Eleanor and Park

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell . St. Martin's Griffin, New York City, 2013. ISBN: 978-1250012579

Summary

Park and Eleanor are both lonely outcasts. Park is one of the few Asian students at school and Eleanor is the new girl at school who lives  with her four siblings and her mom’s new husband. Park would rather sit on the back of the bus and listen to his mix tapes, and Eleanor could care less what her hellish classmates think of her.

It's not love at first sight for these two teens--they actually dislike each other when they first meet, and think the other is weird and annoying. While hey sit next to each other on the bus, they don't talk--until Park spots Eleanor reading his comics over his shoulder. He gives her a few copies to read along with his Walkman to listen to. Soon, Eleanor and Park start conversations about music and comics and slowly become friends. As the school year goes by and their friendship turns into romantic feelings, Eleanor and Park struggle to understand how they really feel about each other. If feelings weren't fickle enough, dealing with their family and friends's opinion of their relationship is also annoying. 

Critical Evaluation

Eleanor and Park isn’t a typical boy meets girl romance story, but it still has a lot of heart.  The slow buildup from strangers, to friends and finally, love, allows the audience to understand the characters and their emotions, before getting into the relationship part of the story.  Even with their flaws, both Eleanor and Park are loveable characters. Rowell does an excellent job creating two characters that aren’t solely defined by their families or their past.  Despite the fact that they consider themselves to be weird outcasts, their relationship with each other proves that there is a chance for love even for the misfits of the world.

The 80s pop culture and music references mentioned throughout the book are a nice touch.  The alternating, third person chapters also give readers a look into what both Eleanor and Park are thinking and feeling. The frequent language and sexual situations make this  book best for older teens who are looking for a quirky, heartfelt romance story.

Reader’s Annotation

Can two lonely outcasts find love with each other?

About the Author

“Rainbow Rowell writes books.

Sometimes she writes about adults (Attachments and Landline).

Sometimes she writes about teenagers (Eleanor & Park and Fangirl).

But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they’re screwing up. And people who fall in love.

When she’s not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don’t really matter in the big scheme of things.

She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.”

 (About.    Retrieved September 21^st, 2014 from http://rainbowrowell.com/blog/about/)

Genres

Romance

Coming of Age

Curriculum Ties

80’s History

Multicultural

Music

Booktalking Ideas

1: Discuss the theme of music throughout the story

2: Difference between Park and Eleanor’s family.

Reading Level/Interest Age

Ages 15+

Grades 9+

Literary Awards

Printz Honor (2014)

YALSA Teen’s Top Ten (2014)

YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (Top Ten, 2014)

Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award (2014)

Challenge Issues

Language

Sexual situations

Defense File

1—Ensure that policies such as “Freedom to Read,” “Collection Development,” and “Challenged Materials” are available for patrons and staff to read and research. Have list of awards and reviews for titles, as well as a “Reconsideration Form” on hand at all branches.

2—Listen to challenges and complaints openly and without judgment. Allow the patron to express their thoughts without inputting your own.

3—Have patron fill out reconsideration form. Provide information and background on challenge material’s author and title.  Forward reconsideration form to appropriate supervisors.

PPLD’s Challenge Materials Policy: http://ppld.org/challenged-materials-policy

PPLD’s Collection Development Policy: http://ppld.org/collection-development-policy

Why included?

I included Eleanor and Park for its sweet love story and for its 80’s pop culture and music references.