Monday, April 27, 2020

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Eleanor & Park
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: February 26, 2013

Format: eBook
Price: $9.99
Page Count: 336
ISBN-13: 9781250031211

Reading Level: Grades 8 and up (ages 13+)
Lexile: 580
Interest Level: Grades 9 and up (ages 14+)

Annotation: Bonding over comic books and music, Eleanor and Park fall for each other.

Plot and Content Summary: Taking place in the late 1980s, unlikely pair Eleanor, a girl with big red hair, and Park, a (half) Korean kid, end up sitting together on the school bus. Through this encounter, they build a friendship—and then something more. As they learn more about each other, there are many obstacles that stand in the way. Ultimately, this is story following two different people falling in young love.

Evaluation: I love that this was a story about two misfits who had a lot going on at home and at school. Often times, it feels like protagonists in contemporary YA novels are well loved and popular, so this was refreshing to read. It is comforting to know that one does not need to be "special" to have a special story. While Eleanor & Park was beautifully told, my complaint is with the Asian American representation. I am thrilled that such a character exists, but it only perpetuated stereotypes. At the time of reading, I knew I was uncomfortable with the way Park was portrayed—but I could not explain why. Cheung (2018) writes how I feel well: "Throughout the book, there is constant focus on Park's otherness. His mixed-race identity is often reduced down to a plot device for the white protagonist to fetishize and project upon ... The problem with American media like Eleanor & Park perpetuating such stereotypes, even the "positive" ones, is that is reinforces a very narrow definition for how Asian people should look and act."

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Eleanor has a very unstable home life, living in poverty with an abusive, alcoholic stepfather. In addition to going through the stresses of school, teenagers have a lot to deal with outside of that, too. With Eleanor's situation, seeing her go through all of that, it can alert teens that this type of behavior is not normal and should be addressed. Of course, it is a scary thing to confront. My hope is that Eleanor & Park will be the strength needed to get out of that situation.

Issues Present: Eleanor & Park has been challenged for containing offensive language. However, it is rarely used by the two protagonists. In an interview with Ortberg (2013), Rowell commented on this, saying that "Eleanor and Park themselves almost never swear ... I use profanity in the book to show how vulgar and sometimes violent the characters' worlds are." Even Eleanor complains about how often her stepfather curses.

Book Talk Ideas: How do both Eleanor's parents and Park's parents impact their view on relationships? Discuss their relationships to their parents and how it influences how Eleanor and Park see each other. If you were to write the rest of the ending, how would it go?

Genre/Subgenres: Multiple perspectives; Realistic fiction

Readalikes: Emergency Contact by Mary H. K. Choi; Crossing the Line by Simone Elkeles; The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky; The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

References
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