This is an important distinction to make, as non-East Asians are often grouped and erased under typical Asian stereotypes that predominantly apply to Asians who gain privilege from their proximity to whiteness. Eleanor & Park is essentially a high school love story that tries to grapple with issues of poverty, domestic abuse, racism, and so on -but ultimately falls short.Īs this article is a response to a particular book’s portrayal of an East Asian character, the analysis will consequently be on representation and implications regarding East Asians in America. She often comes off as closed-off, snarky, and insecure, although readers get a better glimpse into her mind when the perspective switches from Park’s to hers. Eleanor is described as an overweight redhead who comes from a poor, abusive household.

He enjoys spending his time listening to music and reading comic books, and is also deeply insecure about his Korean identity. Park Sheridan is a half-Korean, half-white high school student from an upper-middle class family. The young love story takes place in the late 1980s, in Omaha, Nebraska. If it’s such a great romance novel that features the rare Asian-American protagonist, why didn’t I love it? Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. Upon being published in 2012, the young adult novel by Rainbow Rowell received favorable reviews it made NPR’s list of Best Books of 2013, won the 2013 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction, and in 2014 was awarded the Michael L. Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall in love.I initially began reading Eleanor & Park because it features an Asian-American protagonist who doubles as the main love interest - a rare occurrence in popular contemporary American literature. Quiet, careful and - in Eleanor's eyes - impossibly cool, Park's worked out that flying under the radar is the best way to get by.

Then she takes the seat on the bus next to Park. All mismatched clothes, mad red hair and chaotic home life, she couldn't stick out more if she tried. But as they suffer each other's company in silence on the bus rides from and to home every day, Eleanor and Park realise that first impressions can be deceivingĮleanor is the new girl in town, and she's never felt more alone. When he first meets Eleanor, he thinks she is weird. He loves his family but feels like they don't understand him. He's liked by everyone but has never felt liked he fitted in. When she first meets Park, she thinks he's obnoxious.

She's just moved to a new town, is struggling to make friends and is finding it even harder living under the same roof as her dysfunctional family. This is a sweet, moving novel about two misfits finding love in the most unexpected of places.

Eleanor and park pdf english