Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Rating: Good
This is a coming of age book, and a good YA novel.  It is based in the 80's and the descriptions in the book will be nostalgic for those who were teenagers at this time.  Eleanor is a not so pretty new girl in school.  When she gets on the bus her first day, she is befriended by the reluctant Park.  There story goes through the typical desire of adolescence that most adults are familiar with, but what amazed me about the book is Park's parents. They were the good guys.  The ones that raised Park the right way. He doesn't care that she is a little heavier then other girls.  He isn't afraid to be her boyfriend, and he defends her when the other kids make fun of her, and play mean jokes on her. His parents allow Eleanor to seek refuge from her abusive family at their house, and allow Park to help her through the difficult times.  It is a story about a first love full of emotions and conflicts, but it also shows how to be a good friend.