About the Author

RAINBOW ROWELL lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband and two sons. She's also the author of Landline, Fangirl and Attachments.

Reviews

"Funny, hopeful, foulmouthed, sexy, and tear-jerking, this winning romance will captivate teen and adult readers alike." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Rowell keeps things surprising, and the solution maintains the novel's delicate balance of light and dark." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The pure, fear-laced, yet steadily maturing relationship Eleanor and Park develop is urgent and breathtaking and, of course, heartbreaking, too." --Booklist (starred review) "An honest, heart-wrenching portrayal of imperfect but unforgettable love." --The Horn Book (winner of The Horn Book Award for fiction) "Rowell's humor, tenderness, and sense of detail are extraordinary." --Curtis Sittenfeld for The New Yorker "Eleanor & Park is a breathless, achingly good read about love and outsiders." --Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door "Sweet, gritty, and affecting . . . Rainbow Rowell has written an unforgettable story about two misfits in love. This debut will find its way into your heart and stay there." --Courtney Summers, author of This Is Not a Test and Cracked Up to Be "In her rare and surprising exploration of young misfit love, Rowell shows us the beauty in the broken." --Stewart Lewis, author of You Have Seven Messages "Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book." --John Green, The New York Times Book Review "Rowell's writing swings from profane to profound, but it's always real and always raw." --Petra Mayer for NPR Books

"Funny, hopeful, foulmouthed, sexy, and tear-jerking, this winning romance will captivate teen and adult readers alike." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Rowell keeps things surprising, and the solution maintains the novel's delicate balance of light and dark." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The pure, fear-laced, yet steadily maturing relationship Eleanor and Park develop is urgent and breathtaking and, of course, heartbreaking, too." --Booklist (starred review) "An honest, heart-wrenching portrayal of imperfect but unforgettable love." --The Horn Book (winner of The Horn Book Award for fiction) "Rowell's humor, tenderness, and sense of detail are extraordinary." --Curtis Sittenfeld for The New Yorker "Eleanor & Park is a breathless, achingly good read about love and outsiders." --Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door "Sweet, gritty, and affecting . . . Rainbow Rowell has written an unforgettable story about two misfits in love. This debut will find its way into your heart and stay there." --Courtney Summers, author of This Is Not a Test and Cracked Up to Be "In her rare and surprising exploration of young misfit love, Rowell shows us the beauty in the broken." --Stewart Lewis, author of You Have Seven Messages "Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book." --John Green, The New York Times Book Review "Rowell's writing swings from profane to profound, but it's always real and always raw." --Petra Mayer for NPR Books

Eleanor is the new girl, big, red-haired, dressed with a defiantly grungy lack of style, and a perfect target for ridicule and harassment in half-Korean sophomore Park's Omaha, Neb., high school. Park doesn't even want the weirdo sitting by him on the bus. But no one else will share a seat with Eleanor, so he-a misfit himself-reluctantly offers. Each day that passes gives them a chance to learn more about each other-the books they like, the music they share. They start to rely on each other to get through difficult times with their families and classmates. And eventually what they have becomes love. Narrators Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra turn in superb performances in their portrayal of Eleanor and Park. Despite her age, there is nothing sweet or childlike about Eleanor, and Lowman refrains from portraying her that way. Lowman's voice and tone believably capture the too-mature-too-soon strength of a girl living a hard life. Malhotra has a rich, smooth delivery, and perfectly renders Park as he fluctuates between confidence and insecurity. Listeners of all ages will be able to enjoy this audio edition. Ages 13-up. A St. Martin's Griffin hardcover. (Feb.)? Nonfiction (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.