A review by anaffpereira
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

3.0

‘Tell us, why has Romeo and Juliet survived four hundred years?’
‘Because …’ he said quietly, looking at his desk, ‘because people want to remember what it’s like to be young? And in love?’

What I expected: exactly what that quote says – a cute story about teenagers falling in love, to remember being young and in love (although I’m not that old yet!), the infatuations and the first love, the kisses and the butterflies in the stomach… all that adorable little things, but also the drama and the struggle of being a teenager; a light coming of age with a love story!

What I got:

A love story, all right… sometimes a little too intense if you ask me!

Was it possible to rape somebody’s hand?
It made her want to have his babies and give him both of her kidneys.
I want to eat this face.

What the hell?! My friends and I were 16 seven years ago, and I don’t remember us being this obsessed and weird. Jesus, episodes like these left me really uncomfortable and took away some of the book’s innocence.

Low-key racism

… that stupid Asian kid.

I love it when Eleanor mentions her mother is Danish… meanwhile, Park is Asian and everyone keeps asking him about kung fu and other stereotypes. And although Park clearly struggles with his heritage, the author never reveals the deepness of these struggles. It feels like Rowell just wanted to add some cultural diversity but never bothered to explore those issues, which may have been relevant, giving the historical content. I understand that people are ignorant and might have racist remarks, but it feels wrong not to approach the issue and show people/readers that these actions are not okay, especially in a YA book.

Too much of everything in just one character

Eleanor was too shocked to make out what he was shouting at her. FAT and FUCK and BITCH. He’d never come this close to her before. Her fear of him crushed her back.

Poverty, domestic and psychological violence, alcoholic parents (stepdad), bullying, self-image issues… Unfortunately, Eleanor suffers from it all, which takes away some of her character realness, turning her into some sort of caricature.
These are serious problems; when the author puts them all together, they become way to bleak and inappropriate for this book. Even worse, it seems to me that these topics were a bit mishandled and that justice wasn’t made by the end of the book. Unfortunately, I get this feeling that Eleanor’s struggles were only meant to trigger the book’s climax and denouement and make everything sadder… and that is just wrong.

Overall, this book was rather different from what I was expecting. Still, I enjoyed it a whole lot! It made me recall mostly good things about my high school years – how everything seemed exciting and new, how some moments felt they’d last forever, while some others seemed to slip way too fast… and love! Young true love! It was especially heart-warming to read about the first steps of Eleanor and Park’s relationship. Nevertheless, the book directly referenced serious issues that should have been correctly explored and dealt with by the author, which didn’t happen. They were just too much for this book, hence my rating.