Eleanor, the other protagonist of the novel, has a life much more challenging than Park’s, and her initial unwillingness to trust him highlights the lack of support she has felt throughout her young life. She has been abandoned by both her mother and her father at different points in her life, and at the start of the book, she has the misfortune to return to the house of her abusive step-father, Richie. Although she is not particularly close to her siblings, she finds herself parenting them because her mother has been brainwashed to rationalize and accept Richie’s increasingly intense abuse. 

Eleanor’s life completely changes when she meets and starts dating Park. Her life outside her home begins to develop as he introduces her to new comics, music, and hobbies that she grows to love. Eleanor’s character arc is defined by a struggle toward independence as she seeks to move beyond the abandonment of the adults in her life. She seeks a stable home, and at first, she finds it by spending all her time at Park’s house. This transitional period, in which she sees a different family dynamic and parental role, gives her the courage to travel to a new place to achieve stability with her uncle in St. Paul. Her journey is one of coming-of-age, but it is also about her willingness to reach out and trust after being disappointed and abused by the authority figures in her life. At the end of the novel, Eleanor’s postcard to Park indicates that she has found the safety and support she was looking for, to the point where she can reach out to Park again.