Eleanor & Park
Rainbow Rowell
Eleanor and Park is a story about two people — a girl named Eleanor who is a little chubbier than the rest of the girls at her school and dresses funny as if she’s searching for attention. Park is a normal kid who has normal classes and a normal family, so the last thing he wants is Eleanor, the chubby girl who stares at him, to ruin this. Park and Eleanor go to school on the same bus, and start to bond over comics and music. Eleanor and Park learn things about each other that they never knew and tackle things like abuse and self recognition together. A story about how even two of the most separate and opposites of people can become close if they keep an open mind.
I personally thought this book was enjoyable but it had an awkward elevation by the middle. It started as if they hated each other and all of a sudden they unrealistically became crazy about each other. I didn’t enjoy that because it wasn’t very relatable; it was a good way to show how people sometimes can just click, but to me, it felt like it was forced and not a normal transition. There were some parts I really loved and some I just couldn’t handle. I have mixed feelings about this book but at the end of the day it was not bad. I had a good time reading it and I loved reading about Eleanor’s life because it made me realize that you don’t always know what’s happening in peoples lives and why they act they way that they do or dress in the way they do. It taught me to never be judgmental because nothing good comes from judgment. – Fatima S.