We all know the story of the cheerleader dating the quarterback, and we’ve all heard the story of the nobody dating Mr. or Ms. popular. What most people haven’t heard is the journey of a quirky redhead and an attention-diverting loner who meet on the bus one early morning. When I first picked up the hard cover copy written by Rainbow Rowell, I was slightly skeptical. I’ve never been a huge fan of the typical high school romance novels, but this book was far from it. My sister gave it to me for Christmas, and I finished it in six hours.

Eleanor and Park has to be one of my most favorite books of this generation. I give the book four and a half out of five stars because this novel captured my attention in a way that most other books haven’t. I have always been of fan of older writers; Thoreau, Emerson, Dickens, authors like that. The sheer complexity and character development that the two teens went through was not only engrossing but I felt as though I knew them. Not only were the characters elaborate, but the plot was also very detailed while staying on track. I hope to read more work from Rowell in the very near future.