It's more like 3.5 stars, I guess. I had some issues with this book, but it was so overly cute that it won me over anyway. 
 ""You can be Han Solo," he said, kissing her throat. "And I'll be Boba Fett. I'll cross the sky for you."" 
 The beauty of this book lies in its simplicity. Park sharing his comic books with Eleanor, Eleanor spending an entire Friday night talking to Park over the phone, and of course Park's mom awkwardly trying to get out of their way. All these sweet and simple things reminded me of what it was to be 16 again; to be 16 and to be in love. Deep, desperate, tingling and tickling love. Tears, butterflies, and a guy's name written all over your notebook, over and over again; it's all there. 
 I like the two main characters tremendously. They're stereotypes, but they're also real. And they have flaws. Not just quirky flaws, but real human flaws. Eleanor is unbearably insecure, distrustful and clingy. She jumps to conclusions and she is filled with prejudice. But, of course, she has her reasons. 
 Park is a conformist, he is vain and self-absorbed. While he doesn't agree with bullying, he does nothing to prevent it as well. He is extremely concerned with coming off as weak, and this concern is really his one weakness after all. 
 The book is filled with other important topics as well. Park questions his identity as the 'Asian kid' and whether it truly defines him. Eleanor comes from a troubled home, which culminates in a dark catastrophe. Eleanor is bullied as well, while Park simply tries to blend in, at any cost. "Eleanor & Park" is mainly a love story - but at the same time it is a coming-of-age novel which discusses both darkness and light. 
 Rowell sets the timeline through musical and cultural references, and the 80's vibe is everywhere in this book. It is done quite skillfully. 
 "Ever since the first day they'd met, Eleanor was always seeing him in unexpected places. It was like their lives were overlapping lines, like they had their own gravity. Usually, that serendipity felt like the nicest thing the universe had ever done for her." 
 At times, this book almost spills over with sweetness and cuteness. Sometimes you read a line and you can almost feel your teeth rotten in your mouth. But I guess that is the point. Because when you're sixteen and in love, you give your heart so completely to that other person. Unconsciously, unconditionally. You become an entirely different person, and you change in ways, you yourself cannot even recognize. It is both scary and beautiful at the same time. And I think Rowell has managed to capture it perfectly. 
 So, yes. Eleanor is needy and clingy, and Park is pathetic and obsessive. As they fall in love with each other they completely lose their individuality. But they're so deeply in love that it doesn't even matter. 
 "Holding Eleanor's hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive."