eleanor & park

                                                          
eleanor & park by rainbow rowell
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
2013
Ages: 14+
Shelf:  Young Adult (YA)

Opening Line:  "He'd stopped trying to bring her back."

Favorite Quotes: 
"Holding Eleanor's hand was like holding a butterfly.  Or a heartbeat.  Like holding something complete, and completely alive."

"He made her feel like more than the sum of her parts."

"It was like their lives were overlapping lines, like they had their own gravity.  Usually, that serendipity thing felt like the nicest thing the universe had ever done for her."

"She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something."

"I might not use capital letters.  But I would definitely use an apostrophe...and probably a period.  I'm a huge fan of punctuation."

"I want everyone to meet you.  You're my favorite person of all time."

"I love your name.  I don't want to cheat myself out of a single syllable."

Blurb:
It is 1986, and two sixteen year old misunderstood, geeky teenagers, Eleanor and Park are about to fall in love - of the extraordinary variety!  Eleanor and Park's story begins on the school bus (yes, extremely romantic), and they embark on the journey of their lives (well, their lives up until this point anyway).  "Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds - smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try."

Within its pages:

This is not your typical teenage romance novel.  It is raw, real, and deep.  The main characters are not glorified.  Eleanor and Park are both outcasts - both subject to bullying and scrutiny. 

Park is half-Korean in a mostly-white part of town, hopeful, and adores alternative music, superhero comics, and Eleanor. 
Eleanor is cynical, funny, awkward, and adores music, superhero comics, and Park.  She's not your classic love story protagonist, unknowingly beautiful or nerdy cute, she's on the heavy side and her clothes stand out for all the wrong reasons. But within the confines of the school bus they discover that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and while reading comic books and listening to music, they find a love that binds them.  

Park is intrigued by Eleanor.  She stands out like a sore thumb.  Eleanor remains a mystery for Park to figure out...he is trying to put the pieces together.  Eleanor has much to be mysterious and secretive about.  Her story is a complicated one, and not something to be shared with anyone....at least not yet. 

Shelf It!  

Remember how it felt to be 16 and be desperately in love? This novel will take you back there.  The love between Eleanor and Park is all-consuming and intense.  At times, it appears to be on the verge of obsessive, but then you are reminded that the characters are only 16, after all.  Rowell delivers a timeless teenage love story filled with agony and heartache, but tons of hope and inspiration, and a plethora of 80's nostalgia!

The Fault in Our Stars

                                                                  

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
Published by Dutton Books
2012
Ages: 14+
Shelf:  Young Adult (YA)

Opening Line:  "Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death."

Favorite Quotes: 
“Almost everyone is obsessed with leaving a mark upon the world. Bequeathing a legacy. Outlasting death. We all want to be remembered."

"I decided that the proper strategy was to stare back.  Boys do not have a monopoly on the Staring Business, after all."

"The world is not a wish granting factory."
 
"I fell in love the way you fall asleep:  slowly, and then all at once."

"Some infinities are bigger than other infinities."

 

Blurb:

Sixteen-year old year old, Hazel Grace Lancaster has been battling cancer since she was twelve, and is indefinitely bound to a portable oxygen tank.  Despite a tumor-shrinking medical miracle, her days are numbered.  Hazel lives under the tangible weight of the unknown, and this affects how she lives and views the world.  As per her parent's wishes, Hazel attends a  cancer support group where she subsequently meets and falls in love with seventeen-year old Augustus Water, a cancer survivor.  Hazel likens herself to a grenade when she constantly imagines the pain she will cause her loved ones when she dies.  Augustus fears oblivion and being anything but extraordinary.  Hazel will learn that "Some infinities are bigger than other infinities," and that sometimes it just has to be "okay."

Within its pages:

The true charm of this novel lies within its two leading characters, Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters, and the evolution of their relationship, and in turn, their character.
The story is narrated by Hazel.  She is smart, witty, has a wonderful sense of humor, super sarcastic, sometimes a bit cynical, and is constantly consumed with thoughts of death and being a grenade.  Agustus is charming, charismatic, confident, funny, and a "glass half full" kind of guy.   The connection between these two is instantaneous.  You will get lost in their world. 

There is no shortage of figurative language in this novel - it is filled with metaphors, personification, and symbolism.  

"I was veritably swimming in a paralyzing and totally cynical depression."
"That's the thing about pain, it demands to be felt."
"'I'm a grenade and at some point I'm going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?
"My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations."
"I believe the universe wants to be noticed. I think the universe is improbably biased toward the consciousness, that it rewards intelligence in part because the universe enjoys its elegance being observed."

You will find yourself marveling and stopping at various points in the novel, not only because the book is that good, but because the lines are that deep, and thought-provoking. 

Shelf It! (Okay?!)
As you read this novel, prepare to embark on a roller coaster ride of emotions.  It is filled with peaks and valleys, but the thrill will always leave you wanting more - so hang on tight!
At times, you find yourself smiling, and laughing out loud.  Other times, you may find yourself feeling angry, saddened, and quite possibly shedding a few tears.  And you will most likely fall in love along the way....In fact, we have a bookie crush on Augustus Waters!
It is all these emotions that keep you so deeply connected with the characters.  Green has done an outstanding job of accurately depicting and capturing the deep love these characters have for one another through their dialogue and actions.  It is thought provoking and compelling. 

Despite the circumstances, Hazel and Augustus teach us that having cancer, doesn't define who you are.  You have to appreciate Hazel's wicked sense of humor and sarcasm. The back and forth banter between Augustus and Hazel is irresistible and endearing.   

Admittedly, this teenage love story filled, with heartbreak and realistic tragedy, is somewhat predictable, but still so intense and gripping! You will question the fairness of life, but the world is not a wish grantig factory, after all.  Additionally, the chosen title of this novel is very compelling and intriguing, and leaves you pondering its meaning. 

Finally, you will never look at the word "okay" in the same way again!