Happy Friday, and welcome to another edition of the Book Club Link-Up! It’s hard to believe February is almost over. The sooner February is over, the sooner spring comes. And the sooner spring comes means the sooner we can be outside again! I’m getting ahead of myself… One can wish can’t they?
For the month of February our book genre was, fittingly, love. I was really struggling to figure out what book I would read and looked to my fellow book clubbers to give me some ideas. A few lovely ladies within the group recommended Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.
Not knowing anything about the book except that it was about star-crossed teenage love-birds, I went in it with an open mind. And let me just tell you what an amazing book it turned out to be. The very brief description I read about it mentioned “star-crossed lovers” but I didn’t get it. It just seemed like a book about high school new love. Until I got to the end. Then I got it. And while I was completely devastated, Rainbow Rowell does an exceptional job painting a picture of love and leading up to a point of utter exasperation. Just when you think the story’s over and your heart is crushed, Rowell leaves you with one small ray of hope. And it’s glorious!
Reading this story brought back so many feelings of new love. And it definitely made me “tolerate” my husband in a whole new way. (I swear I’m not a crass unloving wife. He’ll catch my joke there.)
Eleanor and Park was refreshing, it was fun, and it also had some very serious undertones. It wasn’t just another flighty story of romance. I was able to easily identify with the protagonists which made it that much easier to read. I was interested throughout the entire novel and I finished it in record time. I don’t want to post too much detail about it because I really think everyone ought to read it, and I don’t want to spoil anything. And do “spoiler alerts” really help? Because I know as soon as I see SPOILER ALERT in big bold letters, I’m immediately drawn to it. Hello — moth to flame, anyone?
I will say this: It’s about an unlikely duo who cautiously enter into a love story, complete with typical high school cliques and superficial bullies, plus a somewhat dark twist toward the end. It’s definitely worth a read if nothing else but for a quick refresher on what it’s like to be young and in love.
Thank you to the ladies who suggested this book to me! Now go ahead and add it to your Goodreads or request it from your local library. And be sure to stop by all the book club reviews linked below — maybe you’ll find your new favorite book! Enjoy!
xo
What’s your favorite love story?
Who’s your favorite author?
