Reading Blog Post 11 - Crazy Things Happening

The book I'm reading is Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. This book has only improved since I've started to read it and I really just can't put it down when I'm reading it! I'm so glad that this book is more interesting than the one I had to abandon in my previous blog postings.

This week I didn't get the chance to read a lot of this book which is upsetting, but it only made the pages that I did read that much more interesting. What really interested me this week during my read is the fact that Park's mother, whom hates Eleanor just by default because of the way she looks, dresses and carries herself, actually turns around and starts to care more towards Eleanor. The reason to this being that his mother grew up in a very poor household with loads of siblings and she thinks she understands why Eleanor is the way she is because they do have this in common. She realizes this and feels so terrible for the way she has just assumed things about Eleanor. This shows how people can change and why not to always judge a book by it's cover, in this case, Eleanor. Park's mother brings this to his attention and even buys Eleanor a Christmas present to apologize. I think that this is so sweet just because we haven't seen this side to her.

Another thing that happened in the book this week is that Park went and snuck out to see Eleanor. This is CRAZY. Not just sneaking out, but sneaking out to a girl house with a drunk father living inside, known to hurt people just for fun. He sent Eleanor away for more than a year just to teach her a lesson about obeying his rules. Park jumps up to the window where Eleanor sleeps and knocks gently on the window. When Eleanor turns around she is excited to see park, but is truly terrified for his safety. Nobody knows how bad Eleanor's family really is.

HOLD UP. I just literally read something at some point after i left class and before now that made me almost bawl my eyes out. So if I tell you, you may think it sounds childish- well maybe. But it's not! It's so great that people can be this heart warming without trying and it was just so sweet. In this scene Eleanor runs out of Park's house right before dinner because she doesn't like having dinner there. She feels like she's invading Park's family's privacy, but this probably too long quote may change her mind.(This is from Park's dad to Eleanor, just an FYI) "'Look,' he said, "I'm getting tired of asking you to  stay for diner.' 'Okay...' she said. 'What I mean is, I want to feel like you have a standing invitation. You're just...welcome, okay?' He seemed uncomfortable, and it was making her uncomfortable. Way more uncomfortable than she usually felt around him. 'Okay...' she said. 'Look, Eleanor... I know your stepdad.' This could go a million different ways, she thought. All of them awful. Park's dad kept talking, one hand on his truck, the other on the back of his neck, like he was in pain. 'We grew up together. I'm older than Richie, but this is a small neighborhood, and I've put in my time at the Rail...' The sun was too far gone to see his face. Eleanor still wasn't sure what he was getting at. 'I know your stepdad isn't an easy man to be around,' Park's dad said finally, stepping towards her. 'And I'm just saying, you know, that if it's easier to be over here, then you should just be here. That would make Mindy and me feel a lot better, okay?' 'Okay she said. 'So this is the last time I'm going to ask you to stay for dinner.' Eleanor smiled, and he smiled back." (Rowell, 209) I understand that this was super duper long, but I think it's worth it because this quote just hits you in all the right spots and makes you feel good inside and if it doesn't, well, maybe I didn't do a good enough job of explaining the situation. But it is a nice moment. I think. Has anybody had any experiences with this type of feeling in a book before?