Book Club: Eleanor & Park

For our first book, my PLC Book Club chose to read Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. The book Eleanor & Park features two high school students named Park and Eleanor, that could not be any more different. Park comes from a loving family and likes to keep his head down at school, whereas Eleanor comes from a home with an abusive step-father and can't help but stand out when she's at school. The friendship, and later romance, blossoms between Park and Eleanor through their shared love of music and comic books during the short bus rides sitting next to each other. However, as Eleanor's relationship with Park progresses, her home life becomes increasingly difficult to deal with until she can't anymore.

I first read this book in middle school when it first came out, but I thought it would be an interesting book to revisit, not only through an adolescent development standpoint but also as a college student. I am currently about halfway through the book, and so far I have found that my opinions have changed since I first read it. I am still a sucker for a good love story, but throughout the book it seems to me that the relationship between Eleanor and Park comes out of nowhere

Beyond my initial opinions, I have noticed that the book takes a stance on many different concepts that many students come into contact with for the first time in their adolescent years, some of which include gender expression and first relationships. Both Eleanor and Park subtly break gender norms throughout the story; Eleanor almost always wears men's clothing, and Park discovers that he enjoys to wear eyeliner. Both of these things are very subtle, but in many ways it normalizes the way adolescents see gender expression and the exploration of gender identity outside of the conventional gender norms. Similarly, Eleanor & Park provides a more realistic look at first relationships. While the story is romanticized in some parts, it is important for adolescents to see a more realistic portrayal of romantic relationships so there are less misunderstandings and misconceptions going into first relationships during adolescence.

Though these concepts listed above may be universal experiences for adolescents, the book also touches on living in poverty and on abusive family situations. While this book may not be the first experience with these concepts for many students, it may be a wakeup call for others. When I first read this book, it was the first time that I considered students experiencing domestic abuse. I think this book provides a good reminder for adolescents that it is impossible to understand what is going on in another's life. 

So far, I think that Eleanor & Park is a great read for people of any age, but especially for adolescents because the book addresses many common questions and concepts that students are first encountering during adolescence. I'm really excited to finish the book and see if my overall opinion has changed since the first time I read it!

Until next time!

Hannah