Eleanor and Park is a story told from the perspective of two young teenagers who, as fate would have it, end up sharing seats next to each other on the bus every morning. Eleanor is a red-haired girl who is very posh, somewhat introverted and a bit sheltered as she is a victim of bullying due to her extravagant way of dressing, while Park is a self-confident, handsome young man of Asian descent with a great sense of morality who does not hesitate to defend her when he notices the abuse of his classmates towards Eleanor.
The story narrates how during all these mornings Eleanor and Park's friendship grows day by day as they read comics together and listen to music thanks to Park's walkmart. However, this beautiful friendship, which later evolves into a romantic interest on both sides, is interrupted by Eleanor's father who, upon discovering this relationship, threatens to harm her and she decides to move with her uncle to another state, as her alcoholic father's abuse and the fear he instilled in her did not allow her to live in peace.
Eleanor moves away and although Park constantly writes her letters, she always returns them without reading them, proving that although it was something they both wanted, they were never meant to be, a tragic ending with a beautiful lesson which I quote below:
"first love is not the first person you liked, nor the first person who was your partner, first love is the first person for whom you felt unimaginable things, the first person for whom you did things you thought you would never do, that person you loved madly."
So in my point of view the story has a beautiful beginning that had me hooked for a long time reading non-stop the pages of that book that made me laugh and cry from one moment to the next, certainly, the ending was that cusp point that kept me depressed for several days since really in my heart I wished that both boys ended up living a nice romance like in all the cliché endings of romance novels, However, looking at it from another perspective I also appreciate that Rainbow Rowell manages to hook and endear us as much as she did me, and that the story has ended with a different twist than usual making it not only a novel with a realistic teaching but also a story that manages to sympathise with the reality of many young people to whom the book is mainly addressed. Therefore, this book, although it may in some cases leave a bittersweet taste in the mouth, also teaches you that sometimes love is not the only thing you need to be with someone.