Eleanor & Park // Rainbow Rowell

The other day I passed my driving theory test and to celebrate I decided I would buy myself a notebook (wooo crazy times). I wasn't planning to buy any books or use the remaining £11 on my Waterstones gift card, but I did because with me that always seems to happen (and by the way I bought the notebook as well *hollaahhhh*). So in Waterstones there were a lot of books on the buy one get one half price deal and having found one book that took my fancy called 'The Interestings', I decided I needed a second book to complete the half price deal and after much searching around, contemplating and apple eating, I happened to stumble across the wonderful 'Eleanor & Park' by Rainbow Rowell.

Unlike normal people, what drew me first to the book was obviously not the plot but the cover, because I am one of those annoying people (I annoy myself too actually) who will only pick up a book if it has a pretty, cool or creative looking cover, which means I'm prone to missing out on amazing stories because the cover wasn't pretty enough. Sad times my friend, sad times indeed. But with 'Eleanor & Park', I'm so glad the cover is as cute and beautiful and quirky as it was because it caught my attention, and with that I discovered an amazing story which I'm going to tell you all about right here (I'll warn you of spoilers!).

The story is set in 1986, an era which I only feel I know because I love the film 'The Breakfast Club' which was filmed in 1985, and because it's not too dissimilar to the early 90's in which 'Perks of Being A Wallflower is set, which I also love. As you may have already guessed, it focuses on the story of the insecure, shy but lovely new girl Eleanor Douglas with her amazing mane of ginger curls, and half Korean and also shy but equally lovely Park Sheridan, who has gorgeous green eyes and honey coloured skin and an adoration for comics and mixtapes.

Both are sixteen years old and meet on the scary and intimidating school bus which has it's own rules, hierarchy and order, all of which Eleanor interrupts due to her always being a pinnacle of attention, what with her amazing hair and unique dress sense, which also makes her the target of bullying, as we later find out in the novel. In this very first interaction between the two lead characters, which does not set the scene for the beautiful romance that eventually follows, Park lets Eleanor sit share his spot on the bus, and so begins the rest of the novel, which is nothing like you'd expect.

Going back to when I was deliberating whether to buy the book, I  admit that I assumed it would be the typical 'girl meets boy, they fall in love, it's all cute and happy and completely unrealistic' and although I have a secret penchant for those types of books (ssshhh don't tell anybody), I wasn't sure I wanted to buy a book like that and besides, now that I'm 18, I figured I should be moving onto more grown up books surely. But like I previously said, this book is not what you expect it to be, and the thing that swayed me was actually the first little passage you see when it opens the book, written by Park (the narrative is split between Park and Eleanor throughout). I won't tell you what it says, but something about it made me think that this book might not be what I had previously thought it was, it made me curious, it captivated me, and it seemed like there were darker, more serious themes embedded somewhere within it. 

So I bought it.

And I finished it in three days - it would've been sooner but I was trying to draw it out because I didn't want it to end...

The strange thing about this novel is that it has this way of sucking you into it's heart and the world that Rowell has created, as well as the plot which constantly keeps you on edge in the best way possible, without you even realising. It's only when you put the book down for a moment that you realise you aren't there, living the story with Eleanor and Park, and with that realisation comes that urge to rejoin them once again. The other strange thing about the novel is that all the flaws I could pick from it actually aren't flaws but strong points, because the more I think about them the more I realise that, whether intentionally or not, Rowell has actually captured the feeling or the moment or the event so well.

Lemme explain. Take for example the character of Eleanor, despite her own description of herself, which is tainted by the bullying she undergoes, and Park's description of her, I could never quite picture in my head what she looked like because you're getting two different versions and opinions, as well as the version you automatically draw up yourself. It was the same with Park too. But after some thought, I realised that this was actually quite clever on Rowell's part because it shows that how you see yourself, particularly when you're young, and how other people see you, aren't always the same and that you tend to believe what you want to and convince other people to see you that way too, until someone corrects you and tells you otherwise.

It was the same with the whole falling in love thing. I just thought it happened so quickly, like one minute they're strangers and supposedly don't like each other and they're not speaking or whatever, and then before you know it they're in love. But after some thought, I realised that the way Rowell constructs the whole falling in love thing is again quite clever because it's actually a very realistic portrayal, because when it happens to you, it's true that often it gradually builds up from one little but significant event to another, as happens in the book with the comics and mixtapes, until you realise you're in love, or that you've fallen hard. But when you look back on it in your mind, it all seems to have happened so fast and you can't remember what it was like to feel any other way except this. So again that's another testament to Rowell's penmanship and talent as an author. 

