Teaser:
Eleanor Douglas is the new girl at school, and by no means does she fit in. With crazy, red hair, an interesting choice in fashion, and a not-so-typical body type, she is singled out from the moment she steps on the bus to go to school. She has no doubt set herself as a target for bullies, including Park's friends, Tina and Steve. But she has a hard life, living on the poorer side of Omaha with her younger siblings and her abusive and alcoholic stepdad. Park Sheridan - who is already considered an outsider at school because of his race, and his interests - begrudgingly offers a seat to the new girl. With completely different lives, the connection between them grows through Eleanor’s sneaky glances at Park’s comic books on the bus. …show more content…
Rowell herself grew up in Omaha, and therefore could use her experiences of living there to help accurately describe the settings of the city, and more specifically, ‘The Flats,’ where Eleanor and Park live in the book. In the book, The Flats is considered the poor part of Omaha. Eleanor’s family definitely is a part of this - her mom doesn’t work, and her stepdad is an alcoholic, who may or may not be able to provide for the family. Park’s family is the exception on their side of town. Both his mom and dad have jobs, and their family has money and a nice house. This is yet another reason that Park is considered an outsider, “The only upside to living in this effed-up neighborhood was that everybody else was effed up, too. The other kids might hate Eleanor for being big and weird, but they weren’t going to hate her for having a broken family and a broken-down home …. Park’s family didn’t fit…” (126/27). This quote from the book really shows that where you lived and the kind of money you had determined your “social standing,” especially for the kids in high …show more content…
Although she is bullied immensely, Eleanor doesn't seem to care about other people's thoughts about her. She is very independent and she tries to focus on the positive things in life and never the negative. "He got why Eleanor tried so hard to look different. Sort of. It was because she was different—because she wasn't afraid to be. (Or maybe she was just more afraid of being like everyone else.)" It shows her refusal to disappear completely, because she will be remembered. I believe she was also insecure because she didn't believe that Park really loved her. Eleanor’s step-father was not only physically abusive sometimes, but also emotionally abusive. He often called her names and made her feel like she wasn’t important, which could be the reason Eleanor was often insecure about herself and wasn’t sure if Park actually liked
Eleanor Douglas is the new girl at school, and by no means does she fit in. With crazy, red hair, an interesting choice in fashion, and a not-so-typical body type, she is singled out from the moment she steps on the bus to go to school. She has no doubt set herself as a target for bullies, including Park's friends, Tina and Steve. But she has a hard life, living on the poorer side of Omaha with her younger siblings and her abusive and alcoholic stepdad. Park Sheridan - who is already considered an outsider at school because of his race, and his interests - begrudgingly offers a seat to the new girl. With completely different lives, the connection between them grows through Eleanor’s sneaky glances at Park’s comic books on the bus. …show more content…
Rowell herself grew up in Omaha, and therefore could use her experiences of living there to help accurately describe the settings of the city, and more specifically, ‘The Flats,’ where Eleanor and Park live in the book. In the book, The Flats is considered the poor part of Omaha. Eleanor’s family definitely is a part of this - her mom doesn’t work, and her stepdad is an alcoholic, who may or may not be able to provide for the family. Park’s family is the exception on their side of town. Both his mom and dad have jobs, and their family has money and a nice house. This is yet another reason that Park is considered an outsider, “The only upside to living in this effed-up neighborhood was that everybody else was effed up, too. The other kids might hate Eleanor for being big and weird, but they weren’t going to hate her for having a broken family and a broken-down home …. Park’s family didn’t fit…” (126/27). This quote from the book really shows that where you lived and the kind of money you had determined your “social standing,” especially for the kids in high …show more content…
Although she is bullied immensely, Eleanor doesn't seem to care about other people's thoughts about her. She is very independent and she tries to focus on the positive things in life and never the negative. "He got why Eleanor tried so hard to look different. Sort of. It was because she was different—because she wasn't afraid to be. (Or maybe she was just more afraid of being like everyone else.)" It shows her refusal to disappear completely, because she will be remembered. I believe she was also insecure because she didn't believe that Park really loved her. Eleanor’s step-father was not only physically abusive sometimes, but also emotionally abusive. He often called her names and made her feel like she wasn’t important, which could be the reason Eleanor was often insecure about herself and wasn’t sure if Park actually liked