Eleanor and Park Book Review

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell was recommended from another blogger so I added it to the list at the library...not knowing anything about it.  She did tell me that it was a youth book but that was it.  I was interested to see why the reserve list at the library was so long and I had never heard of the book.  Not that this is totally uncommon because I don't seem to hear about books until years after they are out.

The book started in August of 1986 with sixteen year old Park who was riding on the bus to school and trying to avoid all of the people who often start trouble.  Eleanor gets on the bus and no one wants to let her sit with them but Park finally moves over and lets her sit down.  Sitting on the bus and reading comic books  is the start to their friendship that develops very slowly because Park doesn't want to be linked to someone different because that might get him picked on.  He has spent his time in school keeping his head down because he feels that being Korean in an almost all white school makes him stand out enough.  Park is trying not to be noticed but by picking Eleanor as a friend with her bright red hair, funny clothes, and larger figure, he is bound to be noticed.  The two navigate through school together with a growing relationship sharing comics, music, and friendship while hiding from Eleanor's abusive step father while spending as much time together as possible.  Their small world blows up in an instant and both of their lives are changed forever.  I don't want to ruin the whole story but pick it up and I know that you won't be disappointed.

I loved the book!!  The author really made you feel like you were in both characters shoes and understanding how their lives were going.  It makes me think back to my childhood and the experiences to try to fit in on the bus.  I think that it is one of those rights of passage because the young kids sit in the front and the middle school kids were in the middle and the high school kids in the back.  Of course, by high school I was living out in rural Maryland and the bus ride to school was over an hour so you had to figure out how to keep your head down or fit in because that was two hours of your day 5 days a week!!  I think that most people could find something to relate to in this book from their childhood and I think that it is a valuable book for young adults to read.  I would read it to review appropriate content before handing it over to my child but loved it as an adult.  I hope that you pick it up at your local library or bookstore (but be prepared for a wait because there are still 100 people in line to get the 17 copies at my library).  If you read it, let me know what you think!