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Finishing Feed turned out to be better than my first impressions of the book. Many of the issues in this book reminded me of Eleanor and Park. They both discussed inequality of wealth and not fitting in to social norms. The characters picked on Eleanor in the same way Violet became ostracized. The relationships of these two characters with a significant other defined and decided their fate at the end. What Eleanor didn’t have at home or too much at school, she had with Park, and eventually, his family, and then her aunt and uncle – support and an environment to thrive in. Eleanor had to constantly be in survival mode until she made it inside her uncle’s house in Minneapolis. Although the story doesn’t confirm what happens to Eleanor and Park’s relationship, we do know that Eleanor ends up ok in the end. In fact, Eleanor’s mom and siblings may have made it to safety, too.

Violet and Titus are a different type of couple than Eleanor and Park. Yes, they are still in a teenage romance. Violet and Titus did not have a chance at happily ever after. Violet did teach Titus more about what a relationship could mean. She also taught Titus that being outside the Feed could be ok. Other than that, Titus wanted to fit in with his friends and more saw Violet as beautiful and less as a person. Titus sometimes even agreed with his friends about Violet’s craziness. Violet’s “illness” is tough for Titus. He had expected a couple of months of fun and it scared him that she imagined them in a lifetime commitment. It scared him further when he learned that she was dying. It is tough on couples who have long-term relationships to go through one of them being terminally ill. Although I thought that Titus could have been more sympathetic, I agreed that it was not fair to assume they wanted the same future.

The missing piece is empathy. Titus finally connected to it when he took on Violet’s memories as if he were Violet. This is not out of the ordinary. As this article here shows, to thrive, humans need more relationships like Eleanor and Park. Not the sappy part. Rather, the openness and willingness to help out and care and be cared for. Without that relationship, Eleanor would have had a different fate by the end of the book. She had gained connections and trust of people on her side. Violet had her dad. When Violet tried to cultivate relationships beyond her dad, she could not connect well to anyone except for a brief time with Titus. The world today seems more like the Feed version than the Eleanor and Park version. People are more interested in connecting with their games or hiding out, for example, then connecting to each other, sappy or not. Studies have proven that there is a relationship between staying healthy to having a strong social circle. I believe we are already at risk until the trend can be reversed.