Something that really
angers me is when people patronise young people in the arts. Whether it is people like Mary
Whitehouse trying to censor Doctor Who or Colorado school boards attempting to
ban the reading of John Green’s Looking for Alaska, there seems no shortage of old people, in the
name of ‘protecting the innocence of the innocent’ attempting to prevent young
people from being exposed to some of the hard realities in this world. Wrapping people in cotton-wool does
them no good and risks creating literature for young people that is so bland
that they will never be captivated by the wonderful world of literature.
Young Adult literature
has a tremendous duty to produce work aimed at younger readers that does not
shy away from the controversial, the cruel or from what will make them cry and
there are many books out there that do not fulfil this basic need. Thankfully, there are a few that do
step up and one such is this weeks book: Rainbow Rowell’s Eleaonor and Park.
Occasionally a book
comes along that just takes your breath away; something so good, so powerful
that you cannot stop thinking about it.
These do not come along everyday, making them all the more special when
they do appear. This is one such book. This is a book about first love between two social outcasts. So far, so ordinary. Park is a half-Korean in-betweener, not hugely popular, but not an outcast either. He comes from a loving family (ish) and mainly just tries to get through the day without causing too much of a fuss. This all changes when a new girl comes onto his school bus.
Eleanor is a truly wonderful character - wonderfully fleshed and nuanced. She is a 'big' girl, not unhealthily so, but enough to attract comment in our rather judgemental world. Her home life is hell. Her step-father is abusive to her mother, her mother is a shadow of her old self and is getting by the best she can - but is weak. Her father is uninterested. Her siblings are cowed. She is alone in a tiny house in a room shared by all her siblings. She has no escape. That is until Park comes along.
I am not going to say too much about the plot of the book because you NEED to read it to believe it. Suffice to say it is far from just another YA love story. It contains all of the usual ingredients: late-teen boy and girl, difficult high school, parents in the way etc. But the story is all about the obstacles; the roadblocks placed in the way by society. They are forced to confront situations that frankly no one should have to face, but least of all people so young. The description of the abuse suffered by Eleanor at home and at school is close to harrowing.
The style of the story is a dual POV with Eleanor and Park telling alternately the story in a chronological manner. This works brilliantly as it gives you the sense that you are getting two different novels at once - indeed she could have released the two halves separately and they still would have stood up. They tell the stories from a position of love and understanding, but also from the fact that they have very different perspectives due to their wildly divergent upbringing.
There is swearing and Rowell doesn't pull her punches in her description of the horror of Eleanor's home-life, but it would be criminal to say this was not suitable for young readers, though maybe not pre-teens. There is horror in this world: fear and pain, but simply veiling the eyes of the young from it will only make them ignorant of it when it eventually confronts them. This book is a testament to how love conquers all and how bravery defeats fear, and to reject it just because it says 'fuck' every now would be just the most terrible shame.
Rowell is a very gifted writer, and the way she weaves the story of abuse and fear around this truly beautiful love story is really quite something. Her characters are sometimes brutal, but never caricatures or stereotypes. They are recognisable but unique. This story is quite simply brilliant. I never thought that I would read a YA adult story as sad and as beautiful as The Fault in Our Stars. This is as good and then some.
I don't care what you are reading or what you are interested in. You have to read this book and I mean right now!
9/10
Favourite Quotes
“Holding Eleanor's hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive.”
“You saved me 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.”
“Don't bite his face, Eleanor told herself. It's disturbing and needy and never happens in situation comedies or movies that end with big kisses.”
Eleanor is a truly wonderful character - wonderfully fleshed and nuanced. She is a 'big' girl, not unhealthily so, but enough to attract comment in our rather judgemental world. Her home life is hell. Her step-father is abusive to her mother, her mother is a shadow of her old self and is getting by the best she can - but is weak. Her father is uninterested. Her siblings are cowed. She is alone in a tiny house in a room shared by all her siblings. She has no escape. That is until Park comes along.
I am not going to say too much about the plot of the book because you NEED to read it to believe it. Suffice to say it is far from just another YA love story. It contains all of the usual ingredients: late-teen boy and girl, difficult high school, parents in the way etc. But the story is all about the obstacles; the roadblocks placed in the way by society. They are forced to confront situations that frankly no one should have to face, but least of all people so young. The description of the abuse suffered by Eleanor at home and at school is close to harrowing.
The style of the story is a dual POV with Eleanor and Park telling alternately the story in a chronological manner. This works brilliantly as it gives you the sense that you are getting two different novels at once - indeed she could have released the two halves separately and they still would have stood up. They tell the stories from a position of love and understanding, but also from the fact that they have very different perspectives due to their wildly divergent upbringing.
There is swearing and Rowell doesn't pull her punches in her description of the horror of Eleanor's home-life, but it would be criminal to say this was not suitable for young readers, though maybe not pre-teens. There is horror in this world: fear and pain, but simply veiling the eyes of the young from it will only make them ignorant of it when it eventually confronts them. This book is a testament to how love conquers all and how bravery defeats fear, and to reject it just because it says 'fuck' every now would be just the most terrible shame.
Rowell is a very gifted writer, and the way she weaves the story of abuse and fear around this truly beautiful love story is really quite something. Her characters are sometimes brutal, but never caricatures or stereotypes. They are recognisable but unique. This story is quite simply brilliant. I never thought that I would read a YA adult story as sad and as beautiful as The Fault in Our Stars. This is as good and then some.
I don't care what you are reading or what you are interested in. You have to read this book and I mean right now!
9/10
Favourite Quotes
“Holding Eleanor's hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive.”
“You saved me 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.”
“Don't bite his face, Eleanor told herself. It's disturbing and needy and never happens in situation comedies or movies that end with big kisses.”
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