Blog

Eleanor and Park, the protagonists of Rainbow Rowell’s best-selling first YA novel ELEANOR & PARK, don’t blend in very well at their Omaha, Nebraska high school; Eleanor is mocked for her weight, huge red hair and unique fashion sense, and Park stands out because of his half-Korean heritage. And while even they are hesitant when they first meet on the school bus, they slowly uncover each other’s dry wit, unbeatable music taste and obsession with comic books and fall into a deep, unforgettable first love.

Although ELEANOR & PARK was named a Michael L. Printz Award Honor book in 2014 --- as well as an Indie’s Choice Young Adult Book of the Year, an Amazon Young Adult Book of the Year and part of the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Top Teen Best Fiction for Young Adults --- it has received some backlash, too, for “vile profanity.”

Below, author Lindsay Smith (DREAMSTRIDER, Sekret series) and Teen Board members Grace P. and Lauren H. explain why they love ELEANOR & PARK, and exactly what they would say if any book-banners came knocking on their doors.

Do you remember when you read this book for the first time? How old were you? Did you read it for school or for pleasure?

Lindsay Smith: I was 28 when I first read ELEANOR & PARK. I was certainly outside the target audience, but I loved Rainbow Rowell’s first book, ATTACHMENTS, and was so excited to learn she was writing for YA now. It was completely a pleasure read. I love 1980s-set books, and Rowell’s careful, nuanced portrayal of characters we so rarely see in fiction: shy, passive, embarrassed, quiet, but slowly finding their inner strength.

Grace P.:ELEANOR & PARK was one of the first YA contemporaries I ever read. I was 12 and I read it for pleasure because I had heard so many good things.

Lauren H.:  I first read this book when I had just turned 13. My neighbor recommended it to me.

What do you like about this book, and how would you persuade somebody else to read it?



LS: I loved watching both Eleanor and Park come into their own. Eleanor has tried so hard to disappear, shrinking into herself, but she’s not meant to be unnoticed. She dresses unusually, thinks unusually, loves powerfully and gives herself wholly to her passions. Park, too, is uncomfortable in his rigid role, and finds small ways to subvert it --- and big ones. But all I really need to persuade someone to read it are Rowell’s own words:

 “Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.”

“You saved my life, she tried to tell him. Not forever, not for good. Probably just temporarily. But you saved my life, and now I'm yours. The me that's me right now is yours. Always.”

GP:  I liked this book because it was very honest and felt real. I would persuade someone to read it by first telling them anything by Rainbow Rowell is great. I would say that this is a really cute love story with a unique '80s perspective.

LH: I love the honesty and sincerity of this book. It showed every corner of the main characters’ minds and what they thought about their situations and the people around them. This book really impacted the way I view not only my own life, but also the lives of my peers. I think it is important to gain that kind of insight early on.

The Parents Action League in the Anoka Hennepin School District, Minnesota, said that ELEANOR & PARK “is littered with extreme profanity and age-inappropriate subject matter that should never be put into the hands and minds of minor children.” If you had the chance to respond to that quote, what would you say? 



LS: Teenagers’ lives are littered with extreme profanity and age-inappropriate subject matter. That’s the reality of their lives, of their journey to adulthood. We want childhood to be this perfectly curated, isolated experience --- the control in the scientific experiment. But it isn’t.

Eleanor was living through a horrific situation and barely escaped a sexual predator in her life. Park faced down appalling prejudices from his fellow classmates. So many children will face similar situations, and far worse ones, too. Rather than try to shelter them from that truth, we must arm them with the tools to recognize a bad situation, fight against it and get help. Banning a book that gives them those tools won’t eliminate those situations. It only takes away their ability to cope with them.

GP:  I think that is ridiculous. ELEANOR & PARK was a book that shows what horrors some "minors" experience, and it doesn't make sense to not let other "minors" read about that.

LH: The images and scenes depicted in ELEANOR & PARK are not meant for children but for young adults. The subject matter is meant to challenge the way we view our lives and what we would do when faced with changing someone else's. The profanity and at times graphic material is meant to disturb us. This book could not and would not have had the same impact if this method had not been used. We are supposed to sense the toxic environment Eleanor lives in. We are supposed to want more for her and feel shocked and horrified by her situation. If we reach the end and are not somewhat disturbed by what we saw Eleanor go through, then the book was not successful. 

You need to give the protagonist of this book a book recommendation. What would you recommend, and why?

LS: I’d give Eleanor DUMPLIN’, by Julie Murphy, another awesome journey by a big and beautiful girl who recognizes her own gorgeousness and strength rather than hiding behind it. And I’d give Park NEUROMANCERby William Gibson, a thought-provoking, genre-creating cyberpunk adventure that seems right up Park’s alley ---though I suspect he’s already read it.

GP:  I would give Eleanor and Park FANGIRL to read. It is also by Rainbow Rowell, but it is very different. I think it would interest both of them and give them some comic relief.

LH: I would recommend PEACE LIKE A RIVER by Leif Enger to either Eleanor or Park. This book really helped me understand not only my personal faith better but it also helped me develop and grow in my idea of faith in general. Both of these characters could use a little help and support in their lives and this is definitely a source I would turn to.