Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Powell
Jun. 28th, 2014 10:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Eleanor is the new girl in town, and with her chaotic family life, her mismatched clothes and unruly red hair, she couldn’t stick out more if she tried.
Park is the boy at the back of the bus. Black T-shirts, headphones, head in a book – he thinks he’s made himself invisible. But not to Eleanor … never to Eleanor.
Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you’re young, and you feel as if you have nothing and everything to lose.
It’s August 1986.
16-year-old Eleanor has moved to Omaha, Nebraska to live with her mother, her mother’s boyfriend, Ritchie, and her younger siblings. Eleanor’s spent the last year living with a neighbour after Ritchie threw her out. With her frizzy red-hair and unusual clothes she stands out in a bad way and immediately makes herself a target for bullies like Steve and Tina.
16-year-old Park is bi-racial (Korean mother, white father) and knows what it’s like to stick out. He spends his time trying to avoid bringing attention to himself. When he reluctantly offers Eleanor the seat next to him on the school bus though, neither of them realises that it will lead to their falling in love or what that love will mean to them …
Rainbow Rowell’s YA historical romance is a well-written story about first love, individuality and the terror of living in an abusive home. It’s one of those rare YA romances where the main characters take the time to get to know each other before falling in love rather than undergoing instant attraction and I liked the slow build of their relationship as it develops over a shared love of comics and music. Also well handled is Eleanor’s home situation with Rowell slowly ramping up the tension that comes with living with a violent and volatile man. However, I found the 80s references a little heavy-handed and while I understood Eleanor’s reluctance to tell anyone about what was happening at home, her freaking out and being silent got a little repetitive at times. I also didn’t quite believe in the ending – particularly the way Park goes along with Eleanor’s quite awful behaviour. That said though, as someone who doesn’t normally like romance, I thought this was well written with some neat exchanges and as such would read Rowell’s other work.
One of the things I like about their Eleanor and Park’s romance is how Rowell isn’t afraid to show Park sometimes feeling embarrassed about Eleanor e.g. her clothes. For me, it’s a rare show of the superficiality that can exist in teen love and I equally liked the way Park recognises that about himself. Eleanor comes across as someone lost and vulnerable and I understood why she likes the steadier Park who shows her kindness and admiration.
Ultimately this is a strong YA novel that should be read by anyone tired of superficial YA romance.
The Verdict:
Rainbow Rowell’s YA historical romance is a well-written story about first love, individuality and the terror of living in an abusive home. It’s one of those rare YA romances where the main characters take the time to get to know each other before falling in love rather than undergoing instant attraction and I liked the slow build of their relationship as it develops over a shared love of comics and music. Also well handled is Eleanor’s home situation with Rowell slowly ramping up the tension that comes with living with a violent and volatile man. However, I found the 80s references a little heavy-handed and while I understood Eleanor’s reluctance to tell anyone about what was happening at home, her freaking out and being silent got a little repetitive at times. I also didn’t quite believe in the ending – particularly the way Park goes along with Eleanor’s quite awful behaviour. That said though, as someone who doesn’t normally like romance, I thought this was well written with some neat exchanges and as such would read Rowell’s other work.
Eleanor is the new girl in town, and with her chaotic family life, her mismatched clothes and unruly red hair, she couldn’t stick out more if she tried.
Park is the boy at the back of the bus. Black T-shirts, headphones, head in a book – he thinks he’s made himself invisible. But not to Eleanor … never to Eleanor.
Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you’re young, and you feel as if you have nothing and everything to lose.
It’s August 1986.
16-year-old Eleanor has moved to Omaha, Nebraska to live with her mother, her mother’s boyfriend, Ritchie, and her younger siblings. Eleanor’s spent the last year living with a neighbour after Ritchie threw her out. With her frizzy red-hair and unusual clothes she stands out in a bad way and immediately makes herself a target for bullies like Steve and Tina.
16-year-old Park is bi-racial (Korean mother, white father) and knows what it’s like to stick out. He spends his time trying to avoid bringing attention to himself. When he reluctantly offers Eleanor the seat next to him on the school bus though, neither of them realises that it will lead to their falling in love or what that love will mean to them …
Rainbow Rowell’s YA historical romance is a well-written story about first love, individuality and the terror of living in an abusive home. It’s one of those rare YA romances where the main characters take the time to get to know each other before falling in love rather than undergoing instant attraction and I liked the slow build of their relationship as it develops over a shared love of comics and music. Also well handled is Eleanor’s home situation with Rowell slowly ramping up the tension that comes with living with a violent and volatile man. However, I found the 80s references a little heavy-handed and while I understood Eleanor’s reluctance to tell anyone about what was happening at home, her freaking out and being silent got a little repetitive at times. I also didn’t quite believe in the ending – particularly the way Park goes along with Eleanor’s quite awful behaviour. That said though, as someone who doesn’t normally like romance, I thought this was well written with some neat exchanges and as such would read Rowell’s other work.
One of the things I like about their Eleanor and Park’s romance is how Rowell isn’t afraid to show Park sometimes feeling embarrassed about Eleanor e.g. her clothes. For me, it’s a rare show of the superficiality that can exist in teen love and I equally liked the way Park recognises that about himself. Eleanor comes across as someone lost and vulnerable and I understood why she likes the steadier Park who shows her kindness and admiration.
Ultimately this is a strong YA novel that should be read by anyone tired of superficial YA romance.
The Verdict:
Rainbow Rowell’s YA historical romance is a well-written story about first love, individuality and the terror of living in an abusive home. It’s one of those rare YA romances where the main characters take the time to get to know each other before falling in love rather than undergoing instant attraction and I liked the slow build of their relationship as it develops over a shared love of comics and music. Also well handled is Eleanor’s home situation with Rowell slowly ramping up the tension that comes with living with a violent and volatile man. However, I found the 80s references a little heavy-handed and while I understood Eleanor’s reluctance to tell anyone about what was happening at home, her freaking out and being silent got a little repetitive at times. I also didn’t quite believe in the ending – particularly the way Park goes along with Eleanor’s quite awful behaviour. That said though, as someone who doesn’t normally like romance, I thought this was well written with some neat exchanges and as such would read Rowell’s other work.
