Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

"Bono met his wife in high school," Park says.
"So did Jerry Lee Lewis," Eleanor answers.
"I’m not kidding," he says.
"You should be," she says, "we’re sixteen."
"What about Romeo and Juliet?"
"Shallow, confused, then dead."
''I love you," Park says.
"Wherefore art thou," Eleanor answers.
"I’m not kidding," he says.
"You should be."

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.

eARC from Net Galley

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Really, I don't know where to begin. I think I really need some times to form words. Sigh...
I'm kind of newbie in Young Adult genre (yeah, I know I repeat it many times) and despite there are sooooo many YA books out there I want to read, I decided to read this one. Maybe because it's the first YA books I got from Net Galley. Well, no surprised actually when my request was declined often, for I had no history with YA books. :D

I received the copy like months ago. Maybe because I wasn't in the mood, after started and reading 2-3 pages, I wasn't connected. I decided to read it again some days ago when I was struggling with the flu. Although it's a bit hard for me to read with teary eyes, I kept on going. I did need few days to finish it. But at least I didn't start reading something new. 

At first, I couldn't imagine the situation described. I wonder if Eleanor was that 'bad' with her appearance. I also tried so hard to imagine what Park would look like when he's half Korean, but has green eyes. But anyway, the story, the plot and the flow just sucked me in. I'm 100% sure some people would consider it boring with this kind of storytelling. I can't say that I loved it, but, well, it just sucked me in and forced me to keep going. 

I loved both Eleanor and Park character. I loved how their relationship started and developing. I loved the way they started to noticed each other, but didn't know exactly what to say. You may say that they communicated without words at first. Well, of course aside the very first words Park said to her on their very first meeting.

I loved how Park deliberately read his comics slower because he realized that Eleanor read it too. I loved the way Park let her borrow his comics and introduced her to some music, or how he made her a mixed tape. Oh dear! That's soooo me back then. :D Well, I didn't really connect to the bands mentioned in this book, I didn't recognize most of them, except like the Beatles or U2. I loved how Park decided to ask his grandma AA batteries for Christmas present. I really think Park was sweet. Well, and maybe, just like Eleanor often said, dork. I loved their first touch, their first kiss. :)

Of course, there were times when I felt like, how could their relationship went so easily from being just friend to boyfriend-girlfriend stuff. But, well, sometimes things just happened.

Oh, dear! I just didn't know what else to describe about this book, about how I felt while reading and after reading it. I just knew I loved it!

Recently on my other BLOG, I asked some people on one of the giveaway why they love reading YA. Some answered because they can relate to the characters or the problems they encountered, or how reading YA books makes them feel young again. And now I totally understand what they mean. :) 

I always love the kind of story that you can relate to yourself, or to your life, or to something around you. I also love the kind of story that can easily happen to your life. I mean, I do love those fairy tale or fantasy stories. It's one of my getaway. But things like that won't happen in my real life. This kind of story, Eleanor and Park's, is something that can be happen to our daily life. Of course, I have already passed their age, but you know what I mean, right?

“You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.” ― Paul Sweeney

Somehow, that's exactly how I felt when I came to the end of the book. I even turned back to make sure that I didn't miss something and try to convince myself that there might be other pages. And when I realized it WAS the end, I felt like ... that's it? I want more! I want to know more about them, their relationship, their families, especially Eleanor's ... I definitely want more!

Well, one thing for sure, I have to get myself a copy of this book.

My Ridiculous Romantic Obsession

Ini adalah kisah cewek bertemu cowok. Cowoknya tampan sementara si cewek biasa-biasa saja, dengan rambut ikal yang liar seperti medusa. Ih. Ada kesalahpahaman, tokoh antagonis yang kejam, dan pernyataan cinta yang tepat waktu .... Yah, baiklah, ini memang cerita romantis. Tapi tolong dicatat, tidak ada perempuan berpakaian ketat di pelukan perampok berotot di sampul tipisnya; aku bukan cewek seperti itu.

Aku seorang cewek yang sehari-harinya menjalani kehidupan normal. Dan aku tidak bisa mengerti kenapa Ben—yang setampan dewa Yunani—ingin menjadi temanku. Apakah karena kami berdua bisa bermain gitar dan menyukai es krim dengan rasa yang sama? Atau apakah dia ingin dekat-dekat denganku agar aku bisa membantunya menyelesaikan tugas kuliah? Kuharap tidak, karena aku sama sekali tidak tertarik pada cowok yang memanfaatkan cewek seperti itu. Tidak, terima kasih.

Tapi aku sangat tertarik pada Ben. Dia benar-benar pria terhormat—tokoh jagoan dalam novel romantis sungguhan. (Seperti Mr. Darcy yang terdaftar di kelas sejarah seniku.) Mungkinkah ini nyata? Ataukah obsesi romantisku yang konyol berhasil mengelabuiku—sekali lagi?

