Eleanor knows nothing on the bus, or at school, could be worse than home. So when she ends up sitting next to a weird Asian kid, who seems to have taken pity on her, she decides to ignore him. She just needs somewhere to sit, not a friend.
So when Park notices she's reading his comics, he finds himself turning the pages more slowly. He feels like he should maybe say something to her, but they've been not talking for too long, so now it just seems weird. And then he brings in the first issue of Watchmen. And it's so awesome they don't finish it on the bus. Eleanor assumes she's just going to miss out on the end, because there's no way Park won't finish it at school, but to her amazement, he opens it where they left off on the ride home. And then he gives it to her.
After that, things are different. Park brings Eleanor comics every morning, and Eleanor always returns them the next day in pristine condition. And then he starts making her tapes - the Smiths, Joy Division, and other awesome stuff she's always wanted to hear, but had no way to listen to. Suddenly, Eleanor and Park can't stop talking, about everything - but especially about comics and music. And Park doesn't care that she's weird, because she's smart, and funny, and warm, and smells like vanilla cupcakes. And Eleanor doesn't care that he's short, and half Korean, or that his family is perfect when hers is such a mess, because he's so cool, and he looks like sunshine, and he just gets her. It doesn't matter what everybody says, or thinks, because they just both know they can't get enough of each other.
This funny, bittersweet book about really being in love for the first time was just so good. Eleanor is all snark and tough realism, and Park is a nerdy, punk rock ninja in disguise. You'll laugh, you'll hold your breath, you'll wish you had a boy to kiss behind your grandparents' RV, your heart will break, you'll smile at a new kid, you'll totally want to revisit 80s indie and punk, you'll kind of wish your mom was an Avon lady, even if it's kind of embarrassing, and you're absolutely tossing your tattered copies of Watchmen and X-Men in your backpack the next time you have to get on the bus. If you enjoyed The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman, wanted to hug I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan, or love Stephen Emond's books as much as Katie does, you have to add Eleanor & Park to your spring break pile of books!
Megan
(now reading our total score of an advanced reader's copy of The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey - I totally think I could survive an alien invasion!)