I never realized how fast you could become in love with a stranger, until I read Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. Eleanor and Park is a book that alternates between Eleanor’s perspectives and Park’s perspective. Eleanor is a 16-year-old girl with curly red hair, and Park is a half- Korean, 16-year-old boy. They meet each other on a school bus on Eleanor's first day at the school and gradually connect through comic books and mixtapes of '80s music, sparking a love story. Park grows to love Eleanor and Eleanor learns to understand Park. What surprised me the most is how close Eleanor and Park grew throughout the story. In the first chapter of the book Eleanor got on the bus for school, and had nowhere to sit. Park hesitated but eventually let her sit with him. The next few chapters Park and Eleanor became very close. I was challenged because of how much Eleanor and Park became to like each other, it didn’t make sense. Eleanor had horrible conditions at her house with her abusive stepdad and tiny home. She was also bullied everyday. Where as Park fit in with all the popular kids at their school and his home was filled with love. However, I noticed that the author was trying to get people to understand that there is more to people than what is just on the surface. Eleanor may have dressed weird and had not many nice things, but she was so much more than just a chubby, quirky girl. The same goes for Park. His father was a very masculine guy and took pride in it. So park put on a fake appearance of being tough and rugged, when really he was very insecure about his size and heritage. This book changed me in many ways. It taught me about understanding that people are much more complex than what you may think. I learned that just because people dress differently or act different doesn’t mean they are weird or different at all. In this story Park fell in love with a girl who he thought was weird, which shows how alike everyone is. I learned so much from this book. I learned that the saying “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” has such a deep meaning and is so true. I’m a person who used to judge people before I really even knew who they were. After reading this book however, I have changed my ways. I truly understand how unique people can be and how much they have to offer when you really get to know them. This book has changed me forever and changed me for the better. I will never again judge a person because of their looks or how they dress, but by what kind of person they are, deep down. I'm a completely different person because of this book and I can’t believe the effects it had on me. This book is going to help me for the now, and for the future. I feel that because of the relationship Eleanor and Park had I am able to connect with people on a much deeper level. by Lane R.
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AuthorSTenth grade students at Decorah High School share how they're reading outside of their own experiences and how it has changed them. Categories
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November 2022
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