I guess these points lead me to say that I really can't find a way to fault this novel.

I'm not saying it's 100% perfect, because novels rarely are, but it's very, very, very good and I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Eleanor & Park'. I loved the characters, I loved seeing all these different types of relationships, from the good to the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, which Rowell uses to link one person to another and how she develops these relationships throughout the novel. I loved the story line, I loved how she brings her characters to life with the two person narrative being particular effective in achieving this, I loved watching two people fall in love -even if it is fictional, I loved the setting and the backdrop of the 1980's, I loved being able to feel all these different feelings and emotions all at once. I loved how she captures the feeling of being a teenager and the importance of your relationships with friends, love, books, music, fashion and yourself so accurately, and I even kind of liked the now infamous ending and Rowell's reasoning behind it. 

So I can't praise this book more highly, and it doesn't matter what age you are because everyone, no matter what age or gender, can relate to this book somehow and take something away from it.

GO ELEANOR & PARK!!!

Good morning, good morning!

This morning I got up kind of early, 8:05 to be precise, so not that early but early enough, and I opened my curtains and looked out the window and the sky was blue, the sun was out, it looked so beautiful.When I open my curtains to sights like that, it makes my heart happy somehow. 

It even makes me feel kind of happy when I see a rainy, grey day, even when I know I have to go out in it, because there's just something sort of beautiful and cosy and so typically British about it. 

I do a Sunday morning paper round and have done since I was 15 and even though waking up at quarter to 7 is not always what you want to be doing on a Sunday, when it's a beautiful morning and you have your music on and the world's so very quiet and peaceful, so much so that you can hear your thoughts almost as loud as your speech, and it feels like you're the only person who's awake, it's worth it somehow. There's this magic about it that seems to disappear when the rest of the world wakes up too. It's like for those few hours you're enclosed in this magical bubble where everything and everyone is at peace and the world is yours to discover. It's open to your eyes only.

I remember one day a couple of years ago I woke up just as it began to snow and as I was walking these little twinkling snowflakes were falling gently, illuminated by the orange glow of the street lights, dusting the streets and pavement like icing sugar. It was still dark and it almost felt like night time except that I knew it was the morning and that everyone was still sleeping and no-one was out except me, and it was like the snow was falling so beautifully just for me. And I put 'Yellow' by Coldplay on my iPod and it just made the moment ten times more magical, if that was even possible. I remember hearing "your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones, turn in to something beautiful..." and looking up at the deep dark sky and all these shining snowflakes and feeling like life could not get any better. And if I hadn't had to get up early, I would have missed this entire moment, that I still remember so vividly to this day.

I love waking up early and always have done, along with my Dad who can be found sitting with me at the dining room table, both of us with a cup of tea, reading the papers. I love it too because some days the sun is only out for the first few hours of the day before the clouds roll in, and that means your day begins with sun, blue skies and that wonderful feeling it gives you, whilst someone who lies in and sleeps till later misses that beautiful wake up and instead is greeted to grey skies. 

Mornings for me are also my most creative period, as are super late nights, and I'm filled with this rush of energy, the urge to make, do, create, because making cakes at half seven in the morning or drawing a picture or watching a film to me seems way more exciting and adventurous than it does at one in the afternoon.

I also love the bustle of everyone going about their day, places to go, people to see, things to do, weaving in and out of one another, coffee or tea in hand or spilt down clothes, tired, sleepy, buttons not done up properly, singing to the radio whilst making your pack up, all so utterly human and imperfectly perfect at the same time. 

So to celebrate my favourite time of day, here is a little photobook of morning photos to make you feel all cosy and nice and happy.

Chocolate Pancakes Step by Step

Today I'm going to share with you my recipe for chocolate pancakes, which I came up with today and ate in the garden in the sunshine with my sis as seen in the piccy above. She ate hers for breakfast, I ate mine for lunch. It was 1 o'clock, not the normal time for pancakes, let alone chocolate pancakes. However I guess that proves that these pancakes can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner and pudding! Multi functional pancakes for the win!! And with that, let us begin...

Now it's worth noting that these pancakes aren't super healthy, however they do have the advantage 

of being home-made, meaning you know exactly what's going in to them and all the ingredients are vair vair wholesome (or wholesome enough).  Plus you get to choose what you put on the pancake, more of which is to come later, and again choose how healthy or naughty you feel like being (we chose half'n'half).

And lastly, these pancakes are soooo easy to make and to make plain pancakes just follow the

recipe minus the cocoa powder and sugar part!

So to start with you will need:

-Using a small pan I managed to get 7 pancakes around the size of the bottom of an

average plastic milk carton, so a bigger pan means less pancakes but they're bigger :)

Double or triple the ingredients above to get double the pancakes if you're mega hungry or 

have a big group of people to feed.

