Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Eleanor & Park

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

99 reviews

_gelatinouscute's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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jo_555's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

This book was really cute, but i think i might just be to old for it. The storyline felt a little unrealistic but I would probably have loved this when i was 11-ish. I loved the way Park described Eleanor, and the ending was really beautiful and sad, but other than that the characters where kinda flat. But the worst part about this book was definetly the microagressions, the book is filled with weird racist remarks, and the main character (who is korean) is called PARK?! Like???? Im asuming it was to show how racist society was back then, but like the whole ninja thing and the random comment about the black guy?? If you want to write a character who struggels with race, you need to do some research, atleast enough to know you can’t call a korean guy Park.

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yolie's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

My favourite book of the year!

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maxgold's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

If Park wasn’t so poorly written and the racism was better managed I’d have given closer to a five star. The only thing saving it from one star was the fact that I enjoyed it when I read it. At the time of reading it would have been a 4.5, but after learning more about it it’s dropped significantly and become a book I strive to write better than when it comes to covering racism.

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decameters's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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cassandra_catastrophe's review

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emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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beebeewin's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

What can I say but this is a very 2012 book in the worst way possible. This book felt like Rainbow Rowell wanted to hit on every hot button topic and make a "diverse" read, but failed to address any of them with any depth. It felt like she wrote about internalized racism, fatphobia, and abuse from a distance and as a way to make this book feel modern and relatable. Instead, it felt so dated and surface level. I know it is a teen romance primarily, but I feel like teens books never need to be this shallow. Even as a teen I think I would have felt conflicting. As a child abuse survivor, it felt like this book would have taught me all the wrong things, to ignore, disconnect, and avoid vulnerability. That being abused makes love impossible. Not to mention she is a White author righting about a mixed race Korean boy with what feels like no really knowledge on and zero effort to really understand what being a Korean American is like. Due to all these facts I could not connect with the characters or story. Not to mention the male narrator in this story did a horrible job voice acting as Eleanor. I was physically pained hearing him do her voice. Would not recommend this book to anyone and feel free to ignore the awards it got.

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