Books & Java

Eleanor and Park

by Rainbow Rowell  

 

Synopsis:

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.

My Review:

I feel that I have to preface this review with the fact that I don't read YA Fiction. I just find that I can't relate to it. HOWEVER, this particular story truly resonated with me. I could have been anyone of these wonderful characters as I grew up in this same time in the 80s. Although the intended audience is YA, if you grew up in the 80s, you will definitely relate.

Fantastic coming-of-age story. The story takes place in the 80's at the same time as I would have have been in high school too. I couldn't help but think the whole time I was reading that I could have known Eleanor and Park in my school. They were each present in everyone's high school in the 80s. Just take a look at your yearbook. This is what I loved most about this book. Not only was the relationship between the two so genuine and sweet but the story itself was very real. Two outcasts in a world (high school) that has its rules and social norms unique to those of the outside (the real) world. It's hard to navigate that world no matter when the story takes place. I have 2 high schoolers and although there is a 25 year difference from when I was in high school and now that they are, they can relate to this story just the same.

Eleanor is the hero in this story. A girl who is dealing with very tough issues outside of her own control. She has a mother who is not a very good role model to her daughters. She loves her kids but has her priorities somewhat messed up. She is so desperate to please the man in her life that she turns a blind eye to the security her children need. Eleanor finds herself looking over her shoulder at all times for the exploitative, sexually implicit stares and innuendo her step-father hurls her way. But, she is smart and witty and in spite of all of the poor role-models and lack of nurturing in her life, she is a fighter. She is secure in herself and is determined to save herself if no one else will. Park, is also an outcast, but for very different reasons. His difference lies in the fact that his mother is Korean and his father American. Growing up in the rural mid-West makes his ethnicity part of how other kids judge him. Tough, for a kid who is trying to establish his own identity and not be labeled according to his ethnicity alone. Long story short, these two come together and their differences, struggles, insecurities, strengths and weaknesses become the foundation for their heart-warming and fulfilling love story.