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Eleanor & Park
Eleanor & Park
Rainbow Rowell | 2016 | Young Adult (YA)
When Park first sees Eleanor get on the school bus, he cringes. Everything about her is wrong - her size, her hair, her clothes. He knows the other kids will pick on her immediately. But for some reason, he tells her to sit down next to him, despite knowing it will attract attention -- exactly what Park doesn't want. However, over time, Park and Eleanor forge an unlikely friendship-- attention be damned.

I feel like reviewing this book can't do it justice. This was a lovely, amazing, heartwarming, heartbreaking novel. Rowell does an unbelievable job of capturing adolescent love, relationships, and high school life. And not your typical YA cool kids, easy romance, where the protagonists "meet cute" and fall in love on Day 1. Park and Eleanor's friendship isn't easy, their relationship isn't easy: their lives aren't easy. Rowell portrays all of this beautifully, even if it's agonizing to read, without making it seem trite. Park and Eleanor are two of the most developed characters I've read about in ages. They leap off the pages, to the point where I wanted to adopt Eleanor and hug and befriend Park.

The book slowed a bit for me in the middle -- the creep of an adolescent relationship can be a bit rough -- but it's worth it. The ending is crushing, in many ways, and I would just about kill for a sequel, even though I can grudgingly probably admit it's best the way it ended. No matter what, a beautiful read-- so worth your time-- and one I'll be recommending to anyone I can find who hasn't read it yet.
  
TM
The Maimie Papers: Letters from an Ex-Prostitute
Maimie Pinzer | 1977 | Biography
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was fascinating. I love reading letters and journals from real, everyday people, as I feel they can whole a sense of place and time like no history book ever could.

Maimie Pinzer was a prostitute at the beginning of the twentieth century, and had become addicted to morphine after losing one of her eyes. She must have cut an unusual figure with her eye patch. The charity workers gave her the name of one Mrs. Howe to write to, a society lady with philanthropic interests. What developed was a lifelong friendship. Unfortunately, Mrs. Howe's letters are no longer extant, but Maimie stands on her own, and you can watch her shyness in letters begin to blossom and become a most admirable character, especially considering all of the adversity she faced.
  
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Sam (74 KP) rated I Have Lost My Way in Books

Mar 27, 2019  
I Have Lost My Way
I Have Lost My Way
Gayle Forman | 2018 | Young Adult (YA)
4
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The characters were all very varied and very different from each other which made me wonder from the beginning on how they would ever have a friendship by the end of the novel.

I was a bit disappointed because little actually happened in the book, which is why I don’t really have much to say about this. The novel all takes place across one day and it seems more like a commentary of that day rather than an entertaining plot.

I’ve held off reviewing this for a while because I just wasn’t that int it. I did an age to read it all and it did have a few entertaining parts, but overall I was quite disappointed with this because it wasn’t as good as Gayle Forman’s other books.