Book Reviews by Shan Naih

Eleanor and Park (1)

BOOK CRITIC NO. 1

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

A book critic by  @ilyshan_naih

Note: Taglish language ahead.....

      So hello everyone! Today I'll be talking about Rainbow Rowell's book na Eleanor and Park. This was the first book critic I did in my first year, which is last year to be exact. So bear with guys as I try to give a critic and a feedback of the story. 

About the Author

Let me give a brief description of the book's author....

Rainbow Rowell (born February 24, 1973) is an American author known for young adult and adult contemporary novels. Her young adult novels Eleanor & Park (2012), Fangirl (2013) and Carry On (2015) have been subjects of critical acclaim. She is currently the writer of the 2017 revival of Marvel Comics' Runaways.

Rowell was a columnist and ad copywriter at the from 1995 to 2012.

After leaving her position as a columnist, Rowell began working for an ad agency and writing what would become her first published novel, Attachments, as a pastime. Rowell gave birth to her first son during this period and paused work on the manuscript for two years. The novel, a contemporary romantic comedy about a company's guy who falls in love with a woman whose email he has been monitoring, was published in 2011. listed it as one of the outstanding debuts that year.

In 2013, Rowell published the young adult novel . It and her novel were both named by as among the best young adult fiction of the year.Eleanor & Park was also chosen by as one of the 10 best books of 2013, and as ' best young adult fiction of the year. In 2014, optioned Eleanor & Park, and Rowell worked on a screenplay, but in 2016, Rowell said the option timed out and the rights reverted to her. In 2019, it was announced that Picturestart had acquired the film rights, with Rowell writing the screenplay and executive producing.

Rowell's work garnered some negative attention in 2013 when a parents' group at a challenged Eleanor & Park and Rowell was disinvited to a event; a panel ultimately determined that the book could stay on library shelves. Rowell noted in an interview that the material that these parents were calling "" was what many kids in difficult situations realistically had to deal with, and that "when these people call Eleanor & Park an obscene story, I feel like they're saying that rising above your situation isn't possible."

In January 2014, Rowell signed a two-book deal with to author two young adult , the first of which will be illustrated by . Rowell's fourth novel, , a contemporary adult novel about a marriage in trouble, was released on July 8, 2014.

In 2013 Rowell published the young adult novel about a girl who is interested in a fictional book series about a boy "mage" named Simon Snow who attends a "magical" school called Watford. Rowell later created a real trilogy of books based on the fictional books from Fangirl. Her 2015 book is set as the eighth book in the series, in which Simon, in his eighth year at school, struggles to come to terms with his calling as the "Chosen One" meant to destroy the Insidious Humdrum, a magical force destroying the world of "mages". He embarks on his quest with his best friend Penelope and his girlfriend Agatha, all the while struggling with T. Basilton "Baz" Pitch, his vampire nemesis. It is influenced by , particularly the popularity of fan fiction of the series by . Rowell's 2019 novel and her 2021 book "Any Way The Wind Blows" are also Simon Snow books. (Wikipedia.com)

My comments

So when I first heard about the book or had the hardbound book in my hands, I kept reading Rowell's name because I feel like I've heard her name before. As I was working on this book review, I saw she actually worked for Marvel and that may be the reason.

I think Rowell has a kind of technique for her readers which opens the eyes of its readers to family and teenage problems. In this book she highlighted issues concerning for teenage students who were both misfits and also have different situations in their family. To think that the setting of her story happened in her hometown and the character, Eleanor, has many similarities to Rowell not just on her physical attributes but also her own life.

Despite the success of her books, she had critics saying that her book was too brutal to be young adult and that some countries are banning her books, especially Eleanor and Park.

So this will be the end of part 1. Stay tuned to the part 2 of this critic. Muahh!