Tolog Review: Eleanor & Park

Eleanor & Park 
by Rainbow Rowell
reviewed by Hannah Huynh

Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park is a coming-of-age novel about two teenagers living in the late 1980s. Eleanor is a sixteen-year old who has bright red hair and has an eccentric taste in clothing. Having an abusive and mean stepdad who hates her, life at home is tough. Because she is afraid to talk to others, she is considered to be an outcast at her school. Park is a quiet boy who ends up in love with Eleanor after meeting her on the bus on their way to school. Park and Eleanor have the same taste in music and enjoy reading comics together. They fall in love and make many memories together. Although they both know that most of the time first love never persists, they are both courageous and determined to try and make it last. 

Eleanor & Park portrays the themes of abuse and bullying. Richie, Eleanor’s stepdad, physically abuses his wife and Eleanor. Richie also verbally abuses Eleanor, telling her she is fat and eats too much. Eleanor is also bullied by other girls at school. Because she is also considered a social outcast at her school, others find her to be odd. By expressing these themes throughout the novel, Rowell does a great job of depicting obstacles that teenagers. Rowell uses non-linear narration once in the book. In the beginning of the novel, it is made clear that Park has lost a girl named Eleanor and misses her. Immediately after, Rowell switches to the past and retells the story of Eleanor and Park. 

This book about two ill-fated lovers is a story of first love and challenges. When I read this book, I was intrigued throughout the entire novel. When Eleanor was facing the issue of bullying, it was not given who was bullying her. Throughout the book, I kept on guessing who the bully was and continued to read until I figured out who it was. Rowell does a wonderful job of keeping the reader interested by foreshadowing and not revealing things until the end. This funny, bittersweet novel moved me to tears and it is definitely one of my favorite books.