Book BFF: Eleanor

Book BFF was created by Larks Andrea, Paula, and Jen to showcase some of our favorite ladies & was originally inspired by Book Boyfriend. We'd love it if you'd join us featuring your favorite Book BFFs and leaving links so we can check out your posts. We will be alternating between Book Boyfriends, Book BFFs, and Throwbacks on Thursdays. 

This week my Book BFF is Eleanor from Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.
Read my review of the book here. 
My ideal image of Eleanor is Jessie Cave.

Given name: Eleanor Douglas
Nickname: Bozo, Big Red (these are not affectionate nicknames.)

Appearance: 
* wild curly red hair
* dark brown eyes 
* she describes herself as having rolls of fat. Early in the book, Park describes her as big and awkward. 

Facts about Eleanor:

* She dresses weird. To those who don’t know her well, it looks like she wants people to notice. To those who know, it’s because she has few clothes, and the ones she has, she covers defects by adding embellishments.

* She is quiet. When she does speak, she uses unusual phrases.

* She is smart, and a good student.

* She loves the Beatles. 

* She is the eldest child in her family. She and her step-father don’t get along.

* Her family lives in a small house, live on food from the dented can bin, and sometimes run out of dish soap. Things used to be different.

Quotes: 

“I just want to break that song into pieces,” she said, “and love them all to death.” ~ page 59

Maybe Park had paralyzed her with his ninja magic, his Vulcan handhold, and now he was going to eat her.

That would be awesome. ~ page 72

Eleanor wasn’t. . . nice.

She was good. She was honorable. She was honest. She would definitely help an old lady across the street. But nobody- not even the old lady- would ever say, Have you met that Eleanor Douglas? What a nice girl. 

~ page 122

Eleanor sitting next to him on the couch made Park feel like someone had opened a window in the middle of the room. Like someone had replaced all the air in the room with brand-new, improved air (now with twice the freshness). ~ page 165

   
Why she's my Book BFF: 
Eleanor is smart, funny, and honest. The deck is stacked against her, and yet she perseveres. She doesn't expect things to be easy, or to have advantages handed to her. She keeps her head down, follows the rules as best she can without sacrificing all of herself to do it, and puts one foot in front of the other. Eleanor is a survivor- a girl who is the poster child for possibility. When she finally finds herself planted in good soil, she will absolutely bloom. I would love to be there to see that.