We can't really talk about Eleanor & Park without talking about love, can we? From the Romeo and Juliet references, to the intense descriptions of their first encounters, this book is all about love. More than that, it's about first love, and what it's like to fall for someone when you've never been in love before. This story challenges the idea of love at first sight, and definitely makes us think about what it means to intensely connect with another person.
Questions About Love
- Park tells Eleanor he loves her almost immediately, but we actually don't know if Eleanor ever says it back. Do you think that's what she wrote on the postcard? If so, why does she wait to tell him?
- Park sees a lot of his parents' relationship in the connection he has with Eleanor. Why?
- How does Rowell start to let us know that Eleanor and Park might be falling in love?
- Eleanor thinks Shakespeare was "making fun" of young love when he wrote Romeo and Juliet. Do you think her opinion would be different if you asked her about Romeo and Juliet at the end of the book?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Eleanor and Park did actually fall in love at first sight—they just didn't know it.
Eleanor definitely tells Park she loves him on the postcard she writes.