Book Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

"Eleanor was right: She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something." - Park Sheridan

Recapitulation: Boy rides the school bus & has his own seat. Red headed Girl begins to ride the bus and needs a seat. Boy [very very very] reluctantly scoots over. Boy harshly judges Girl. Girl is a misfit. Boy feels like a misfit. Something indescribable begins. 

Regarding the Read: A few months ago, I saw a photo that someone posted [I think it was on instagram] of a really sweet quote from this book. I filed Eleanor & Park in the "Novels to Consider" folder in the deep crevices of my mind. Side Note: I cannot find the photo that I originally saw that caused me to catalog this book in my head and frankly, that upsets me! If it was you, speak up! The person has come forward! Thanks Thuyvi for solving the mystery. :-) 

Refreshing: The two main characters are very unique. 

• Eleanor has bright red curly hair, and is (repeatedly) described as being chubby. Although it seems that she exaggerates her weight (see Point #3 under Relishing), I loved that I could relate to her struggles yet she wasn't obsessed with "fixing" herself like so many girls try to do. She is 100% herself.
• Park's mom is from Korea and his dad is a white American. My husband is Korean [and I am a white American] and I thought it was so great that a main character in a popular, current book is multiracial. It gives me hope that more authors will think to include multiracial/multicultural characters in their books. But more than that, Park is described as a handsome guy who is honest with himself concerning both his shameful feelings and his desire to be a rescuer.

Relishing:  Eleanor & Park was one of my favorite books in awhile because of the following topics within the tale: 

1. Awkward teenage love. The book is written in the third person limited, which was incredibly refreshing (since I am tired of books written in the first person). However, Rowell switched from being limited to Park's thoughts to being limited to Eleanor's thoughts by labeling their respective sections as eleanor or park. Eleanor and Park were emotionally effusive in their words to one another yet, as was revealed in their personal thoughts by the limited narration, they always wanted to say even more. Oh man. Teenage love! As a high school teacher, I think this is SPOT ON. Teenagers-in-relationships are some of the gushiest human beings alive. Although it can be awkward, annoying, and silly, there's often a purity to the fresh feelings, especially when the lovestruck teens put those feelings into words. I think that's why when adults revisit their memories of first crushes, dates, and loves, it can make anyone    s q u i r m,     even years or decades later! 

2. Bullying. Before reading this book, I would want someone to go in fully aware of the bullying that Eleanor endures. Yes, endures. The book was set in 1986 when the metaphorical flag of bullying awareness was not yet flying. I say, it's sad that it wasn't. I take bullying seriously, and I'm thankful that so many school systems are on guard. Obviously this doesn't mean that no one ever stood up for the victims of bullying in the 1980s, but it seemed like a "Kids will be kids" mentality was prevalent until a few years ago. Furthermore, Eleanor was judged and then bullied based on her outward appearance (both clothes and looks). Coming from a poor and abusive family background, few seemed to care about what was going on in Eleanor's home life and instead focused on how they could verbally humiliate her based on her exterior. 

3. Body image/insecurity. The last things that both bothered and intrigued me were Eleanor's insecurities. She often described herself as being fat and constantly wondered why Park liked her. Nevertheless, I do believe these thoughts are what made Eleanor a very believable high school character. Although some adult women [e.g. me] sometimes still hear those voices that say, "I'm so fat!" and "Ugh! Ugly!" upon looking in the mirror, I remember that those voices were that much louder in high school and the (not) funny thing is, I was much smaller and more fit back then.  Self-acceptance is a lifetime journey and hearing Eleanor's thoughts made me want to pull her out from the pages, give her a hug, and tell her that she is beautiful. Incredibly corny, I know, but I'm actually glad that this book had that kind of influence on me; I believe that it has helped me to recall and relate to those feelings of self-loathing that are pervasive in the teenage years. 

Overall, this is an enjoyable book. I loved it.

