SO glad that I "listened" to my friend, Samantha, who insisted I should read this book! I loved the look of the cover of Eleanor and Park the first time I saw it--and I know it seems shallow, but a book cover really does make a difference for me! 
 Eleanor and Park is a story of two teens growing up in the 80s-- which is when I was a teen, so that was a quick selling factor for me. Eleanor comes from a broken home where she worries about how her alcoholic, abusive step-father is going to react from one moment to the next. She has spent her recent years trying to be invisible and unnoticeable because she is overweight, gets teased pretty unmercifully by her classmates, and wants to avoid any attention whatsoever from her step-dad. Park is the elder son of a father who served in the military in Korea, and a mom who is the Korean girl the father fell in love with while deployed, married, and brought back to the U.S. He is surrounded by a loving family, including his paternal grandparents ho live next door. Park is the only Asian-looking person who attends his school, and this makes him a bit self-conscious. 
 Eleanor and Park are literally "thrown" together on the first day of school when Eleanor gets onto the school bus and the only place she can sit is with Park. Neither of them are happy about the arrangement. It is surprising when the two begin to be aware of their similar interests, and this leads to a friendship neither of them expected. Before long, both Eleanor and Park realize they are beginning to care for one another as even more than friends. Following the hurdles and obstacles the two must face makes for a quick read. 
 Eart 
 The two characters and their situations were ones I think any teen (or anyone who's been a teen) can relate to. I was a little concerned about the book's ending until I read an interview with the author; there's talk that this one be made into a movie in the next year or so and I think it would be great toi yaps