Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

From the dust jacket:
"Eleanor...Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.
Park...He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.
   Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds - smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try."

"She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something."

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but let's face it, certain cover art draws you in and entices you to read the teaser. A girl with frizzy, curly hair connected to a boy by music? Count me in. While reading Eleanor & Park I didn't think of much else. I felt so much sympathy for Eleanor, the oldest of 5 siblings, in a two bedroom house, with a controlling step-dad. And Park, with more privileges than he realizes. Park lets Eleanor sit by him on the bus by default her first day, no one else would scoot over, so begins their year of bus rides.
   This book brought back the feelings of first love. I adore how Park loves Eleanor, for herself, even though she doesn't seem to love herself. He tries to make her see her beauty especially when she can't. It was beautiful. This would be a fantastic book to take to the beach or on vacation. It's a simple story but it kept me enthralled until the end.