Module 7: Eleanor & Park

Book Summary:

It’s the first day at a new school for Eleanor and faced with riding the school bus with total strangers, she ends up sitting with Park. Park clearly has no interest in her but offers her a seat anyway. She’s had a rough life and things don’t look to be improving as she instantly becomes the recipient of ridicule from the kids on the bus and at school. Each day presents the same routine, the bus ride with Park and trying to ignore the comments from others. Then one day Eleanor finds herself reading Park’s comic books and a friendship begins. Park begins sharing more comic books and music with Eleanor. A romance soon begins and the two spend as much time as possible together. Soon complications in Eleanor’s life disrupt everything and difficult choices must be made. Rainbow Rowell takes readers through an emotional experience of young love with an ending that is heartbreaking yet hopeful.

APA Reference of Book:

Rowell, R. (2013). Eleanor & Park. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.

Impressions:

This was a story full of real, believable characters. I read the majority of the book in one day, I just couldn’t stop reading. At first I was surprised by the mature language but realizing how it was used appropriately for each situation provided more realism. Rowell’s use of alternating viewpoints and real situations helps the story flow nicely. Readers will fall in love with these beautifully flawed characters and root for their happiness. The minor characters are also developed so well that readers will have strong feelings for each of them. For example, the descriptions of Richie leave the reader with very strong feelings towards him. As Eleanor goes through problem after problem the reader will find themselves desperate for some good to come for Eleanor. You won’t want the story to end but will want to know what happens for Eleanor and Park. This was a great book with so many great lessons for readers in high school and older.

Professional Review:

Right from the start of this tender debut, readers can almost hear the clock winding down on Eleanor and Park. After a less than auspicious start, the pair quietly builds a relationship while riding the bus to school every day, wordlessly sharing comics and eventually music on the commute. Their worlds couldn’t be more different. Park’s family is idyllic: his Vietnam vet father and Korean immigrant mother are genuinely loving. Meanwhile, Eleanor and her younger siblings live in poverty under the constant threat of Richie, their abusive and controlling stepfather, while their mother inexplicably caters to his whims. The couple’s personal battles are also dark mirror images. Park struggles with the realities of falling for the school outcast; in one of the more subtle explorations of race and “the other” in recent YA fiction, he clashes with his father over the definition of manhood. Eleanor’s fight is much more external, learning to trust her feelings about Park and navigating the sexual threat in Richie’s watchful gaze. In rapidly alternating narrative voices, Eleanor and Park try to express their all-consuming love. “You make me feel like a cannibal,” Eleanor says. The pure, fear-laced, yet steadily maturing relationship they develop is urgent, moving, and, of course, heartbreaking, too. --Courtney Jones

Jones, C. (2013). [Review of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell]. Booklist. Retrieved from https://www.booklistonline.com/Eleanor-Park-Rainbow-Rowell/pid=5738131.

Library Uses:

Eleanor & Park could be used in the high school library to discuss the important issues from the novel. There are many great ideas for uses of this novel with students. Discussions about bullying and being more welcoming to all students is one such discussion possible. Having students develop ideas to welcome new students and stop any treatment similar to this is one activity to have students participate in. There is also the issue of domestic violence that can be discussed and then the discussion can stem into research on the topic.

Another activity would be to have students choose quotes they enjoyed in the novel. Students will be asked to add their favorite quote from the novel on a bulletin board created especially for the novel.