March 10, 2013: I tried to read at least three different books in the past ten days, only to think every time, "I want to read Eleanor & Park again." So I did. And it was awesome. 
 Feb. 27, 2013: If there is any justice in this world, Eleanor & Park will go down in history with Tristan & Isolde, Heloise & Abelard, Logan & Veronica and any other epic love story that has ever existed. Rainbow Rowell has captured the full range of human emotions--especially the feeling of being in love--in just over 300 pages of awkward teenage perfection. The book alternates between the perspectives of Eleanor and Park and within the first few chapters, you know exactly who these two people are and then the rest of the book serves to confirm what you know. From a writing perspective, that's kind of miraculous. Eleanor and Park are complete and flawed and 100% Eleanor and Park. 
 Eleanor is an outcast in the sense that she is new to the school, has insane red hair, feels like a giant compared to other girls, and her family is majorly dysfunctional. But then she meets Park. Park is kind of a cool kid, but he's also half-Korean, wears all black, doesn't care about the popular kids, and listens to New Wave and Punk. They are both gloriously insecure and really, who among us wasn't? Their story is resonant with the fervent longing of a melody and the soul of a bass line. You will laugh, you will gasp, and if you're anything like me, you will cry when it's over. 
 (Also, Rainbow Rowell is my current author crush. She is the literary equivalent of Jennifer Lawrence and I want to be her best friend SO BAD.)