Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Published: February 26th 2013 by St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Fiction, Young adult
Pages: 328

This is the story about two teenage outsiders slowly discovering a common place where they belong – with each other.

It is so beautifully written, with fragile and very slow movements, and some very short passages. And sometimes, and in this case, those small passages say so much more than volumes could speak.

I love how the author takes her time and especially in the beginning, because those gates don’t open easily, we all know how hard it can be to open up to someone new. But when they open, we know something special is happening.

I fell in love right with them. With every little sentiment. With every little look. With every little touch. With how they connected through music and media before even speaking to each other. It reminds us of how much we communicate with just our body language. And that is a precious thing, and a difficult sentiment to write!

If you want to remember innocence again, read this one. There is just something so real about it, and about how kids behave and deal with things while they are learning how to navigate the world. How forgiving they are, how forgiving we were, how forgiving I want to be again. How your whole world could fit into the smallest of places, and so fragile you’re afraid to breathe for it may alter the moment. And before you get a real grasp on it, it’s gone.

I had my Park and I’ve been Eleanor and I love them on the page as much as in my memory.