening to his tapes, finding herself smiling and happy whenever she sees him. Soon they're inseparable, despite the fact that her stepdad would kick her out of the house again (or worse) if he found out she had a boyfriend.
I can totally see why lots of people have been fangirling/boying over Rainbow Rowell. I spent the first hundred pages of this book with a goofy grin on my face as I fell in love with Eleanor and Park as they fell in love with each other. I loved the dual narrative, getting a chance to see not only what each of them are going through in their home lives, but to also experience both sides of their time together, the things they think about each other but can't figure out how to say out loud, why they want and need and love each other. And that might sound like sappy, ooey-gooey, typical romance fare, but they're also 16 and everything seems more intense when you're 16. I enjoyed the eighties references (that is, when I knew what the reference was to), especially the comics ones, as the two bonded over each new issue of Watchmen and argued over superpowers and gender dynamics (Eleanor's point that most of the women mutants on the X-men have mind-based mutations, while the guys get physical ones is a good one). I'm looking forward to reading more by Rainbow Rowell, especially Fangirl, and I can't wait to see what she puts out next.
(Read as part of YALSA's Hub Reading Challenge.)
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