Eleanor Douglas is a red-haired, over-weight, gawky girl who recently moved back in with her family after being kicked out by her step-father. On her first day at a new school, she is faced with the challenge of finding a seat on the bus. While dealing with this problem, she finds the person she will eventually fall in love with: Park Sheridan. Park Sheridan is a biracial boy (half white, half Korean), who has been trained in martial arts since he was old enough to walk. Over the next few weeks, Eleanor & Park bond over comic books and mix tapes though they never say a word to each other. Eventually they begin speaking to each other, and they become closer and closer; eventually they fall in love. As their relationship progresses, reader's dive deep into Eleanor's past and her home life to discover the awful conditions she lives and has lived in for the majority of her life. Through out the rest of the book, readers follow Eleanor & Park's relationship leading up to the point where Eleanor has to leave her home to escape from her abusive step-father.
I really enjoyed this book and strongly suggest it to anyone who enjoys a good old fashioned love story. Rainbow Rowell is also the author of many other wonderful books such as: Fangirl, Landline, and Attachments.