Eleanor & Park

            Eleanor and Park is a story of young love between two very interesting characters. Park starts off as a quiet, borderline weird guy. Eleanor begins as a very strange girl with crazy red hair who dresses in very bizarre clothing. People on the bus bully Eleanor because she is different. Since Eleanor and Park sit next to each other on the bus they begin to build a relationship through comic books that they read together on the bus. Through spending time together during their bus rides and sharing their common interests of music and comics, they become boyfriend and girlfriend. I think this shows a very deep connection, not through looks like most relationships, but by having the same fascinations.

            All this time, Eleanor is battling a life of fear at home. Her stepfather Richie is both verbally and physically abusive. Park becomes this oasis for Eleanor from her terrible home life and from all the horrible bullying at school. Also, we find out that Eleanor is very poor while Park is more privileged. Park’s life and family astonish Eleanor because it is so different from anything she has experienced.

Park and Eleanor’s relationship is very innocent. For example, when they hold hands, it means the world to them and is a very intense action for them to do. So as they become more experimental with their physical endeavors, it entails so much passion and love from them both. Park becomes very defensive of Eleanor and ends up getting in a fistfight defending her, even though Eleanor told him she was okay. This just shows how relationships can change people into acting differently, either good or bad.  

In the end of the book, Richie gets so furious with Eleanor that she runs away. Park helps Eleanor by driving her to her aunt and uncles house. They take her in and give her the help she needs to stay away from Ritchie. Once she is there, she stops all communication with Park as if she was afraid of committing to something she couldn’t have anymore. The book closes with Eleanor sending Park a postcard where she tells him she loves him. I think this was a way to give the reader hope and to show how grateful Eleanor was for Park since he saved her life.

I think this text should have had an ending that displayed more information on how Eleanor’s life changes. The story tells the reader that the rest of her family does not live with Richie anymore but I would love to know what happened to them. The book shows a stereotypical clique system in high school. It has the cool kids and then the strange kids that everyone makes fun of, which in this book is Eleanor. It also shows a theme of assumption and judgment. For example, when Park gives Eleanor a tape of music, he just assumes that she has the tools to listen to it when in reality she doesn’t have batteries or any money to get some. It shows judgment by other kids making fun of Eleanor for the clothes she wears, when it is not her choice to wear such different clothing. She only gets clothes from thrift shops because her family is so poor.

Eleanor and Park would appeal to adolescents because it is from the perspective of people their age. It is very relatable because it positions adolescents as if they do not fit in, which most feel that exact way. I think it would also give adolescents hope that they could find someone that means the world to them and have a relationship like Eleanor and Park did. I would give this book a B rating on an A-F scale. I would choose a B because I personally wish the book would have had less of an abrupt ending and more of an explanation of what happened with Eleanor and Park, as well as Eleanor’s family. However, overall I really enjoyed the book and couldn’t put it down!