I'm reluctant to give a book five stars when rating it. Even when I've really enjoyed a book, there's usually a part that bothered me or a plot hole or something that gave me pause enough to only give it four. So, by giving Eleanor and Park five stars, you know I mean business. 
 Eleanor and Park is a love story set in the eighties. Park is an Asian American teenager who likes to wear black tshirts and tries to drown out the kids on his bus with loud punk music. Eleanor is the new kid, standing out like a sore thumb with surprisingly red curly hair as she searches for a seat on the bus. Park begrudgingly lets her sit by him, and so begins their story. 
 I was absolutely enchanted by this book. I don't do too much research about books before I read them as I like to make up my mind as I go along, so I wasn't expecting too much of this book regardless of the hype. Now that I've read it, though, I can certainly see why everyone loves it. I can't remember when I last read a young adult novel so genuine. I have met people who were essentially the characters in this book. I've known people with fathers just like Park's dad. My own father is somewhere between Eleanor's father and Richie. Perhaps being able to relate so well to Eleanor's character is why I enjoyed this book so much, but I think it's more than that. 
 This is the first book by Rainbow Rowell that I've had the pleasure to read. I really enjoyed her writing style, and I think she nailed the characters and the emotions she wanted to convey. I've read books that shared a similar chapter-by-chapter POV switch, and this is the first time that it hasn't really annoyed me or felt jarring or unnecessary. Maybe that's because Rowell hasn't forced chapters to begin or end for the sake of changing the POV, or maybe it's because she's ended chapters without switching POV. In any case, the story flows well between the characters, especially when it changed quickly from one to the other. It was a very charming way to experience the story. 
 I mentioned that I related with Eleanor's character, especially her tough homelife. While I haven't exactly gone through the same experiences as her, I know a lot of people who have, and I've felt firsthand the sting of having a father like hers. I'm not sure if that's why the anxiety that came from certain parts of this story really resonated with me, but I think it's the way Rowell reveals each part of the story. We don't get an infodump, especially considering Eleanor is reluctant to open up about her family and past. By the time the story comes to a climax, I could feel how suffocating her life had been, and it's the contrast between her life and Park's that makes it so compelling. Park's family isn't perfect, no, but the dynamic between his parents and how they relate to him is interesting to read, and especially how they react to Eleanor. 
 I can't think of a single part of the book that bothered me. There wasn't a single flaw in the dialogue or the characterisation that I could find, and the only part that I wasn't 100% cool with was the book ending. So I'm really happy with this book. Blissfully so. And I would definitely recommend this book to others. It's a very honest take on teenagers and love and life, and I loved it. I think it's definitely up your alley if you enjoy books like Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta, or perhaps even Looking for Alaska by John Green.