It's 1986 and Eleanor's life isn't easy. At school she’s a socially awkward introvert who dresses like she stumbled out of a Goodwill and prays that no one notices how outrageously red her hair is or that she’s not anywhere close to being thin like the other girls. At home, she struggles with her verbally abusive step-father and too-passive mother.
Park is half-Korean (possibly the only Asian kid in the state of Nebraska); is a talent at martial arts, and likes to wear eyeliner sometimes. Apart from that, Park likes to fly under the judgmental radar of his peers—until he meets Eleanor:
It’s almost a high school homage to the Forrest Gump scene where Forrest is self-consciously searching for a seat on the school bus and is met with belligerent choruses of “seat’s taken!”—Eleanor and Park begin their quirky courtship through a reluctant bus seating arrangement and a determination not to say a word to each other. Gradually the barriers start to dissolve when Park realizes while he reads his comic books, Eleanor is silently reading over his shoulder.
Eleanor & Park is a sweet love story that has touches of cleverness that keep it from being saccharine and cliché. It’s a rare thing to be reading a book and want to give it a hug at the same time, but Rainbow Rowell writes her characters in such a way that makes you want to do exactly that.
*This novel is for students in grade 8 and up.
