Book Review: Eleanor & Park

Who said falling in love was easy?

Eleanor & Park ticks all the boxes of a YA novel -- a new girl in school and town; mean school kids who make her life difficult and an unlikely friend she meets on the school bus. There is music, there are comics, there is an abusive father and then there is another set of loving but strict parents.

Eleanor, the awkward 'big' girl with red hair, wearing a man's clothes with scarves, rings and ribbons just can't seem to fit in her school, in her new house or in Park Sheridan's normal household; Park the American-Asian kid, in his all black avataar seeks to stay under radar. When the two misfits meet, they can't stay away from each other. 

Rainbow Rowell makes this tale of all-American teenagers universal with her exquisite writing and exploration of feelings. That one friend we all longed for in our seemingly difficult teenage years?Rainbow Rowell could fill in for that friend -- putting in words, naming those feelings and creating a world that is at once magical, special and then hurtful. 

The story written by both Eleanor and Park, in turns, is a device that succeeds, allowing us to know what's churning on in their minds; you know what the boy thinks, what the girl thinks routine? Here it's more beautiful, heart-breaking than prosaic. Set in 1986 and published in 2012 and read in 2022 and again in 2023, the story breaks down barriers of insecurity, inferiority, fear and loneliness that we all carry in some measure. The generation gap dissolves. Swap mix tapes for YT recommendations, books for books/kindle edition, walkman for itunes, ipod or downloads and phone calls and letters for chats on any of the social media apps. Love and distance doesn't matter here. 



Name: Eleanor & Park
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: Orion Fiction
Pages: 329 


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