And then follow these steps....

1

Mix one egg with four heaped tablespoons of flour, self raising or plain (self raising

produces thicker pancakes a la American style), and approximately a quarter of a cup

of milk and stir. You want your mixture to be no runnier than in the photo above so if it's

too thick add a tiny bit of milk at a time and stir until it's the desired thickness.

2

In a cup (I used my Dad's train mug hehehehehehehhe) mix two teaspoons

of cocoa with a tablespoon of milk and stir, adding a tiny bit more milk if needed to turn

it into a slightly runny paste. Then add sugar to sweeten, the amount of which is up to you.

I used three sprinkles of sugar so our pancakes were quite bitter however for sweet pancakes

add enough sugar till it floats ya boat. It's worth bearing in mind however that the less sugar you

add, the healthier the pancake and also your chosen topping will sweeten the pancake too!

3

Add the cocoa paste to the pancake mixture and mix mix mix till it looks like...

4

THIS! F.Y.I unless you've added a lot of sugar the mixture

will not taste like a chocolate cake mix, even though it looks it should,

so if you find your finger elongating for a little taste of the mixture stop it

because it ain't gonna taste good my friend.

5

As you can see, I made my pancake mix in a normal bowl in the kitchen

purely because I can stick it in the dishwasher instead of cleaning it myself.

However if you're making more mixture, I'd defo recommend a bigger bowl! But now

back to the recipe. Stir everything thoroughly again and heat a teaspoon of oil in a frying

pan for a minute or two until warm. 

6

Turn the heat down to between medium and low so that you're pancake cooks at

a reasonable speed and pour a tablespoonful of the mix into the pan, or more or less than that,

depending on how big you want your pancake. Allow it to cook and check with your spatula

by gently lifting up the pancake and going around the edges with the spatula to ensure the

pancake doesn't stick to the pan. If you can get all your spatula under the pancake and lift it all

whole, without it breaking, then flip it over to the other side and leave to cook for a couple of

minutes till fully cooked.

7

Stack all the pancakes on a plate and soak up excess oil with kitchen towel.

Now the fun part is choosing what to have on the pancake. For this recipe sweet is best

and more chocolate is also advisable, as the cocoa paste amplifies the taste of any other chocolate

based toppings you put on the pancake making it taste even more chocolatey! 

As you can see we had nutella, strawberries and raspberries which was delicious,

therefore I'd recommend having...

BON APETIT MES AMIES!!!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

I've wanted to write about this book for a long, long time because it is a book that means so so so

much to me. In my A2 English class this year we were allowed to write about and compare books we liked and I wanted to do 'The Perks of Being A Wallflower' and all summer I was like "yeaaah get to write about my fave book mahn woo" but my teacher, who was lovely but whom I can't forgive for saying this, said that it wasn't the 'right sort of book', which basically means that snobby people who decide what is and isn't worthy in the world of literature have decided this book is not 'proper', or whatever you want to call it.

And I've never disagreed so much in my life.

So I suppose this blog post is kind of a metaphorical middle finger to all the people that don't see the value of this book, but moreover it's a celebration of such a wonderful piece of literature, up there with ya 'Catcher In The Rye's' and 'The Great Gatsby's' and I want to let you know what this book means to me, and if you've read it too and it's made an impact on you, I'd really truly love to hear about it so please do comment!

Now I bought this book two years ago on the day after my prom in Waterstones in Birmingham on the get one half price deal (I know that's not really relevant but I'm setting the scene so bear with me...) just before summer really began. I was not long sixteen, one year older than the narrator Charlie is in the book, and in the middle of lots of important changes called 'growing up 4 real', ie. leaving school and childhood and beginning college and adulthood, kind of like Charlie too.

I was looking for something to read that sounded like it would make an impact of sorts. One of those books that you read and it stays with you for practically your whole life, because I was weird like that and still am. Then I discovered this book, the exact cover design as in the photo above, and read the back cover. Something about it sounded different yet so very appealing, and I just had this gut feeling that I would like it, so I bought it, and read it pretty soon after that, and my perspective of life seemed to change a little after reading it.

The story occurs in early to mid nineties America and is narrated by a fifteen year old boy who chooses to go by the alias of 'Charlie' and is noted by many as being a 'wallflower' who observes things from afar but never really participates. He writes his story out in a quirky and unique retrospective narrative on his typewriter, in the form of diary entries to you as the reader, so very quickly on you feel as though Charlie is a friend of sorts and by the end you don't want to let him go!

