Rating: 3/5 
 ***Minor spoilers*** 
 Eleanor doesn't come from a family who is very well off. Her dad left them, and now her mother is married to an abusive man who her mother won't admit she should leave. She has 4 other siblings, and they all share the same room. She doesn't have "real" clothes, and she puts together random outfit with the clothes she does have. Park is about the complete opposite of Eleanor. He has parents who undoubtedly love each other. When the new girl, Eleanor, comes onto the bus, nobody wants to give up their seat to share with her. Park does so anyway, dreading sitting beside the new girl, but an unlikely (mostly silent) sort-of friendship turns into real friendship turns into real romance. 
 I've been meaning to read this book for a while ever since I started seeing it pop up everywhere since last year. I volunteer at my school's library, and every time Eleanor & Park came in, it was gone within a day. It hadn't been recommended to me, but I had to sate my curiosity, especially now that the name "Rainbow Rowell" is everywhere. I went in with middle-high expectations, but I didn't know the plot of the book until I started reading. While it was an okay book, I didn't think it was anything special. 
 This was a sweet love story with some things that you see a lot in YA literature. You have one half of the couple who comes from a family that isn't too well off, and has a home life that's struggling. You have the other half who doesn't know what is going on with the other person but has a much better home life. While I like how their relationship developed, I didn't like how quickly it moved after they admitted they felt something for each other. (view spoiler)[ I understand that they're young and haven't experienced love before, but I feel like love doesn't develop that fast. They were friends before so maybe it could've happened, but it would've felt more real to me if more time went by before "I love you" was exchanged. (hide spoiler)] 
 I'm not a very big fan of open endings when it comes to standalone novels. I'm the type of person that likes the whole story with all the ends tied together for me all nice at the end of the book. This book had a very open ending, open to lots of interpretation. I can understand why the author did this, but it just isn't my preference. 
 Overall, I thought this was okay but it didn't live up to the hype, in my opinion. A lot of the tropes are very common, so this book didn't stand out from the rest to me. It was a cute love story, but I thought it moved by very quickly. There was some drama that was mildly enjoyable as well. I would recommend this if you're looking for something that is simply cute, but not if you're looking for a romance that will tug at your heartstrings.