Eleanor & Park

SPOILERS!!! (Don't read this until you've read the novel... or unless you're okay with reading the novel after a few very subtle spoilers.)

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Eleanor & Park, written by Rainbow Rowell was published in 2012 but takes place in Nebraska in the late 80s. The novel follows the story of two young kids, Eleanor and Park, who meet each other on the school bus and form a slow and innocent, yet romantic love. The novel is written in a way that makes you think. No matter what age you are, this story really hits home as it touches on different walks and statuses of life. 

I fell in love with this novel because of the love story that formed early on. By the first few chapters, you can understand that Eleanor and Park were going to fall in love; but you didn’t quite know how it would happen. There are these adorable little details of subtle hand holding and note passing that makes you fly back to those middle school days. This novel is also written in the third person point of view. This is a bit different, as each chapter switches from the point of view of either Eleanor or Park, but also continually follows the plot line a it goes. Though it is a different reading style, Rowell writes this story in such a fluent way that allows you to embrace yourself through the character's story. 

I love this novel because it has such a good message throughout. No matter how old or young you are, there are benefits to reading this novel. There are talks of bullies, harassment, love, poverty, inequality, abuse and more on the opposite side of the spectrum. It showcases a loveable couple that come from polar opposite backgrounds.To be specific, Eleanor comes from a background with a rough family life, abusive stepfather and also lived below the poverty line. Park, on the other hand, comes from from a wealthier background, yet still deals with his father who disregards him for his lack of masculinity. Seeing a love story form between these two very different characters is uplifting. 

Honestly, my favorite part of this novel was right at the beginning when Park started to notice Eleanor reading over his shoulder on the bus. Park slowly opened up to Eleanor, but in a very ‘middle school’-esque way. His feelings towards Eleanor are not literally written on the page, but as a reader, you can feel them jumping from his head. Even if his feelings towards Eleanor may have been resentful at first, their slow growing love was so fun to unweave. 

Lastly, when reading novels, I often think about all the different ages of people that would be reading this. As a future teacher, I think that this book is suitable for ages 14 and 50 alike. The indirect messages that flow throughout the novel may be more distinguished by a more mature reader, but the scenes of bullying and harassment can really relate to a child the same age as the characters.