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Eleanor & Park
Eleanor & Park
Rainbow Rowell | 2016 | Young Adult (YA)
Heartwarming (1 more)
Realistic
Amazing, beautiful book
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.
  
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.
  
Five Feet Apart
Five Feet Apart
Rachael Lippincott | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
7
6.9 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
So we meet Stella in this, a cystic fibrosis sufferer who is entering hospital to fight a throat infection and high temperature. The hospital is like her second home after going in and out of it over the years to fight whatever illnesses are troubling her. She knows where everything is and has free movement of the hospital. In the process of having to come to the hospital for an extended stay, she is missing out on a school trip to Cabo with her friends which she helped organise.

Already at the hospital is her long time friend and fellow CF sufferer, Poe. And then there's new to the hospital Will, who's on a drug trial to stop his B. cepacia - which is a dangerous bacteria that can eventually kill CFers.

There's an instant attraction between Stella and Will but initially Stella's a little antagonistic towards Will as he seems too ready to give up on his treatment so he can travel before he dies. While Will thinks she's a teachers pet and a goody two shoes with how close she is to the nurses who've treated her since she was 6.

They eventually come to realise that they can help each other and the attraction grows - making them shrink the required 6 feet to 5 - and they fall in love.

I cried about three times during my reading of this because I had grown to like the characters and for being so young they'd all been through a lot.

I thought it was a cute story, falling in love while being poorly but did they really get their HEA?
  
Show Me the Way (Fight for Me, #1)
Show Me the Way (Fight for Me, #1)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This has been borrowed from the Kindle Unlimited Library.

This one starts with Rynna leaving her small town after yet another run in with her bullies, breaking her Grammy's heart as she flees. Fast forward quite a few years and Rynna is coming back to run the diner her Grammy used to own after her passing away. She's wary of people recognising her and dreads running into her bullies but makes new friends within her first days and meets her neighbours, single dad, Rex, and his young daughter Frankie Leigh. Rex has closed himself off from pretty much everyone and, intrigued by the contradictory man, Rynna can't help wanting to get to know him.

This was sweet. Both damaged in one way or another, wanting to overcome it when they meet that special someone and in this case it's each other. My only issue is I want angst in my stories lately. I want them to scream and fight and make up with each other. That didn't quite happen but somewhere around the 65% mark, someone made an appearance that sent everything up in the air and I was dragged into the story fully for the first time. It got a little intriguing with me wondering how it would all play out.

One thing I did really like about this book was Frankie Leigh. I have a huge weakness for adorable babies/children in my romances and Frankie Leigh may just have won the award for cuteness. She's so full of cute energy with her enthusiasm and crazy fashion sense. Adorable!

I wouldn't mind going back to Gingham Lakes to read Rex's friends stories.
  
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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The Last Piece of My Heart in Books

Aug 26, 2019 (Updated Sep 3, 2019)  
The Last Piece of My Heart
The Last Piece of My Heart
Paige Toon | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
7
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Paige Toon has always been an author I'll buy. I've pretty much read all of her books apart from her last two or three--which I own but haven't gotten around to reading yet. I always tend to find Toon's books easy to get through and once I start, it's a case of full steam ahead.

So Bridget is a travel journalist who is also writing a blog about reclaiming the pieces of her heart that she lost to past boyfriends who she fell in love with, flying all over the world to meet up with them and asking for the pieces back. At the same time, she's been tasked with finishing writing a sequel to a bestselling novel after the author died suddenly half way through writing it.

It was interesting to read the authors journals and to see that a lot of her story was based on her own experiences when she was younger. I enjoyed Bridget's time getting to know Nicki--the author who had sadly passed away--through the stories told in notebooks and from her husband, Charlie.

Then there's Nicki and Charlie's baby daughter, April. I've got a serious weakness for cute babies/children in stories. She's used as a pretty focal character in the book and I think, like Bridget, that we start to fall in love with her from early on.

I think Toon did a good job of writing a grieving husband (and other family members) and the tenderness of finding new love after such a big loss.

I'm looking forward to reading those other books I mentioned above.
  
Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)
Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)
Marissa Meyer | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.4 (36 Ratings)
Book Rating
Okay, so this book gets a 4.5 stars, but, again, I am rounding up for this book because it was honestly close enough to a 5 that I'm okay giving it a five star!!

Why did I wait so long to read this book?!?! Oh my goodness. I loved Cinder so much and I bought this book almost immediately after reading Cinder, so I'm not sure why I hesitated reading this because it was just as good!!

Kai and Cinder are still so cute together. I just love all of the little moments when they are thinking about each other and they are just consumed by those thought. Ugh. So freaking cute. (I'm still going for the the ship name of Kainder because they both need a little kindness in their lives, to be honest).

I love the new characters as well. Scarlet is so independent and feisty! I love how she sticks up for what she believes in and wants to protect those she loves, but she's also very trusting, maybe too trusting with people.

 And Wolf, he's so smooth, but he's got anxiety. He wants to be a better person for Scarlet because she believes in him! Wolflet is an adorable ship name and I love them together.

And *CAPTAIN* Carswell is hilarious and I can't wait to see what shenanigans he gets into in the next year.

I'm just so in love with all of the new characters and I'm so glad they were added to the story! It's never certain that the characters introduced in the sequels will be as compelling as the characters in the first book, but they shined just as brightly. (Yeah, I know I'm getting cheesy, I just love these characters so freaking much.)

Normally I'm not the biggest fan of multiple PoV stories, this book was written so well that I actually loved it!!

I read this whole book in a day and it helped me out of a minor book slump, so thank you Scarlet!!

I absolutely love where the plot is going. I can't wait until I can get my hands on the rest of the series, which will hopefully be soon!

I just love these books and the author. I got to meet her a couple of years ago at yallwest and she signed this book. She's just so freaking nice and I'm so happy she's had so much success in this series! I can't wait to see what else she will be writing!