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.

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