Book Raves Pt. 5: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Warning: you may need a bucket to catch your tears towards the end. If you're as emotionless as a potato, however, then you'll be fine.

After reading Fangirl, my friend, who was an avid fan of Rainbow Rowell, recommended Eleanor & Park to me. She basically told me that the book will break my soul, and she was right. Others would probably recoil at the thought of that, but, for me, that just meant that the book was a gem worth reading because it was that good. And it was that good.

Eleanor & Park features new girl Eleanor and taekwondo-regular, Park. Eleanor stands out from the crowd due to her red and wild hair, as well as her bizarre choice of clothing while Park decides to retain his invisibility by delving into his music (through his headphones) and remaining quiet. They meet on the school bus when Eleanor has no choice but to sit next to Park, eventually growing closer by reading comic books together (in a discreet manner on Eleanor's side) and sharing mix tapes. Since the book is set in 1986, there were so many references I had to search, but when Bread was mentioned, a grin appeared on my face because they were a band I was familiar with.

*sings the lyrics to Everything I Own whilst typing*

Eleanor and Park inevitably fall in love with each other. The kind of love that makes you daydream and think: I want a Park or I want an Eleanor... For 16-year-olds, they're certain about what they feel for each other, which, nowadays, can be labelled by adults as 'young love' or 'fleeting' love. Age doesn't matter when it comes to love - whether you're 16 or 30, you can still feel it, even if you don't know during that moment that it was love that decided to break the walls surrounding your heart.

SPOILER ALERT. Park even volunteers to drive Eleanor to help her escape from her disgusting, and I mean disgusting with a capital D, stepfather. And that melts my heart. He loves her enough to risk his own safety for hers, and to support whatever decision she makes. That's the kind of love difficult to find in this day and age, but when you do find it, everything else just doesn't matter.

I mentioned before that you may need a bucket, and that's because the book provoked my tears. I was so sad at the thought that something like distance would get in the way of their love for each other. Like, they couldn't just end the connection. I refused to let that happen. But when I was reading them going about their day, almost finding ways to forget each other, it broke my heart to the point that I believed it wouldn't end in that happily ever after.

But my sad tears became happy tears. It was such a realistic and perfect ending because it embodied the idea of hope. I read 'The Three Words' section at the end of the book and Rainbow Rowell wrote:

"And I knew that readers would assume those three words were 'I love you'. I want readers to assume that. It's the obvious answer - and it's a happy answer. Wouldn't it be lovely if Eleanor finally said, 'I love you'?

But I can't bring myself to confirm that interpretation. Or to say anything conclusive about the postcard - beyond that I think Eleanor wrote something hopeful. Park responds hopefully. He sits up, he smiles, he feels like something with wings takes off from his chest. That sounds like hope to me."

I'm not going to lie, I did think she said 'I love you', but after reading that, I realised it could be anything. But the fact that the response was a happy one, shows that the three words contained a happy message. She could've referenced a comic they both read together...

It emphasises the idea of messages, and how the messages you send affects the recipient. The fact that Park's response was hopeful illustrates that hope isn't lost. It's always going to be present - it's just down to you whether you choose to see it.

:)

{#books #novels #rave #EleanorandPark #RainbowRowell}