In this incredibly wonderful story, which is filled with so many references from The Smiths, to the Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Catcher In The Rye, we follow Charlie as he describes the period in his life where pretty much everything changes for him and almost all of it for the better. We see him begin to make friends in the form of Sam and Patrick, and embrace the rich variety that life has to offer. We get to know Charlie and the kind of person he is (kind of like Holden Caulfield but different), we see him fall in love and explore the world of relationships and trying to figure it all out, we see him grow, develop, mature and experience new things, opening his eyes to the world that surrounds him. And most importantly, we're with him throughout all of the bad times and all of the good.

I don't know about you, but when I try and put my finger on just why this book is so special, I can never quite put it into words. There's a quality about it that's just quite simply magical. The world Chbosky creates is one you want to be a part of and do feel a part of because of Charlie's intimate narrative which is so honest and inviting, and you almost find yourself feeling like you know and love all the other amazing characters just as much as Charlie does. As a kid of the 00's and 10's, I find myself wanting to go back in time and grow up in the early 90's like Charlie in a world devoid of technology and filled with mix tapes, videos, typewriters, old trucks and all the culture too from music, films, tv shows, fashion and so on. The nostalgia in this book is just so sweet.

But beyond that, I think Chbosky, through Charlie, has done an amazing job in capturing the world and journey of adolescence, from the harsh reality to those happy, blissful moments of absolute freedom and joy.The discovering of new things and experiences, the fear and excitement of the big grown up world that awaits you and that you're already finding yourself trying to navigate, stepping onto the dance floor instead of watching from afar. How you find yourself losing your childhood innocence and awe of the world yet retaining that excitement of finally being 'grown-up', as you make your way through that grey area between childhood and adulthood. The highs where you almost feel invincible, undefeatable and the lows where you hit rock bottom, you're feeling lost, alone, afraid, down, but also how you get yourself through it, back on your feet and ready to try again. 

All these things are captured so beautifully and effortlessly and crafted into the most touching, poignant, hopeful of tales that will probably in time become what 'Catcher In The Rye' was to young people from the 50's to the 80's, to young people from the 00's onwards. Even in 2014, I just feel like this book gets me, that it was almost written for me because it's literally everything I could have ever wanted in a book. It's filled with the most amazing storyline and real, flawed, honest characters, it's got a ton full of quotes to inspire you and help you make sense of life, it immerses you in a world that isn't quite the one you inhabit now but in principal is just the same and is one you long to be a part of and are when you're reading. 

If you haven't read it yet, I would strongly, strongly recommend Perks because it will change you in some way and trust me, even if you never read it again you will never forget it. So fifty years down the line, when people are still reading this amazing book and it's still inspiring and changing people's lives and creating the wonderful impact that it does, and the snobs are forced to admit that this book is damn worthy of it's place in the great hallowed halls of literature, I'll be doing my hip in celebrating.

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Some of my fave quotes from the book that I think you might like... :)

When You Go To London Town....

As I may have previously mentioned, I'm British, UK born and bred (I even have the commemorative plate from when Wills & Kate got married to prove it) and my hailing from the UK means my capital city is Laanndaan. Woo. It's a two and a half hour drive from Derby and about an hour and a half on a relatively fast train so we manage to get down there a couple of times a year. 

It's a wonderfully diverse and beautiful city and very very big although that's not to say you can't walk from one place to another, as everything is nearer than you might think. If you want to immerse yourself in the whole British culture, both new and old, London is definitely the place to go and the best thing about it in my opinion is that there's just so much to do from shopping, exploring, eating (my fave), chilling in one of the many parks and so much more.

Therefore I wanted to share with you a few of the fun things I've done whilst in London, that I think you just might like to do to, as well as including some rather groovy photographs taken by yours truly

and links for you to follow too! Yay, saaach faaaaan.

So here we go:

Head to the Serpentine Cafe & Bar in Hyde Park for a nice little cheeky 

warm (or cool) drink and sit in the deck chairs and admire the view of the lake

or pond or whatever it is.

Stock up on £1 (they were last time I went!) macaroons from Whole

Foods on Picadilly which come in loads of flavours and colours <3

Get down to Carnaby Street where there are lots of groovy different 

coloured shops and an atmosphere resonant of the whole 60's Mod scene

to check out, and you'll normally find some pretty awesome street

performers too. 

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is a must if you want to take the whole

'going to the theatre' thing to a whole new level. It's in Regent's Park, it's outside, and is

just simply divine and an amazing treat what with the splendid selection of shows and 

the gorgeous fairy lights too...

