2nd Eleanor and Park reading

I have enjoyed the second installment of reading from Eleanor & Park very much than the first installment. In the second half I saw a lot more of an interesting focus on Eleanor's home life than the first, learning more about the struggles of lower income homes in the time period of the nineteen eighties. We also learn more about how the community views Eleanor and her family by gaining more insight on Richie's influence on the town, and his presence at the local bar, The Rail. It seems that while the town knows about the possible situation that Eleanor and her family are in they will not intervene. Both parks Father and Grandmother make it clear that Richie is not well liked or thought highly of in the community and they have witnessed questionable behavior from him; whether it is smashing mail boxes around the neighborhood or smashing drinks at the bar. This made the scene involving the Police coming to Eleanor's home particularly frustrating. It is assumed that the town is small enough that Richie would have some sort of reputation with the local police department, so when they treated the situation with such little sincerity or professionalism it made me question how often things such as this may happen in real life. I really enjoyed how Rainbow Rowell shows differences in income and family life by comparing Park and Eleanor's home life. Simple things like a proper home cooked meal are taken into consideration by Eleanor when she is visiting Park's home. This is no surprise when considering the food choices of lower income families and why they make those choices. So what do you think are some of the most noteworthy differences between Park and Eleanor's home lives? Also do you think the Police in the story would have responded differently if it was another family, or in a wealthier area?

Eleanor and Park

I just finished the first reading installment of Eleanor and Park. Overall I enjoyed the reading very much, but still have some grievances with the writing. Mostly my complaints lay within the mirroring of Eleanor’s and Park’s relationship to Romeo and Juliet . Yes, I do understand that is the point of the story to an extent, (young love and all that jazz). It is even a fear of Park’s when he first admits his love for Eleanor over the phone that he sounds too much like Romeo and Juliet.  Eleanor also refers to him as Romeo at one point. However, I feel that even though it is addressed and it makes a lot of sense with the context of the story, it still feels weak and stale. This book is also a high school level book about high school. So I really don’t know what I expected from it. This is not to say I dislike the book at all really, I even had a bit of trouble stopping where I am because I wanted to finish the rest of the story.  Another quick complaint would be that there are too many flat characters such as Steve, Richie, Mr. Stessman and Tina. I’m sure there will be more development with these characters later on, but as of now they seem boring with little to add to the story in terms of growth. I do really enjoy the musical and comic taste of the two, (Joy Division & Watchmen specifically) and how they embrace and bond over how nerdy they are. What I really enjoyed so far is the very real approach and reminders of Eleanor’s poverty and troublesome home life. Small things such as being afraid to let any information slip in front of her classmates that may reveal her home life, being amazed by her father’s full cupboards and being scared to ask for a toothbrush from her school counselor. Child poverty is a very real problem in the United States, with 21% of children Living in what would be considered poverty. 

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