This book is written from a third person narrative point of view, alternating from the experiences of Eleanor and Park. It's been done before, but here it seems so purposeful. It does something magical. It creates two main characters, and lets the reader follow and get to know both characters equally as they fall in love. I adore this structure, because it lets me break away from reality, where I'm always wondering what the other person is thinking. Something else I love about this book is it is so realistic. Both characters lead very different family lives, Eleanor having an abusive stepfather and a large, broken family with financial troubles, and Park, a privileged boy who feels pressure from his father. Yet, they manage to bond over a common love for comic books and music, proving that people can have many of the same passions but be completely different in almost any other way. I first realized this when the author was focusing on Park when he saw Eleanor reading his comic book along with him. Rowell writes, "Park didn't say anything. He just held his comics open wider and turned the pages more slowly," (34). At the beginning of the book, both characters judged each other based on their appearances, but here we see that they are not so different after all, which I think is an exquisite start to a beautiful love story.
I found a good book review on this novel by a girl my age, so you can get another perspective of it. If you haven't read the full story yet and don't want spoilers, I recommend only watching to about a minute and twenty seconds into a video, if you just want a very brief opinion on it.
I am hoping that everyone reads this story and it becomes the new The Fault in Our Stars. Fingers crossed!