Rough Trade is pretty awesome if you love music and also want to explore East London

and the whole Brick Lane scene which I would defo recommend doing. It's stocked full of 

records, CD's etc., has live bands performing and it's own cafe and photo booth for £3 a go! 

How cool is that?! 

Admire Tower Bridge albeit hopefully on a sunnier day than the one when this

photo was taken because when the sun is shining, it's pretty spectacular. 

Another Thames related past time is sitting on these funky little chairs on the river bank

on the way to tower bridge on the left of the photo taken above. They're so cute and a nice

little place to stop and take a seat and soak in the London vibes before heading off to your

next destination.

Aldgate and Shoreditch are areas of East London which will appeal to the souls

of all creative, arty types as well as those who love seeing the more urban sides of a city.

It's filled with lots of quirky shops, bars, cafes etc. and the most splendid artwork and

artistic ideas, such as these lockets on the fence as you come out of Shoreditch tube station

and is a really fun, unique place to visit.

An example of some of the street art found in East London. It's just amazing to view it all,

almost like being in an open air art museum or exhibition and I guarantee you that when you leave,

you'll feel somewhat invigorated and fueled with life because of all the amazing creativity

on offer, well I did anyway ;)

Next up is the fabulous Spitalfields Market that I stumbled across on my way

out of Brick Lane last year and can't believe I didn't stumble across sooner.

To put it simply, it's amazing, I've never seen anything like it. It's massive and filled with

so many interesting stores selling so many different things from the most delicious red velvet

 cookies to records and cd's, artwork, clothes, random vintage knick knacks and it's got the most

wonderful selection of food stores to try as well so get yourself down there!

Camden Lock and Camden Town in general are both wonderful in their own unique,

arty, creative way. You can literally spend hours there, exploring all the little shops and stalls,

admiring the lock and all the picturesque willow trees and trying all the different cultural foods

on offer too. It's always bustling with people and is a real gem of a place. 

At some point in the day a thoroughly British rest stop is required.

My bezzie and I found this cute and super friendly cafe in between the Covent Garden back

streets and Shaftsbury Avenue. I don't remember the name of it but the guy who served

us was so nice, as were these scones caked with jam and butter (heaven) and much needed cuppa.

A selfie outside her majesty's residence, Buckingham Palace, where we presume she and Philip

play the Wii and watch Coronation Street and get wasted, is always needed.

Here's me and my family partaking in one. Looking around the Palace is also something

you should probably do as I bet it's amazing!!! (I haven't been yet *sad face*)

Me and my sister love St. James' Park and when it's a beautiful day, any time of year,

then you really really need to go and in particular stand on the blue bridge, where this particularly

gloomy photo was taken on my birthday, because you can see the London Eye, something else you

need to visit fo' sure. You really can't beat St James' on a sunny day and it's literally right next

to Buckingham Palace too!

Next up is firstly visit Trafalgar Square and see Nelson's Column and pop into the National

Portrait Gallery which is free and actually rather interesting and not as dull as you might think, so

I'd defo recommend it (it's also nice and warm too). The second venture is treat yourself

to a little picnic from Whole Foods because they have so much to choose from and you it's like

having lunch from Boots but 10 x better and eat it in a park of your choice.

Wahaca is a creation of the Gods sent to planet Earth for us mere mortals to enjoy.

I went for my 18th and literally all my family left absolutely raving about it. It's like a 

Mexican tapas restaurant where you pick different delicious Mexican dishes to try and share

and it's such a quirky, unique place to go to both for food and drink. We went to the one near

Southbank on Embankment which is made out of old shipping containers (wowzerz) and a quick

Google shows you that all the other Wahaca restaurants around London are equally amazing to

look at so go go go!!

Explore around Southbank where there is usually amazing art, like this one I found,

and events, performances, exhibits etc. going on especially in summer. Walking along

Embankment around the Southbank area, from the Tower Bridge, near the Tate Modern,

 up to the London Eye is also quite simply wonderful.

Cross Waterloo Bridge (and all the other bridges too) because the views on both sides are 

amazing and also you need have no fear of them falling down because all the new technology

has prevented it (hopefully) so walk all sassy and confident and free and with camera in hand

like you go girl/ dude/ whatever!

Save ya pennies and watch a show in the West End because they're all incredible, whether

they be theatre or musicals. I've been very fortunate to have seen a few, the last being Wicked which

was honestly the most spectacular thing to watch ever and seriously, you won't regret going to see a show. They're just so good an TKTS on Leicester Square does tickets cheap if you get in line quick!

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I hope you enjoyed this little guide, which is just the tip of the gigantanormous iceberg of things that London has to offer, and if you have any suggestions please let me know!

And now for The Clash, London Calling to see us out...