Feature Friday - "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell

Last week I began listening to an audiobook version of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I fell in love immediately. An unexpected pleasure was that there were two very good narrators, a female for Eleanor's sections and a male for Park's. I admit that I really enjoyed this because sometimes I'm a speedy reader, especially if I'm reading solely for enjoyment, and I am no stranger to missed visual cues, so they saved me that trouble. Now, onto the story itself! Click here for info on Amazon.

The story is set in 1986, and Eleanor is the new girl at school. Park lets her sit with him on the bus that first day, and over time they develop a relationship that is unlike anything either of them have ever known. It starts by them sharing the bus seat. Then Park realizes Eleanor is reading his comics. Then they start to share music, and things continue to build from there. Eleanor is scared to let Park know just how bad things are at home, but she comes to rely on him, on the memory of him, to get her through the nights filled with the cries of her mother and days filled with bullying at school.

What I loved:

• Both Eleanor and Park had a unique voice, their own lens with which they viewed the world. This made for interesting moments when the view switched back and forth quickly, to see what they were thinking or how they were feeling, and what was different between the two. This also made it very distinct who was thinking what. I also just absolutely loved them both!
• Their wit!
• The story felt so genuine, I was sucked in immediately and it was hard to come back from. 
• The supporting characters felt just as real as Eleanor and Park did.
• Eleanor's reference to Dicey Tillerman (Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt).
• THE FEELS!

What I didn't like:

• I can't think of anything that I didn't really like. There were elements of the story that I wish weren't a part of this world in general, but they are, and they were presented really well.

Other:

• While the language didn't bother me, a family member is a middle school librarian, so I keep that in mind when reading YA. Probably not acceptable for a middle-school library, in case you were wondering.
• I think that someone who was a teenager in this time would probably like the references to the music, but I have to admit that I'm a failure in terms of pop-culture, so I had to take them at the value presented in the book.

Should you read this? Yes, but you need a certain amount of "emotional bandwidth" (as S. would say) available.

Until next time,

Julia