Module 4: Eleanor & Park

Book Summary

Eleanor and Park are awkward teenagers thrown together on a school bus. Eleanor’s home life is pure misery, with a step-father that abuses the entire family, but particularly Eleanor’s mother. Park is half-Asian but is spared the cruelty of the mean kids because he grew up with them and used to date their ring leader. Eleanor is new and so faces bullying at school as well as at home. The teenagers slowly get to know each other and fall in love just as the step-father spins into a rage of abuse. Eleanor flees to her aunt’s and uncle’s with the help of Park. It appears that the two lovers will be parted forever, but in the end readers are given the hint that they will reunite.

APA Reference of Book

Rowell, R. (2013). Eleanor & Park. New York, NY: St Martin's Press.

Impressions

This is a sweetly written teen love story written for today’s youth. It is filled with 80s musical references and includes language and situations that may concern adults, but certainly not teens. The characters, even the bullies, are well developed with both good and bad traits. The plot reads like the lives of so many teens, filled with insecurity, abuse, and a sense of hopelessness. The overriding questions are typical teen angst: who am I, why is life so horrible, what did I do to deserve this, I’m a loser, no one can love me, etc. Park and Eleanor answer each other’s questions. Bullies reveal they have a heart. Dog-eat-dog is understood as self-defense. Well-paced, the reader is taken on a roller coaster of emotions, but the story ends with hopefulness.

Professional Review

The friendship between the teens is movingly believable, but the love relationship seems a bit rushed and underdeveloped. The revelation about the person behind the defacement of Eleanor’s textbooks is stunning. Although the narrative points of view alternate between Eleanor and Park, the transitions are smooth. Crude language is realistic. Purchase for readers who are drawn to quirky love stories or 1980s pop culture.

Schultz, J. (2013). Eleanor & Park. [Review of the book Eleanor & Park, by R. Rowell.] 

     School Library Journal, 59(2), 113. Retrieved from www.slj.com

Library Uses

Inspired by posters on Pinterest, teen angst books like Eleanor and Park could be used to get teens to create posters using the themes, mood, setting, and characters from the books. The posters would essentially be a way for teens to work through their own issues, as well as an elements chart for a book. The posters would also help to sell the books to other readers.