Red Alerts: If cursing and language bother you, you might not want to read this book. It pains me to say that, but I would hate to recommend a book that would insult anyone based on the content. However, I will make an argument for reading it anyways. The cursing/language didn't bother me because a) it was mostly not coming from the two main characters,  b) it revealed the verbal abuse that Eleanor was plagued by, and c) it made me sick and angry over how bullies taunt their victims with a cruel use of something we all share: language. With the ubiquity of text messaging and ridiculous social apps, the reality is that we do not much consider the power of our words. Rowell's purposeful use of obscene language could easily empower readers to actually change how they speak, write, or text upon seeing the result.

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

"You read a lot of capital-G great books, don't you?" - Augustus Waters

Premise: Girl has cancer. Goes to Support Group. Meets Boy who had cancer. He stares at her. She stares back. They become friends. Girl is hesitant, doesn't want to scar Boy. Boy seeks her out anyways.


Why I finally read this book:

Two things led me to read this book. First of all, I might as well be honest. I am intrigued by the roles in which Shailene Woodley chooses to play. I haven't yet seen much of a trend (meaning, limited genres) with her movies, which is refreshing since she is so young, could still potentially be easily typecast, and is choosing a variety of characters to play.  I saw a preview for The Fault in Our Stars but somewhat wrote it off thinking, "It'll be way too sad. It's still awhile before it comes out. I'll think about it."

The second reason is a text conversation with my cousin Elizabeth. It went something like this:

Me: You need to tell me the books you read as you read them so I'll know [what I should be reading]!

[after Cousin Elizabeth listed off roughly 30 books, complete with comments like "NY TIMES BEST SELLER NOT WORTH THE HYPE"]

Cousin Elizabeth: Fault in our stars. My heart. I can't. So good


Although Elizabeth literally told me nothing about the book, something about her disconnected fragmented text sentence oozed appreciation for what she read and it grabbed me in a weak moment. I ordered it with Amazon Prime 2-day shipping within a few days.
__________________________________________________________________________________

Why I enjoyed this book:

Since I finished The Fault in Our Stars  last night at 11pm after binge reading it off and on in a 30 hour period, I realized I should probably type down some thoughts. I have three reasons why I liked this book:

1. The main character Hazel, an incredibly pensive young girl. I really came to love her as she worked through the war that was quietly playing out within her. She was the perfect combination of angst-y, insecure teenager, and "had-to-contemplate-issues-like-death-and-dying-too-soon" cancer patient. 
2. Hazel is a huge reader (see Augustus' observation of her in the quote at the top) and embeds many insightful quotes, lines, and allusions into her conversations with others and as she tries to reconcile her role as a terminally ill person among the healthy. 
3. Families. Lately, it seems that many books and story lines eliminate the need for the support of a family. I really appreciated that although minor characters, Hazel and Augustus' families were there for them. By using the families in the supportive role, the reader was able to get a taste of the suffering they experienced at being unable to do so much for their children, and that both Hazel and her parents and Augustus and his parents wanted to do what they could for one other, usually through the desire to help lessen probable future pain.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Why you should read this book:

It is healthy to read something that causes us sadness. It is cultural for westerners to avoid sadness, which is why we (i.e. I) squirm when pictures of starving children appear on the screen and why I try to make my husband forget that he suggested watching whichever foreign film he wants to see where everyone dies in the end.

But the truth is, I didn't cry when or after reading this book for whatever reason and I'm okay with that reality. I feel confident that John Green didn't wake up and say, "I'm going to write a book that will make thousands of people cry!" This is a book that should make you ponder the meaning of life, how we view others, and how we treat others and the world around us.

Green seems to make the argument that it's important that we stop worrying about making a lasting mark on the universe and instead, to deeply consider the likely effect we will have on people (and consequently, the universe) upon forming relationships with others. Although I did not agree with all of the eclectic philosophical views mulled over throughout the book, I did appreciate the message that was being sent about how we, as a society, should take more thought into how we affect others rather than falsely believing the notion of "I am the center of the universe; look at me! Look at me!"

Overall, The Fault in Our Stars will make you consider if there's any "fault...not in our own stars, but in ourselves" (Shakespeare).