Eleanor & Park: Chapters 33–43

by Rainbow Rowell
Rainbow Rowell's best-selling novel chronicles an unlikely love story between two teens struggling to fit in.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 13, Chapters 14–21, Chapters 22–32, Chapters 33–43, Chapters 44–58
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. alcove
    a small recess opening off a large room or garden
    They were sitting against the back door of the elementary school, in a little alcove where no one would see them unless they were really looking, and where the snow didn't fall directly on their faces.
  2. legume
    the fruit or seed of any of various bean or pea plants
    Dinner was awesome. Her mom could really cook when she had ac­tual food to work with. (Something other than legumes.)
  3. scrawl
    write carelessly
    Eleanor had decided to leave the dust jacket on because it was neat-looking, even though it still had a thrift-shop price scrawled on the front with grease pencil.
  4. pretentious
    creating an appearance of importance or distinction
    "I know it's pretentious," she said.
  5. jamb
    a vertical side piece of a door or window frame
    He came and stood in the doorway with her; she leaned back against the jamb.
  6. pendant
    an adornment that hangs from a piece of jewelry
    He ran his fingertips along the chain and settled the pendant on her throat.
  7. scintillating
    brilliantly clever
    "Is this the kind of scintillating conversation we're going to have now that we don't have any secrets?"
  8. intimate
    marked by close acquaintance, association, or familiarity
    "What? You wanted honest and intimate. That's way more honest
    than 'Scottish.'"
  9. intriguing
    capable of arousing interest or curiosity
    What if Park realized that all the things he thought were so myste­rious and intriguing about her were actually just . . . bleak?
  10. speculate
    talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way
    They'd sit up late talking in hushed voices about their ex-husbands and speculating about new boyfriends, while the kids played Trouble and Sorry! in the next room.
  11. eavesdrop
    listen without the speaker's knowledge
    She wasn't exactly eavesdropping—all her mom's friends liked having Eleanor around.
  12. deftly
    with dexterity; in a dexterous manner
    His mom sat so that Eleanor could see, then deftly drew a line along Park's eyelashes.
  13. vanity
    low table with a mirror where one sits while dressing
    Park opened his eyes and sat in front of Eleanor on the vanity.
  14. masculine
    associated with men and not with women
    He was messier than his mom, but he thought that might look better. More masculine.
  15. titter
    laugh nervously
    Everyone around Steve tittered, waiting to see what would happen next.
  16. dubious
    not convinced
    Eleanor looked dubious.
  17. flinch
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    Ben didn't flinch.
  18. desperate
    showing extreme urgency or intensity because of great need
    They both stared at her, desperate and almost . . . almost hopeful.
  19. contraband
    goods whose trade or possession is prohibited by law
    Her grapefruit box was packed with contraband these days, all of it from Park.
  20. horizontal
    parallel to or in the plane of the horizon or a base line
    She couldn't get over the fact that Park spent most of his time in this room horizontal.
  21. dramatic
    suitable to or characteristic of stage performance
    It made everything he did lately seem more dramatic.
  22. melodic
    containing or characterized by a pleasing tune or sound
    She teased him because it was all so pretty and melodic, and "in the same phylum as Hall and Oates," and he threatened to evict her from his room.
  23. phylum
    the major taxonomic group of animals and plants
    She teased him because it was all so pretty and melodic, and "in the same phylum as Hall and Oates," and he threatened to evict her from his room.
  24. evict
    expel from one's property or force to move out
    She teased him because it was all so pretty and melodic, and "in the same phylum as Hall and Oates," and he threatened to evict her from his room.
  25. discernible
    perceptible by the senses or intellect
    There was no place from her neck to her knees where she had any discernible infrastruc­ture.
  26. collateral
    accompanying; following as a consequence
    As soon as Park touched her waist, she'd sucked in her stomach and pitched forward. Which led to all the collateral damage . . . which made her feel like Godzilla.
  27. instinctive
    unthinking
    He pressed into her side, and she sat up, instinctively, trying to spread herself thinner.
  28. clinical
    detached or unemotional
    It was all very clinical.
  29. serendipity
    good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries
    Usually, that serendipity felt like the nicest thing the universe had ever done for her.
  30. shaman
    one acting as a medium between the visible and spirit worlds
    "I'm like Billy Jack," their dad said, "a warrior and a shaman."
  31. figuratively
    in a non-literal sense
    To have and hold. Not forever, maybe—not forever, for sure—and not figuratively. But literally. And now. Now, he was hers.
  32. literally
    in a sense limited to explicit meaning
    To have and hold. Not forever, maybe—not forever, for sure—and not figuratively. But literally. And now. Now, he was hers.
  33. gender
    properties that distinguish organisms on the basis of sex
    "Don't get so hung up on gender roles," Eleanor said.
  34. illicit
    contrary to accepted morality or convention
    He got them both Cokes and looked at the couch to see if it looked illicit.
  35. gaudy
    tastelessly showy
    She was wear­ing Richie's bathrobe—one of those Asian souvenir robes, red satin with a big gaudy tiger.
  36. bleary
    tired to the point of exhaustion
    He looked at her blearily, like he was try­ing to come up with something awful to say, but he just took another drink and leaned back in his chair.
  37. remission
    an abatement in intensity or degree
    But Park hadn't done anything. Not since the eyeliner—which he knew wasn't dead, but it seemed in remission.
  38. explicitly
    in a clearly expressed manner
    Even if they did, Park hadn’t done anything with Eleanor that he'd ever been explicitly told not to do.
  39. affront
    treat, mention, or speak to rudely
    "I'm sweet," she said, affronted, and holding back his license.
  40. scoundrel
    someone who does evil deliberately
    "Is this where you tell me that I'm a scoundrel, and I say that I think you like me because I'm a scoundrel? Because we've already cov­ered this—I'm the Han Solo."
Created on Fri Jul 07 14:54:19 EDT 2017 (updated Tue Apr 09 15:07:26 EDT 2019)

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