Eleanor & Park attempts to capture the hypnotic and compelling feelings of first time love. This book has received great reviews (Amazon's Teen Book of the Year and Top Ten Book of the Year, Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Book of the Year, sitting on New York Times best-selling list for months on end). In fact, the reviews are the only reason I read the book because, I’ll be completely honest, the plot in itself does not really attract my attention: two teens in the 80s who fall, deep, deeply in love – it seems like a hefty plate of mozzarella topped with parmesan. But, of course, I had to see what all the hype was about and reading a book by someone named Rainbow Rowell definitely peaks my interest.
The romance wasn’t actually what I found the most disappointing in the book, it essentially saved it from being a mass of 80s references and badly executed race controversy. The pacing was seriously off (meaning it had none) in the way that the two kids went from hating one another to feeling all gooey eyed almost instantaneously, but I have learned that Young Adult novels tend to skim over this critical real-life transition because it takes up way too much filler space where there could be love confessions and cutesy glances. Rowell did not leave any of this out, providing a thick layer of mush that, I admit, gave me a few aww moments.
The real problem with the book wasn’t the romance at all but how much stuff Rainbow Rowell was trying to cram into 300 pages. She was tackling racial controversy, love, feminine identity, abusive relationships, bullying and poverty all while trying to retain a balancing of emotions. Unfortunately, all the controversial and political issues were down-casted by the overall theme of first love, which made the book feel incomplete.
The story was centered on Eleanor and Park and what they have together; it lacked the substance needed to convey a decade of racial prejudices. Rowell glazed over them, only referencing them enough that it was implied they were there, but never really fully addressing the racism. It was stated that they lived in a predominantly white neighborhood in Middle America. Park was Korean and therefore had to lay low in the shadows out of fear he would be singled out. The strange part was Park was not singled out by anyone but himself. Other than Eleanor calling him “that stupid Asian kid”, Park was not race stereotyped or picked on at all throughout the entire novel and the only one that kept bringing up his race was Park himself. Eleanor, who is white, was actually the one being bullied and harassed. She even befriended two black girls and no mention of racial discrimination was brought up with either of them. The only event that touched on racism was a story about a white man getting a black girl pregnant, and it was told in all of one paragraph and never mentioned again.
Eleanor’s family situation was supposed to provide the overall conflict of the story as well as sympathy towards Eleanor from the reader. In some ways, this was achieved. I found myself disgusted by the blatant abuse in the household and the helpless nature of Eleanor’s mom and family towards her step dad. The story, however, had several holes in plot. There was no reason behind why everyone in the family except Eleanor started to accept her step dad or why they had to move into a shabbier home or even how Richie entered their lives. The problems in the story were most likely there because Eleanor and Park is not titled simply “Eleanor”: the Park is in there too. The family situation, as with every other issue, was just a backdrop to the tangled story of star-crossed lovers.
Above all, the biggest frustration in the book was the ending. I think I was most let down by the ending because it was emphasized most by being the “best part” in every review. There were alleged tears and “feels” but the only thing I was feeling was confusion. The ending of books normally go two ways: tie everything up or leave it to the unknown. Eleanor and Park tried to do both and, from the romance stand point, that was the best decision Rainbow Rowell could make. She didn’t tie everything up with a bow but she also didn’t leave her fragile, young readers with a sense of loss: she let them feel saddened just enough to catch a glimmer of hope at the end. The only problem was, she forgot about everyone other than Eleanor and Park. There wasn’t a mention of what really happened to Eleanor’s family or how it all turned out, it was just about Eleanor and Park’s relationship. The resolution lacked the political intensity that could have been developed with a story background like the one Rowell developed.
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell was a good young adult romance with a bad setting. There was too much going on for anything to be fully laid out and delivered other than the romance between Eleanor and Park. I would not go so far as to not recommend the book because it did have versatility with a mix of comic relief, serious issues and love. It should be labeled, however, as a simple YA read rather than a ground-breaking novel.
The romance wasn’t actually what I found the most disappointing in the book, it essentially saved it from being a mass of 80s references and badly executed race controversy. The pacing was seriously off (meaning it had none) in the way that the two kids went from hating one another to feeling all gooey eyed almost instantaneously, but I have learned that Young Adult novels tend to skim over this critical real-life transition because it takes up way too much filler space where there could be love confessions and cutesy glances. Rowell did not leave any of this out, providing a thick layer of mush that, I admit, gave me a few aww moments.
The real problem with the book wasn’t the romance at all but how much stuff Rainbow Rowell was trying to cram into 300 pages. She was tackling racial controversy, love, feminine identity, abusive relationships, bullying and poverty all while trying to retain a balancing of emotions. Unfortunately, all the controversial and political issues were down-casted by the overall theme of first love, which made the book feel incomplete.
The story was centered on Eleanor and Park and what they have together; it lacked the substance needed to convey a decade of racial prejudices. Rowell glazed over them, only referencing them enough that it was implied they were there, but never really fully addressing the racism. It was stated that they lived in a predominantly white neighborhood in Middle America. Park was Korean and therefore had to lay low in the shadows out of fear he would be singled out. The strange part was Park was not singled out by anyone but himself. Other than Eleanor calling him “that stupid Asian kid”, Park was not race stereotyped or picked on at all throughout the entire novel and the only one that kept bringing up his race was Park himself. Eleanor, who is white, was actually the one being bullied and harassed. She even befriended two black girls and no mention of racial discrimination was brought up with either of them. The only event that touched on racism was a story about a white man getting a black girl pregnant, and it was told in all of one paragraph and never mentioned again.
Eleanor’s family situation was supposed to provide the overall conflict of the story as well as sympathy towards Eleanor from the reader. In some ways, this was achieved. I found myself disgusted by the blatant abuse in the household and the helpless nature of Eleanor’s mom and family towards her step dad. The story, however, had several holes in plot. There was no reason behind why everyone in the family except Eleanor started to accept her step dad or why they had to move into a shabbier home or even how Richie entered their lives. The problems in the story were most likely there because Eleanor and Park is not titled simply “Eleanor”: the Park is in there too. The family situation, as with every other issue, was just a backdrop to the tangled story of star-crossed lovers.
Above all, the biggest frustration in the book was the ending. I think I was most let down by the ending because it was emphasized most by being the “best part” in every review. There were alleged tears and “feels” but the only thing I was feeling was confusion. The ending of books normally go two ways: tie everything up or leave it to the unknown. Eleanor and Park tried to do both and, from the romance stand point, that was the best decision Rainbow Rowell could make. She didn’t tie everything up with a bow but she also didn’t leave her fragile, young readers with a sense of loss: she let them feel saddened just enough to catch a glimmer of hope at the end. The only problem was, she forgot about everyone other than Eleanor and Park. There wasn’t a mention of what really happened to Eleanor’s family or how it all turned out, it was just about Eleanor and Park’s relationship. The resolution lacked the political intensity that could have been developed with a story background like the one Rowell developed.
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell was a good young adult romance with a bad setting. There was too much going on for anything to be fully laid out and delivered other than the romance between Eleanor and Park. I would not go so far as to not recommend the book because it did have versatility with a mix of comic relief, serious issues and love. It should be labeled, however, as a simple YA read rather than a ground-breaking novel.