Jen Vincent at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye and Ricki Ginsburg at Unleashing Readers cohost It's Monday! What are You Reading weekly on their blogs. To see what others are reading and recommending each Monday, or to participate, be sure to head over to these blogs.
One of the teachers had left a copy of Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell on my desk, with a post it on it, saying just that she had loved it. I had seen this title on some of the blogs that I fillow, but I really had not paid attention to it, so I was surprised when I started it and realized that it is very much a book for teenagers; I don’t think my sixth-grader would understand or enjoy most of this book. However, I am looking forward to talking about it with my high school daughters. Eleanor arrives at a new school, moving back with her mother, abusive husband, and siblings after sleeping on the couch of a family friend for several months. Her living situation is dismal and the she faces cruelty on all fronts, but Park befriends her and their relationship grows. As readers, I sometimes felt like we were just ahead of Park in getting to know the secrets and complexities of Eleanor, and I admired that craft. At several times, I wanted to jump into that text and tell her to just trust him, to just tell him of all that is going on, because I wanted them to make it, despite the incredible odds their relationship faced. Through telling the story from both characters' perspectives, Rainbow Rowell brought us into the worlds and the minds and the hearts of Eleanor and Park. I loved both of them. I miss both of them. And I am still cheering for them.
I have some professional books in my bag and I have to see what books my girls packed, as I was not expecting to finish Eleanor and Park on the plane. No vacation is complete without a trip to the book store!
Happy reading!
Love that you're on vacation, so happy travels-hope it's wonderful, Melanie! I just started A Snicker of Magic, will be a good one for this week as I'll be in a classroom full of middle-graders! I loved Eleanor & Park, know that sometimes kids have to help kids, & that's good, but still sad that adults aren't there too.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your vacation! We are off next weekend for just four days and I can't wait to have some reading time and family time with my children. We have already been talking about which books to bring! I really loved Eleanor and Park too. It is a novel hard to put down once you begin, you are hooked!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Eleanor and Park too, but I really loved Fangirl! I am a total Rainbow Rowell fangirl :) Have a great week! ~Megan
ReplyDeletehttp://wp.me/pzUn5-1XZ
Enjoy your vacation! I agree with what you said about Eleanor and Park. I was missing both characters for a while after I finished reading. I thought it also made me pause and think about the baggage that some of my students might be bringing to school with them every day. Hearing Eleanor's concerns about how she might appear and the things she had to do just to make sure her belongings were safe made me really think about the way some of my students might be living.
ReplyDeleteI knew you would love A Snicker of Magic. Love that Cecily has turned into the "Biddle!" Eleanor & Park sounds like something I'd enjoy, but at this point, if it's not for an age I work with, I can't read it until summer. Hope you have a wonderful vacation! I'm looking forward to getting a lot done around the house, although I did go to the bookstore this morning :-)
ReplyDeleteWe have spring break next week here in Boston so we are looking forward to reading A Snicker of Magic over break.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear how much you enjoyed Eleanor and Park - it does seem like it's universally adored. :) I hope that we get A Snicker of Magic in our public libraries soonest. :)
ReplyDelete