Eleanor & Park - The obliviousness of first love

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Genre: Romance, Youth, School

Reading Eleanor and Park is like reading your own love story (if you have one) that didn't last. It's a story about first love, and how like other first love, it's not meant to last forever. Eleanor and Park are smart enough to know this, but foolish enough to try nevertheless, counting the odds. 

Eleanor is a 16 year old girl with big curly red hair. She lives in a dysfunctional family, who barely meet their end's need. Her stepdad is a bastard who basically hates her existence, and always tries to find the right time to kick her out once again. She has 4 brothers and sister, and a mom who's too afraid to do anything. Eleanor is a girl you'll never miss out, since she stands out among others, in all her awkwardness and quirky fashion sense (she doesn't have any). With messy, curly, red hair, and a plump body, she is immediately the object of teasing in her new school. Her life is a mess. Her bathroom has no door, she practically takes a bath like a burglar, not wanting to get caught by her stepdad. She lives everyday in hell, at least until she met Park. She thinks Park is cute and adorable. Not because he's Asian, but because he's Park.

Park is the complete opposite of Eleanor. His mother is Korean, and his father was an american marine. Unlike Eleanor's family, Park lives decently. His dad and mom love each other so much they still kiss in public everyday. Park has his needs fulfilled, and he always has nice, clean clothes to wear. Initially, Park wanted nothing to do with Eleanor. He was afraid other kids at school will bully him if he interacts with her. But he knew he always felt something about her ever since their eyes met in the school bus. Eleanor is something else. Eleanor attracts Park. Everything makes sense since Eleanor arrived. Everything else before Eleanor is a blur.

Eleanor & Park started as strangers who always sit together in the bus, without talking at all for the first few days. One day, they suddenly started talking. About comic books at first, then music. Opposite attracts, and out of no where they become star-crossed misfits couple. Eleanor never let someone inside her heart before, but Park is different. With Park, everything makes sense. It's like she was destined to meet Park to save her from the hell she lives in. They fall madly in love with each other, while sneaking around to not get caught by Eleanor's psychotic dad. Eleanor finds redemption in Park's arms. She felt safe. Even Park's family eventually accepted her and treated her genuinely kindly.

But all along Eleanor knew they weren't meant to last forever. Forever is a long time, Eleanor said to Park. Not even once Eleanor said she loved Park, even when Park said he loved her. Eleanor was always preparing to say good bye, but day after day she fell deeper in love and it's harder for her to think that their time together was running out. Park, on the other hand, wanted to believe that they would last long, long enough until marriage. He couldn't think of loving other people more than he loved Eleanor. Couldn't think of going without Eleanor.

Until one day, ill-fate seperated Eleanor from Park.

This book is a book I enjoyed reading a lot. For me, it's not like remembering my first love. It's more like being in a crazy adventure together with Eleanor and Park, together counting down to the end of their pure, oblivious love. Why must first love end? Maybe because we were too little, too young and too naive to understand. Too selfish and too brave. But we tried, anyway. Like Eleanor and Park, we tried eventhough we failed in the end. We still want to hold to that thin string that hold us together, praying that our love will last forever. And when it must end, it's never easy to let go.

Park had a hard time living his life without Eleanor. He still saw Eleanor in his vision - her red, curly hair haunted him. But eventually Park stopped waiting. Park stopped sending letters that were never came back, not even read. He stopped thinking Eleanor would come back. Eleanor is gone forever. It's a long time, but Park accepted it. He still misses Eleanor badly. Eleanor still misses Park badly too. But Eleanor wanted Park to stop. When the letters stop coming, Eleanor was broken. But they both knew they needed to stop. And that's what they did.

One sweetest thing that touched me was the end, where Park finally got a postcard from Eleanor. It was not a letter. It was a postcard, and on the back of it was a three-letter-word. It's all that Park needed to move on with his life.

To end this long, seemingly endless review:
On the last note, I love Eleanor and Park. That's why I felt like writing you the story here, while inputing my opinion bit by bit, here and there. I hope you'll take time to read their innocent love story as well. :)