Format: buku (pinjem dari Amel)

Jumlah Halaman : 270 halaman
Penerbit : Atria (Oktober 2011)
Bahasa : Indonesia (terjemahan)
Genre : Kontemporer, Young Adult

HATI-HATI! Suka nggak sadar kalo saya spoiler saking antusiasnya bercerita. :D

Sementara banyak orang suka baca novel dengan genre Young Adult  seperti Twilight, Perfect Chemistry, Iron King, dll. (saya nggak bisa kepikir yang lain, payah ya), saya belum tertarik sama sekali. Yah baca sih 1-2 buku. Sempet beli juga, tapi ngerasa biasa aja. Ngeliat cover novel ini muncul di recent updates di Goodreads saya tertarik. Sama covernya. Dan itu muncul di statusnya Amel. Berhubung rumahnya dekat, saya todong langsung aja. Eh, dasar nggak tau diri, udah dipinjemin, saya berlama-lama karena mood untuk membaca tak kunjung datang. Setelah baca 2 bab, saya tinggal.

Mungkin karena awal tahun dan masih semangat sama resolusi saya, saya terdorong untuk membaca ini (dari awal tentunya, karena saya nggak inget lagi apa yang udah saya baca).

Dan saya sukaaaaaa ... Awalnya agak membosankan buat saya. Standardlah, deskripsi tentang kuliahnya Sarah, tentang cowok dengan gaya bahasa yang konyol dan dilebih-lebihkan (dari sudut si Sarah). 

Jadi Sarah adalah cewek yang tergila-gila novel romantis. Bisa disebut novel roman gak? Kok kayaknya nuansanya beda ya kalo disebut novel roman dan romantis? :D

Nah, karena obsesinya sama novel roman ini, Sarah sering ngehubungin apa  yang terjadi pada dirinya, dan cewek-cewek dan cowok-cowok di sekitarnya dengan apa yang sering dia baca. Bahwa cowok tertarik sama cewek seksi dengan suara mendesah dan bentuk bodi bagus. Sementara cewek pintar tapi berpenampilan biasa aja jelas nggak bakal dilirik. Jadi dia agak bingung, takjub, ketika Ben, cowok yang menurutnya paling oke dan menakjubkan, pintar dan menarik, tertarik sama dia. Hmm... kok dia nggak percaya sama Cinderella ya? :D

Saya suka karakter Sarah yang terlepas dari kekurangannya (yang dirasakan oleh dirinya sendiri), ternyata dia punya banyak kelebihan: pintar, jago main gitar, bisa nyanyi, dan yang paling penting, bisa masak! Kan katanya cara paling cepat merebut hati pria lewat perutnya. Dan Sarah sukses membuat Ben, dan juga Chel, sahabatnya, bertekuk lutut (meskipun Sarah nggak sadar soal ini). Jadi saya ngebayangin si Sarah ini bener-bener jago masak. Saya jadi terinspirasi untuk lebih sering terjun ke dapur dan mencoba resep baru.

Tapi saya juga terpikir sih, kayaknya ada beberapa waktu saya juga seperti Sarah, berpikir it's too good to be true kalo ada cowok yang oke mau sama cewek yang (menurut saya) biasa-biasa aja, sementara ratusan cewek yang lebih menarik berseliweran di mana-mana. Insecurity! Siap-siap panggil psikolog buat konseling! :D

Saya suka hubungan yang manis kayak Sarah dan Ben, lebih berasa kayak teman. Dan hah! Nuansa ini yang jadi bumerang buat hubungan mereka. Saking nyamannya hubungan mereka, Sarah berpikir Ben cuma pengen temenan aja, sementara Ben punya pandangan lain. 

Saya sukaaaaaaaaaa banget sama ilustrasi Dean soal main catur ketika dia berusaha menjelaskan ke Sarah tentang hubungan Sarah dan Ben dari sudut pandangnya dia sebagai cowok.

Karena ini cuma diambil dari sudut pandang Sarah, saya jadi agak penasaran sama alasan (dan cara pandang) Ben kenapa dia bisa sampe suka sama Sarah, sejak kapan, apa yang ada di pikirannya. Mungkin karena beberapa bulan ini saya selalu baca novel yang diceritakan dari sudut pandang orang ketiga (penulis), jadi saya selalu tahu apa yang dirasakan dan dipikirkan kedua belah pihak. Dan begitu baca novel gaya begini (ala chicklit dan metropop), saya harus beradaptasi lagi nih. Tapi abis baca novel ini saya jadi kangen dan pengen baca novel-novel semacam ini, terjemahan atau lokal. *belagu abis lama banget baca novel berbahasa Inggris terus. Hihihihihi....

My english review (which was written in a shorter descriptions because I didn't know how to describe it) can be read on Goodreads.